Forever Friends

Second to the closeness of families come friendships. To them, friends are their second family and they would likewise do anything for each other. There was not a day that went by that my senora didn’t have a friend stop by for coffee and a chat or went out for the afternoon to spend time with another. I also experienced the value of friendships in other ways. Although, most of the people I spent time with were not from Spain, I think we adopted their ideas of being open to everyone and that we are all there to enjoy ourselves so there is no point in being angry or upset. I even remember one of our teachers saying on the first day of class that she was there to teach about her country and her language, but she was also there to be a friend and a positive part of our experiences. Spaniards are known for being “party people” who spend little time at work and a lot of time at fiestas. But more than that, I think that they have their priorities straight because they would prefer to be out with their friends, socializing and meeting new people. People think that they don’t take life as seriously as the rest of us, but I think it’s the other way around. They realize that they have only one life to live so it is very important to cherish the things that you have and to enjoy everything to the fullest.