Today I spent the day at the beach, soaking up the sun, alone. Although I have made a couple of friends here, the language barrier is very strong (most of my friends barely speak English and are at a lower level of fluency in Spanish than I am), and my stress level has been a little high trying to work in new friendships and experiences with those friends. I am slowly learning the beauty of walking alone to the music of an old man playing his violin in the streets, or simply taking part in the conversations from so many different languages simply by listening.
Being by myself has always been hard for me, and I would have thought that it would be harder to be by myself on a different continent, in a different country surrounded by people who don’t speak my language. However, I am starting to find the peace in walking to my own drum, laughter from watching children play in the metro, and warmth from the smile of a stranger when I’m feeling homesick. The world is a beautiful place, and people are kind.
Today on the way to the beach, I saw the same elderly man I see every day sitting in the same street, playing his violin as his dog lay without a leash below him simply listening and loving. That man sits there with his violin from morning to night every day.
On the way home from a movie with a friend, I saw a couple struggling to carry a stroller up the metro stairs. A man silently walked behind them and picked up the stroller to carry it for them.
One of the first times I got lost here and asked for directions, a couple who spoke no English and were obviously on a date went out of their way to walk me home.
Valencia is a beautiful place with beautiful people, but so is the rest of the world. I hope I continue learning to enjoy walking in silence, and I hope I never let a negative experience make me forget the kindness of people.
