The Time Machine

It seems incredible to see how time flies in Brisbane. Seven months have elapsed since I arrived here and I could assign each one a day of the week. I have realized my English is more fluent, I´m less shy and  time runs faster. For that reason, when I write I feel I am travelling in the time machine to write about my life.  

During my last excursion I met by chance a Dutchwoman. It was in Noosa National Park. She started talking about the turtles we could catch sight from the cliff. They were surfing in the sea and then, without being an expert, it is possible to see them for a while before they sink.

She is artist and she travelled to Australia a long time ago from her town. In a first moment she was living in Sydney but seeing how high the competition in her area was she decided to come to Brisbane. She joined Nimbin movement in the sixties, when population got to stop the tree felling successfully for the first time during a long protest.

The conversation was so relaxed that I forgot why I was in the middle of those sights. She soon referred a previous anecdote, which involved me. I asked an Australian couple if they wanted me to take them a picture. That fact reminded her a past time, where she was an European backpacker. When she started talking about the extroverted attitude of Spanish people in comparation with Australian I got confused. “I travelled to Spain alone but I have never had dinner alone, because Spanish invited me to stay with them. It is impossible to happen here”, she told me to my surprise.

In that moment I realized why my perception about Spanish people was so different from it. They aren´t who have changed. I am the main responsible for that change. During seven months I have been forgoting day after day what I left behind me when I went out of my country. Being 17 years old something similar happened to me, when I moved to Madrid from a small town called Aspe to study journalism and afterwards to work in a printing press company. I easily adapt to the new situations and that´s good because I spend few time to miss people, places, food and activities.
When I decided to leave my country I promised myself to avoid getting in touch with hordes of Spanish because I consider speaking Spanish is good but only exceptionally. It´s very tempting to make Spanish friends for a newcomer. However I prefer asking for help to “ayuda” or advise to “consejo”.

My last trip was an exception as I spent it with my Colombian family. But I am here with you again, dear loyal reader. I meet you on the next post.