One is silver and the other gold…

Maybe some of you were Girl Scouts (which I guess nowadays is just Scouts), but those were the lyrics of a song we were taught. “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.”

I always become nostalgic as I’m preparing to leave Spain for the summer, and this time I’ve been thinking about friendship. When I first came to Spain six years ago I knew exactly no one. After a couple of years, I wrote in a blog that I had seven friends. It’s taken some effort, but I have a lot more now. Joining the U3A expat group was a big help. I did that after the pandemic when I, like many people during that time, felt lonely. My neighbor and I would chat in the garden 10 feet apart once or twice a week, but that was it. Then one day I met a man who was living nearby in his second residence during the confinement. We were walking in the same direction and started chatting. After that we walked together every day for a couple of months. I feel like he kind of saved my life. Plus I got to practice speaking Spanish every day. I rarely see him these days, as we’ve both returned to our regular lives, and he’s younger and working and busy.

I say it’s taken some effort because I had to join the U3A group on my own to meet fellow expats. A few are American, but others come from countries in the UK, the Netherlands, Iceland, Canada, Norway, and France. I’ve also met a coterie of international characters in my Catalan class. My Catalan coffee buddy has introduced me to other Catalan learners in Begur, and I’ve also reached out to other neighbors. I am fairly extroverted, but it’s taken A WHILE!! I finally feel like I have a community here. I love it! These are my silver friends and those in the States whom I will see soon are GOLD!!

The other day in front of the grocery store I met a guy walking his pet goat named Xavi. The goat has his own Instagram page…Xavigoat.

I’m off to the States for a couple of months to see friends and spend some quality time with those grandchildren!! This is probably my last post until September when I return to Begur, so have a good summer everyone!