Friday, October 17, 2008

Isolation surrounded by Community

I finished reading Walking On Water the other day, a non-fiction by Madeleine L'Engle about the relationship between art and faith, the source of creativity, among many other things. There is a quote I really like because I feel the same way, or that I want the same thing. It was this:
    "The writer, too, should see work in this way and understand that the building of a novel is also corporate work. The writer at the desk is indeed writing in isolation , but (for me, at least) this isolation must be surrounded by community, be it the community of family, village, church, city."
I have the isolation part down to a science, but I need to find that community here in Sevilla for the year. I have a few friends that are other teachers in the same program, but I don't want to spend all of my time with people of the same age, and similar backgrounds.

I really enjoy the time I have spent with my boss and his wife. They are very kind and generous. They buy my cañas when we go out, and Luciano loaned me the use of his clipper set so that my beard didn't get too unruley. Great people. I think I am going to meet them in a bar tomorrow night to watch the Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid futbol game.

It is hard to find places to get connected with a language barrier. I think I can get involved in the couchsurfing community, they do more than just couchsurfing. There are groups on the website that you can join and people there are threads on the Sevilla forums for picnics, fish dinners, an outing to see Quemar Despues de Leer, known as "Burn After Reading" back home. Perhaps I can befriend university students as well, we'll see what happens.

5 comments:

rj said...

I know exactly what you mean with the language barrier...but being a foreigner is it's own open door i've found.
Also, have you heard of hospitality exchange?
I like your thinking. I mean, why else live in a different country instead of just visit?

Anonymous said...

i think maybe it's harder for me because my family seems to be on the "young" side compared to those of my peers. my great-grandmother (on my mother's side) is 81. still lives by herself, has had some health problems, of course as everyone that age has. but other than like needing her lawn mown and occasional help around the house, she's completely independent.
it's hard with my grandpa because he has only interest in farming, he says books are too much work to read, he watches little tv. and because he's done so much work alone his whole life, and my grandma's one of those people that doesn't stop talking, he doesn't really have conversations with other people.

anyway, i really appreciated your input on what i had to say and your relation to my experiences. almost everyone just gives the generic "aww, that sucks," answer, which really doesn't give me much feedback to my own thoughts about the whole thing. my father's personal theory about being in that situation one day is that he can't wait until he can sit in his room, smoke pot and listen to pink floyd all day. he just hopes my brother hasn't broken the bong my father let him have, that my dad still had saved from the 70's, because he wants to use it for old times sake in his retirement. talk about generational changes, huh?

melissa said...

thanks? and thanks!

kristin ann rohrer said...

boone-mate:
i've loved reading the blog. it is very entertaining/informative/comical. i have actually "LOL" several times. thanks :) how are you? seriously- we should get together when i'm in england. don't know where, but it'd be fun.

Molly said...

Oh Boone. I know what you mean.