Jimena - The neighbours

I’ve lived in, worked in and/or visited close to 42 countries. I’ve rubbed elbows with the rich and the destitute, the famous and nameless heroes, the healthy, the sick and the dying, politicians and hustlers, nobility and the economically poor. I say that because, contrary to popular belief, the quantity of money a person has doesn’t define them as a person. In my experience, the economically poor people have a HUGE spiritual wisdom bank account. 

In 1998, when I worked in Muscat, Oman, I learned from a beautiful family, in Nizwa, who invited me to their home for lunch, that those who have little to nothing; give and/or share everything. They welcome you into their home. A person’s home is their sanctuary. It’s their everything - (Maybe a few more AirBnB travellers should remember that one ;-) Just saying …. )  They receive you like a long lost friend and turn you into a part of their extended family. They share whatever food and drink they have and they’ll give you a place to sleep should you ever need one. The kindness, the warmth and the generosity can be very humbling. 

My beautiful neighbours in Jimena de la Frontera have humbled me many times over the last 5 years that I’ve been living here, and still do. I love them.

In our street, we like to say we have our own mayoress; a wonderful lady who was born in this street and is still here 74 years later. I’ve spent many a day, or evening, sat outside with her telling me the tales of days gone by as well as the history of our street and previous street dwellers. I honestly don’t know why discarding mature, ageing or elderly”people has become a trend in the world. 

To all you youngsters out there, here’s a little tip. The mature, ageing and elderly are the people with the best stories. If you’re rolling your eyes at this point, let me just say, you think you know how to party and have a good time? Trust me, the elderly knew it too and, given half the chance, they’ll have you fits of laughter or disbelief. One thing they are not, is boring. If you’re willing to listen, you’ll always discover something new and perhaps even learn a thing or two, as well. 

Jimena de la Frontera has many mature, ageing and elderly people. They built this village with their own hands. No history book will talk about them when they depart this world but it’s thanks to them that the town exists in the first place. Please, let’s not forget that; not here nor anywhere else around the world. 

One of the things I love the most, in this town, is still seeing the women who hold on to the old tradition of sitting outside their front door, on the roadside, in the summer; crocheting. It’s something that reminds me of my grandmother in Sicily. When I was a young(er) girl (chuckle chuckle,) we use to do the same. The beauty, in Jimena, is that if you take a moment to say hello, smile and admire their work, they will talk to you for hours even if you can’t speak Spanish. 

You might be surprised at how simple hand gestures and facial expressions can break down any language barriers. So, don’t be shy! You might learn some things about real life in the village and, perhaps, learn a new Spanish word; or two. Who knows, you might even teach them a few foreign words too, or satiate their curiosity about life in your town or city or country. People like to have things in common with other people and they like to find understanding through finding common ground. It’s what brings people together and creates friendships.

The thing I love the most about my neighbours is that they treat me like one of the family. In fact, I don’t even think of them as neighbours any more. 

Even though I’ve been here a few years now, it was thanks to lockdown and Covid, as in almost every country around the world, I imagine, that we all got to know each other better.  Now it’s more like one for all and all for one. Sometimes, they forget I’m a foreigner and a stranger in town. 

I’ll give you a perfect example and funny story. I asked my neighbour’s daughter to read the Spanish version of blog 1; just to make sure it was comprehensible in Spanish. She read through it and corrected my improper use of the tildes (Spanish accents) and then looked at me, tutted, and said: “Ay Ay Ay, the accents, the accents, they are the basics we learn as children in school. I remember them from school!” and then she sang a little ditty children use to remember them by. I felt like I’d just had an invisible hand slap from a younger sister acting like an older sister!  I looked at her completely bewildered and in a humorously indignant voice, I retorted in my best Spanish: “You do remember I’m a foreigner, right? I think you need to remember I’m a foreigner!” 

She looked at me, starting chuckling and nodding her head, up and down, she said: “Ah si, yeah, true, true.” At that point we both chuckled like two school kids. 

The icing on the cake that really warmed my heart was, when my neighbour’s daughter had to leave for 20 minutes , her mother carried her portable deck chair up the street and sat with me until her daughter came back. It was obvious she just wanted to keep me company, because she got up and left as soon as her daughter came back.  

I’m sure that everywhere around the world, new friendships, a rekindling of community and new bonds have been forged thanks to lockdown. I hope we don’t lose it by going back to being the same pre-covid hermits we were before. I know that some of us have jobs that demand a lot of time and I understand that life gets faster and faster but I hope we still hold on to a little of the slowness Covid gave us; for our own well-being and health, and for one another. 

Jimena de la Frontera is the perfect place to slow down and savour each day as it comes; enjoying good food, spectacular surroundings and above all - good people - especially when they show up to celebrate your birthday with you!