Reanna read it First Impressions
Having
been invited to blog for MyNerja.com, and this being my first effort, I’m
naturally anxious to create a good impression. They’ve
asked me because apparently I’m known for my use of words, which may be a
back-handed compliment meaning “you talk so much we’re giving you the chance to
bore a wider audience”. Thanks!
First
impressions are important; think of the first time you arrived in Nerja. As a
relative newcomer in the grand scheme of things I remember what mine were and I, like you, have
augmented them since.
When
I first came I stood back and watched. People were friendly; whilst that is not
the same as being friends – that takes a bit longer - you probably met some quite
soon who did turn into true friends. It’s easier to meet new people in an
outdoor culture where bars, cafes and outdoor places are full of people TALKING
and it is entirely normal and generally safe to speak to strangers. It’s a bit
of a native habit for the ex pat Brits to interrogate everyone they meet for
the first time, although some of my international friends find this annoying
and intrusive rather than evidence of genuine curiosity, the need to compare
notes and establish common territory. It also seems to be a national Spanish,
or at least local, pastime to chat as often as possible (and sometimes as
loudly as possible). Here, people have the time and the inclination.
It’s
a small town and the ex pat community consists of different nationalities who
frequently and happily overlap, preventing the partitioning which can easily
keep the community divided. But it’s also a bit like a goldfish bowl - to start
with you are on the outside looking in, probably wanting to be in, although once
you are, you can then feel all too publicly visible to the others staring in at
YOU – I bet you all felt invisible when you first arrived. I did until it
dawned on me with surprise that if I was noticing people in the streets without
knowing them, then it must also be happening to me!
Nerja
as a place seems to cast an immediate spell. In my limited experience as an
interrogator of new acquaintances in Nerja (my excuse is a genuine interest in
people’s lives and backgrounds) it’s difficult to find anyone here who doesn’t
like the place. Fair enough, if you DIDN’T like the place you wouldn’t still be
here, so naturally nearly everyone you meet here says how great it is. But I’m
inclined to think that there is a higher proportion of people here who were
entirely and immediately smitten by the place, compared to other places with ex
pat communities.
That
people want to be here, and made a positive choice to be, is not only
encouraging to newcomers but surely makes a happier and more contented place to
live. Sometimes first impressions really do last.
More next time, if I made the right impression……