Big city or small town?

I was living in Seville since 2 December last year until 15 April 2006 when I moved to Barcelona. I do not know the statistics but needless to say Barcelona is much bigger than Seville.

I was relieved when I moved to Barcelona. No offence to Seville, I love the city and the people – even my family in Barcelona said that I am in love with Seville (I am). Nevertheless, somehow I felt like I was breathing fresh air when I arrived in Barcelona. I supposed my friend was right when he said you can take the girl out of a city but you cannot take the city out of a girl.

True, until this long weekend. I went to a village where my family had a small hut. There was practically nothing to do except to read, to chat with one another or to work in the garden or on the new house. Almost all of the family members were there. We had a barbeque. I sat with the family’s dog watching the sun set.

I stayed there for four days and I felt fine. In fact, I think this has been my best time in Barcelona – closely matched by the dinner I had with a friend. So simple. So not “big city”.

So which do I like most? I am puzzled. My temporary conclusion: I need the liberty to move between city and smaller town or nature. It is like when we swim, we need to take our head out of the water to breathe.

This leads me to wonder: Why do I need to move so often? Why do I need to move to take a deep breath? Why can I not be comfortable in just one place? When will I settle down? Will I ever? Do I need to?

Who am I kidding? I guess deep down I must admit that I am still far from the true peace that I have been searching for.


PS: And I miss my country – my family, my friends and the FOOD.