Irish culture continued to influence me heavily through my final semesters in college. I kept up with my sister regularly, and obviously heard stories about what she and her roommate were doing in Spain; going to clubs, going to shows, doing stuff that girls in their early 20s tend to do.
It would be another four years before I would finally get to meet Stephanie. Meanwhile, I graduated college, my sister got engaged, my friend Pablo moved to Valencia (and became Stephanie's roommate, no less), and eventually Stephanie married a Spaniard, and my sister married her fiancé. Finally, in 1995, I went across to Valencia to see my sister, and meet Stephanie and her husband.
Meeting friends of your siblings is fairly routine, especially if you are pretty close, as I am with my sister. But, as much as I enjoyed the evening out with Stephanie and her husband, along with my sister and brother-in-law, I never expected what happened a year later.
Late 1996, I moved to Massachusetts, kind of spontaneously. Independent of my decision, Stephanie and her husband also moved to the Boston area, for Rafa's work at an accounting firm. For the next two years, we all hung out frequently. One of the best times of my life, as experiences go. What was particularly rewarding is that Stephanie, Rafa, and I became very close friends, but the fascinating point to me was that Stephanie was also a very close friend of my sister's. But, our friendships remained somewhat independent of one another, completely unconditional.
When I returned to Texas from Boston, Stephanie and Rafa returned to Europe, spending some time in Portugal and southern Spain before eventually settling in Valencia again.
And my friendship with both of them continues, for which I am very grateful.
Despite the odd conversation, text messages or emails, we did lose a little contact during the past year, up until a few months ago. One day, I had a wonderfully long overdue telephone call with Stephanie, and we talked for several hours. It was brilliant.
At one point, we traded suggestions on literature, films, or tv series that we were enjoying. Steph, who is just a couple of years older than me, mentioned a funny show that she had seen, called "Derry Girls."
She went on to say that she could connect with the show, even though the characters (high school aged girls growing up in the late 90s) were from the generation after ours.
I decided to check the show out, and immediately understood what she meant. I could not stop laughing; I found the complete series simply fantastic.
The show is set in Northern Ireland and is about the experiences of the characters at a girls high school. An English male cousin of one of the girls also attends the school, for strategic reasons (related to the plot), and this obviously has great comedic effect. Each of the girls has her own character, one is overly sarcastic, one is the wild child, another is very eccentric. Most everyone can personally relate to similar experiences with friends, whether from school or wherever.
In one of the most heart warming moments of the series, the male cousin has to return to England. Despite the constant hard times he gets from everyone, especially from the girls, they are all devastated by his departure. In a charming scene, the girls are standing glumly in a crowd of people gathered to hear Bill Clinton speak, when suddenly the guy returns, proudly exclaiming, "I belong here. I am staying. I am a Derry Girl!"
I was reminded of what it is like to be a Derry Girl this past week when I met up with some friends at the pub as part of the Wednesday routine. A group of mainly women have met up together each week for the past several years. I have always greeted them while at the pub, but this summer started to join them at their table. Several of them are former colleagues, but they (in much the same way of the OM Happy Hours from years ago) plan one evening a week to gather for a little break from the hustle and bustle of life, spouses, kids, etc.
Two of the girls I have known for several years, but in the past months have gotten to know the rest of the group. Each one brings a certain character and it has really turned into a pleasant event. One is overly sarcastic, one if always finding humor in something and just loves to laugh, one is a bit more quiet and thoughtful; the combination just works, and I look forward to my Wednesday evenings with them. The topics of conversation vary from venting about work, humorous incidents wherever they happen, current events, and of course, a bit of gossip.
In other words, just normal conversation.
There is always plenty of banter, and frequently, I get the brunt of any frustrations one of the girls might relate about my gender.
At one point this past Wednesday, one of the girls related an incident involving her husband, to which I responded, "Männer" as I rolled my eyes.
Guys can be real jerks, as we know, but all the girls appreciated my comment, as it fit perfectly into the conversation.
I, for one, always enjoy a bit of perspective, and thankfully get this opportunity each week.
In turn, the girls are equally glad that I am present; they have pretty much accepted me as one of the group. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I had to work a little later than normal, and suddenly I received a text message, "Where are you?"
About that time, I realized that I am one of the Bornheim Mädels, effectively a Derry Girl in my neighborhood.
Our antics may not be quite ready for a sitcom of its own, but we have our moments.
See you out there
Bryan
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