My Favorite Picture

I know I haven't blogged in a while! Eek, the internet in our house has been down so it's been difficult to get online. I will work on updating you all on the past week or so, my trip to Santander, etc but today I wanted to share this picture with you. It is by far my favorite picture I have taken on this trip.

There are a couple things in Spain that are just cuter than they are in America…puppies, babies, and old people (with the exception of Queistie, Carolyn, Nanny, Popo, and Grammery...obviously no one can top them!). This picture was taken in the middle of the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca during the afternoon. The Plaza is always crowded in the afternoon, filled with the hustle and bustle of children, students, businessmen, best friends, lovers, families, and my personal favorite, the old people. The man in this picture has a little scooter-walker (you know the ones that double as a walker and a wheel chair) and he was just putsing around the Plaza taking it all in.

I watched him as he slowly crept forward, stopped, and would look right and left, smile and continue moving slower than a tortoise. Then after he moved about 20 feet, he just stopped right in the middle of the street and sat down on his little scooter. I wish I could have captured the moment better but there was so much life going on around him and he sat down right in the middle of it just to observe. This picture is very descriptive of the old people here. Everyday they go out for a walk and then will sit on benches all over the city to take life in. This little guy sat on his scooter for probably a half an hour, resting and enjoying the life all around him. Afterwards he stood up and continued forward, inch-by-inch, stopping every few seconds to appreciate all that surrounded him.

I think one of the best parts of traveling and living somewhere different is the novelty of everyday life experiences. I am sure there are plenty of darling old people in Indianapolis breathing in every second of life with gratitude and appreciation. But at home I am sure I rush by, not noticing the simplistic beauty around me, just as many Spaniards rushed past this old man, some even annoyed that he had hunkered down right in the middle of the street. Traveling and being somewhere new where everything is different allows us the opportunity to experience boring, everyday things for the first time. To be in a position where nothing is familiar is one of the greatest gifts of travel. You are able to truly appreciate the charm, beauty, and life that exists all over the world.