I have lived in Granada for the past almost three months, and it’s a city I never expected to fall in love with so deeply. I can’t recall another time when I arrived somewhere new and felt so incredibly comfortable within just a few days!
Initially, I was nervous that I wouldn’t like the city. Having lived in Germany for a year and traveled to 12 European countries, I found that many European cultures felt much colder than what I was used to in the United States. Coming from my small town in Washington state, where strangers smile at you on the street, the baristas ask how your day is and, I mean, even the local funeral home even told me have a good day after picking up my dad’s ashes–I was surprised to discover that in nearly every place I went to in Europe, social customs were different from what I was used to in the United States.
My “Hellos” or “Good mornings” to the people I met on first arriving in Europe were greeted with twisted faces. Don’t expect the local baker to ask you how your day’s going. Only knowing each other personally would justify such a conversation. Small talk was taboo. Everything was a quick transaction. Because of that, I was nervous about moving to another European city, fearing I’d have to suppress my personality again.
