Solitude in San Sebastian, Spain

It was a time in my life where I was always in Spain and enjoyed promoting Spanish tourism. A long, complicated and arduous project concluded that week and I was in dire need of a holiday. I thought why not go to Madrid and hang out with my friend Olivia? Visit Seville and see the hometown of my spiritual adviser. It would be a good idea to meet the family of our business partners in Salamanca too. But for me? Truly, the trip for myself was visiting the Basque country, specifically San Sebastian and Bilbao. 

Then and now, I still have a split personality of being torn between food and development (I thought it was called government and politics when I was younger). Pais Vasco appealed to me on two fronts. First, my curiosity about its autonomous government and concerns about ETA - an armed nationalist separatist organization that then sought independence from Spain aside from its earlier function of just promoting Basque culture. Second, related to culture, is the food. There's tapas and then there's pintxos - the cornerstone of northern Spain's culture - differentiated from tapas because everything is held together on a spike with the bread opposed to just small plates as it is with tapas. 

So there I was after Prague, Madrid, Seville, and Salamanca, on a train by myself to Donostia-San Sebastian. It was a trip without plans except to rest and enjoy. I only had a hotel booked and didn't even arrange for transfers. Travelling solo was not novelty or cool to me. It was simply no big deal. I used to believe that if I wait for a companion to do something, I'll never get around to doing it. 

To get our geographical bearings in order, San Sebastian is a coastal city in the Basque country of Spain, about 12 miles to the French border around the Atlantic ocean. In several occasions, it took turns with Gipuzkoa as the capital.  Its iconic landmark is La Concha bay (shaped like a shell) and my hotel was right before you reached Igueldo, which was a great place to see the rest of the bay. 

I was aware San Sebastian is one of the cities with the highest concentration of Michelin stars per capita but I didn't make reservations for any. After my walking and bus tours, I just moved from one bar to another, having a pintxo or two, leaving trails of table napkins and toothpicks on the floor as it is done in Spain. Unlike Madrid, I also saw a lot of shops and bars selling bacalao (dried cod) in so many ways too. Such a pity I couldn't bring home slabs of bacalao that my mom could cook so well!

What Matters

What's your criteria for a successful life? Some measure it in monetary terms, some in prestige, some in honor and integrity, others perhaps by being of service to others. Some by raising obedient and upright children. To each his own.

Today, I listened to an elderly Spaniard who just finished a European Union project overseas as a Team Leader. Of course, to become a team leader in a specific sector and country, one must have demonstrated decades of technical and management experience. He wanted to express his availability in case a project comes up. He said he wanted to make it clear he was not retiring. 

He was so humble. He didn't even mind getting sent to Afghanistan. Anywhere, even with -35C as long as it is not Syria. He said his wife will join him anywhere as long as it is not Syria. Their kids are all grown ups so he said what matters only is his wife. And his wife loves moving around, exploring cultures, meeting people. He said it was just perfect for his job. To stress the point further, he said: 

"If the wife (relationship) is ok, the project is ok. If not, the project is not."

Simple. 

Development Cooperation

UN Secretary General speaking on the Value of Partnerships to young people 

I may or may not have written it here before but as soon as I was conscious about United Nations Day celebrations in school, I knew I wanted to work for the United Nations. I was about ten years old. At the same time, I was equally smitten by food.