Through the Eyes of a Child...

Charming article in the Olive Press by Queenie Molly Argent.  And very well written for an 11-year-old:

'WHEN I was four I moved from London to a little village in Andalucia called Zuheros. We just moved to Marbella and I am going to tell you how the two parts of Andalucia are so different….

Zuheros is a very old village and Marbella is posh and new. My house there was very old and was falling down but it was the biggest house I had ever lived in. The house where I live now isn’t as big but very posh.

The cars in Zuheros are small and cheap and the cars in Marbella are big and expensive.

When I first came to Puerto Banus I saw Ferraris, Porsches and other cool cars but in Zuheros there were just Renaults, Seats and boring cars like ours. When me and my brothers see a Ferrari or a Lamborghini we go mad.

My friends in Marbella are from lots of different countries but my friends from Zuheros are all Spanish. A lot of English people don’t speak Spanish here. When I first came to Andalucia I couldn’t say anything. It was scary but I learnt it really quickly.

I could go out on my own in Zuheros. Everybody knew me. Now my mum has to drive me everywhere because there are more funny people around. Also, I was special there because I was the English girl, ‘La Rubia’ with blue eyes but here I’m not so special because there’s lots of other people like that.

It snowed in Zuheros. It never snows here.

My Daddy lives in the village. Now he’s far away. He’s the best thing about Zuheros. And our cat, Bob.

People say Hola in the street in Zuheros, even if they don’t know you. In Marbella if you say Hola to people they ignore you or look at you funny.

We had fruit trees growing in our garden in Zuheros, like figs and pomegranates and lots of walnuts. Now we’ve only got a Bonsai tree and it’s dying.

So, that’s how different two places can be so in Andalucia. Which one do you like best?'

http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2012/04/05/opx-writing-competition-winner-queenie-molly-argent-11-and-under/

It is , & quite sad  as well.

Great article suzie, and like you say, very charming and well written.

I'm not sure if it sad though.  It just reflects the extreme differences between the old and new Spain.

Remember she originally moved from London to Zuheors which although lovely, is a world away from major city life.

I think many expat kids in Spain today grow up as "international children".  Our kids have Spanish, English, German, Italian, etc, friends all communicating in English and Spanish.  I just hope they don't end up as wasters after all of this!!

 I don't know whether it's just me, but the one thing I noticed was "My Daddy lives in the village.  Now he's far away."  That struck me as very sad, and I wondered whether her parents have split up?

Sue

A very well written article by an 11 year old, well done it was a lovely read.  And she captured the essence of life in these two very different places.  I feel sorry that her parents decided to move to Marbella where this little girl will obviously not thrive so well. 

 Its not clear why she moved to Marbella but it was obviously a big move and emotional too. Time tebnds to change theway children feel about adpting. Its very tough on kids when parents seperate if reading between the lines indicates this.

The comnplexity of Marbella life will add a huge dimension to the life of any teenager and thisexperience will help her decide in her own adulthood whethewr she is a country girl or a 'jet setter' at heart.

I do hope she can see her Dad often as I know how sad it is to not see my own kids asa much as I would really like.

She's a good writer -