Weeeeee!!!
And I am down the rabbit hole of vacationing, dancing and staying out way past my US bedtime.
Last night was so fun… and so intimidating. I had some good dances but also was feeling shy. There were so many amazing dancers, both leads and follows. I had to keep reminding myself - even today - that this is the epicenter of Bachata Sensual so it is to be expected that dancers are on a whole other level. What a cool experience though to be able to have some good dances and have a great night. Next fun bachata event is Wednesday, my rust is off and I can’t wait.
Checked out Park Guell and a Flamenco show tonight at Palau de la Musica. Both exceeded my expectations. On the walk home, the sky was so beautiful, there was a violin player by the cathedral and I ended up on a pub crawl with one of my friends from the states. What was meant to be an early night ended up another dance night. Oops!
This same friend and I had espresso today and had an interesting conversation about extroversion vs introversion. He described an extrovert as a person who interrupts when you are speaking and immediately turns the conversation to themselves. In contrast, an introvert wants to hear the whole story and will also remember what you said in the future. In his opinion, the extrovert doesn’t remember because they are more interested in sharing their own story. We both shared how we feel exhausted when talking to these kind of people who are focused only on themselves because when they “steal the show” and don’t let us finish, it is work to finish our conversation after they have just talked about themselves for 10 minutes. I feel this too. In fact, there have been times where I realized it is not worth the effort to try and finish what I was saying and I will just let things be. This ultimately leaves me feeling unheard and short-changed but this is the difference between the friends I feel truly connected with vs not. My besties listen, stay on topic and let me finish what I have to say. It is the most freeing experience in the world when I feel truly listened to. I spent 2+ years in a relationship with someone who interrupted me constantly to talk about themselves, and at the end of the relationship, I felt so exhausted and like I had given up who I was since it was too much work to constantly be trying to finish what I said or what I wanted to express.
Whether this is a differentiating fact about extroverts vs introverts, all I know is that in a world where everyone is hustling and bustling, when you find someone who really listens and “gets” you, hold them close. It is rare. And special. And will make you feel like you can conquer the world vs. like you would be better off hiding from the world. Pay attention to how you feel in another person’s company. That shit matters. And if you don’t feel good, next!