This past Friday I had to go to the Museum of Flamenco Dancing for the class I'm in right now. I forgot to coordinate a time to go with people so I had to go by myself before class. Which wasn't a big deal. The museum was actually really cool. It was divided into 5 rooms, each with a topic, and the lighting was really dark and there were spotlights on the important things they had on display. Well once I was in the first room this older man (I'd guess 60s') approached me and asked if I was with CIEE, and explained that his name was Joaquín and he worked for the museum and if I needed anything at all he would be there to assist me. I was like alright thanks nice to meet you ect. then I continued taking notes and everything. I went through the second room and didn't see him, and there were a few other people in this room too. Once I went to the third room, however, things changed. The third room was about the different flamenco outfits throughout history and it had all original outfits on display and it was really cool. I was looking at a dress when in walked Joaquín. We exchanged the customary greeting kisses and then he started asking me what I thought of everything. After talking for a couple minutes he started showering me with complements. He told me I spoke Spanish really well, I had great handwriting (yeah, he really said that), he was honored that I showed so much interest in his culture, etc etc etc. Up to this point I was just thinking, alright he's just a really friendly nice man.
Well then he took me over to this outfit that was interactive, so you could put it on and take a picture. He was like here put these on and I'll take a picture so you'll have something to remember your trip to the museum. And he "helped me" put the shawl on. Then right when he went to take the picture he was like, Wow you're really pretty. Really pretty. And I was like what the heck, too many complements. This is getting weird: hence the, this is weird but I'll try to be nice look on my face in the picture. Oh, also there was nobody else in this room, just him and me. So then he came over to me to show me the picture and he leaned in and asked if I was going to send it to my boyfriend since it's so pretty. And I was like Yessir I am definitely sending this picture to my boyfriend whom I love with all my heart. Cause what the heck you know? I'm not about to tell the extra-friendly old guy who's currently too close for comfort that I'm single.
Well then he just went on this long tangent about how Spain is a very different country than the US and there are many handsome young men, and you never know when life is going to hit you and you'll fall in love so I should have an opened mind etc etc etc. And while he was saying this he has his hand on my back and he was leaning in towards my face and the whole thing just creeped me out. So I said "no me interesa" which means "I'm not interested" cause I was trying to send a message. This only made him more insistent in the fact that I needed to have an opened mind and fall in love with a Spaniard.
So at this point I was like alright I'm going to try to take this conversation to the next room because maybe other people will be in there. Bad idea. The next room was even darker, and still empty. And there was this bench in there and he sat down and had me sit down next to him and he told me this story about the passion of flamenco.
When he finally left me I just got up and walked out of the museum. Maybe I was taking things too far, but I was thoroughly creeped out by how interested he was in my love life and how friendly he was.
Moral of the story: the US has nothing on Spaniards when it comes to acceptable age differences in relationships.
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