Shorts

Sandra Nunez writes:
I have always been hesitant about putting my feelings in public.Kind of ironic,considering that I am a writer and I love to share my feelings with the entire world!! . But after reading so many love stories in this page, I decided I would give it a try and share,because it’s by sharing that I find joy. I made a promise to myself after reading Khaled Hoseeini’s novel,“A Thousand Splendid Suns”, that I would always follow my heart no matter how hard things on the way may turn, that I would never surrender and do what others want me to do,in other words,I promised myself to be a rebel-forever!

And that’s what I’m doing now: Living in my own personal revolution.
I spent a couple of weeks by myself in Paris last november and realized that I could not continue living in America anymore.I was losing something,a part of my identity.I was very content dwelling in the solitude of my little room in Durant Ave. but when I went to France I realized people asked me about Peru and I didn’t know half of what they knew.As soon as I went back to Berkeley, I trashed all my plans of moving to the city in January and bought a ticket back to Peru.

Three days before I left, a friend of mine talked to me about Sina and said: You will love this guy! After seeing a picture on some social network site of him standing next to a girl in Vegas I said: Hell no! A Persian guy in Vegas? Beleshkon!!!
But for some reason, we talked a little bit on msn and finally he texted me saying: We need to meet ASAP! . I was in the middle of packing and had happened to eat some sea food which caused an allergic reaction in my face! So with my messy hair and the red spots in my cheeks, I jumped on Bart and met up w him. I was late. “PST – I said. Persian Standard Time? No!- I replied. Peruvian Standard Time! And we bought laughed while looking for the address of some mexican place.

After a few tacos and some tequilas ,Sina gave me a ride back to Berkeley and for some reason I said that tonight I wasn’t gonna be a good girl again!. I grabbed a blanket from my messy room and a bottle of Shiraz and went up to the Berkeley Hills with a complete stranger . After a long talk about the stars,showing off my farsi and finishing up the wine I asked Sina to take me back home but instead of going in ,we stayed up in the car until 8 am next day talking about complete randomness. After a long nap, I woke up that same day and asked to my self: Was this real? And three minutes after my thoughts I got another text.

Three days went by like that,without sleep and infinite talks,and suddendly I found myself in the airport with a 6 month ticket to Peru saying: Shit!!!!! .But it wasn’t like I was gonna see him in 6 months when I was back in Berkeley again, to make matters worst,Sina was just visiting his family in Palo Alto,and had a ticket back to China for the first week of January!

Oh well, I said. I guess I will just find some South American guy who will make me forget and with whom I’ll spend summer with.
New Year came and all I could think of was Sina. How in the world am I here with my family members and a thousand of gorgeous guys in a huge party and all I can think of is some stranger?

Unfortunately,no one had a cel phone, so I waited until we went back home,and at 6 am I called Sina to wish him a Happy New Year. Two weeks after,he was lying on my same bed in Lima. My family thought I was crazy to travel around Peru with a guy who didn’t even speak their language! I am the only girl ,raised by grandparents and 4 other uncles, so you can imagine how jealous and worried they were. I couldn’t help it, I had to listen to my heart and a week after Sina came we were on a bus with our backpacks exploring my own country.

From the Andes, to Arequipa to hiking 4200 mts. (Salkantay) and walking six days from Cuzco to get to Macchu Picchu, from having dinner with my grandparents and having our own private beach right between Peru and Ecuador, I spent the most amazing five weeks of my life with the most amazing person.
I fell in love with his compassion,with the way he looks at people,with his humbleness and peace. I fell in love with every single eyelash,with the smell of his essence in my pillow, with the little boy inside of him that comes out when he hasn’t had enough to eat.

I fell in love with his hands holding a camera, capturing those little kids ‘eyes in the middle of the Andes, with the way he holds a pen and stops to think before he writes,with our farsi-spanish conversations,with the way he talks about his mother. I fell in love with him. And i didn’t go back to Berkeley. I bought a two month ticket to China but instead I just stayed. Now we have a place in the middle of a crazy city with a crazy cat and three small turtles whom sole purpose is to try to escape. I am in love with Sina as I’m in love with the life we have started to build.

My family keeps wondering how in the world I make such crazy choices and haven’t got burned yet. I just reply : “Well you know that lil voice in your heart? It has some cool stuff to say most of the time.” They smile and I smile with them. Sina has also become part of them.