A good friend: Massilva (By Vanessa)

Massilva comes from Algiers the capital of the largest country in Africa. If you stare at her you will never believe that she is African. Her features like her pale skin, her little nose and her chestnut and curly long hair without yashmak it surprised me. Even though her country is becoming each day like “a prison under a blue sky” because of the Islamic religion, her origins are on the mountains of Kabili. Kabil people are a sort of Berbers, they have also their own language “amazir” and traditions. That is why she has some freedom that other girls in the same age have not in her country.  And believe me! She takes advantage of it with an enormous responsibility!

I first met her in France last year, in Nancy. She was my room neighbor and since the first time we trusted and helped each other all long of the year. We were both alone, far away from our home and our family.  For me it was a pleasure to stay there and discover a new country, for her it was the only opportunity to escape from the submission.  She was studying the first year of medicine which is much harder than in Spain, and I was studying my fifth year there doing an Erasmus exchange program. She is a true example of a woman who believes in herself and who improves and learns from everyone and everything, everyday.  She talks about her ideas in a surprising clearly way. I need to thank her because during all the year she transmitted to me her energy and I realized that I was so lucky and that life could be hard and serious but we can always find out a smile. I hardly believe that in the future she will be a wise woman.

She knows a lot about how to save money and she was always next to me to give me an advice. That was amazing because she is younger than me, despite her age she knows a lot about life maybe  because in her country was not so easy to live et survive as a woman, that is why she is so conscientious, ambitious, self-confident, cheerful, stubborn, and loyal. She spent some time in Catalonia this last summer. I loved to keep her company for these days! She stills giving to me some advices about my lifestyle, and we keep contact.  I want to discover her country too one day!

I am happy to say that she is a really good friend.