Meet Saber

Saber and I became friends easily -- minus the first three days when I thought he was full of nonsense. We met the night I returned to Sevilla from Tenerife, and the gang was all clustered by the river eating fried food out of greasy bags and watching the Semana Santa parades. Saber, being from Morocco has an extensive knowledge of languages, and English was one of them. This fact alone made him a potential new friend. However, when he told me he loved Indian films but had never even HEARD OF Slum Dog Millionaire, I thought he was a dork that would say anything to get to know a lady. He asked me to write down the name of the movie, as well as my phone number, but even then I thought he was more focused on the second bit of information.

Two days later, when Eline and I were shopping in his shop in Barrio de Santa Cruz, he thanked me for recommending such a well-written and amazing film. I ask him what he is talking about and sure enough, the night after the parades he went home, downloaded it and watched it. This bit immediately got my attention, and I decided Saber was okay after all. When he offered Eline and I wooden rings from his shop as a token of friendship, I knew he was going to be my friend. And then when he told me he had wanted to call me last night but wanted to make sure it was okay and then ASKED if he could call me, well, Mr. Saber was just racking up all kinds of points.

Like I said, Saber is Moroccan. He claims to speak 5 languages (Moroccan, Arabic, Spanish, English and French) however, in the days that I spent with him I would wander into his shop and he would be speaking Italian or German as well. This guy really has a way with words.

As a result of being multi-lingual, his accent is bizarre. Slightly British, slightly Spanish, slightly something else... I seriously could listen to him talk all day, and somedays I would. I loved the way "amazing" became a 4-syllabel word. How "beautiful" seemed like the most exotic state of existence. How "really?" seemed like he was really interested. But my favorite was that as long as I was his guest he never referred to his apartment as "my house" but "the house" as he claimed it was my home too.

He is one of the few people I met in Sevilla who actually had a job. He ran a shop of imported goods from Morocco in Barrio de Santa Cruz, and worked there every day except Sunday.

Like all Sevillians, he is warm and friendly, with a happy-go-lucky outlook on life. He laughs a lot, smiles more, and is always polite and mannerly. He can handle issues without getting flustered, and is friends with everyone. He is wise beyond his years, and yet can still party like he was 25. He smokes at least a pack of cigarettes a day, and drinks beer with every meal afternoon, and loves "beefeater and tonica" after midnight.

The last few days I spent in Sevilla, he was my translator, my Mr. Fix-it, my fashion advisor and my friend. When I think back on Sevilla, he will always be the "S" I hear as the city rolls off my lips. Saber is one of the most fascinating people I have ever met, a true rockstar, and getting to know him was one of the greatest pleasures of my travels.