It is not unusual in my world here in Seville to come across great people - people who belong with the great ones that I admired when I first set out to try to find a career path. People driven by passion, that have surmounted a lot of odds, who don't talk excessively about their difficulties, but live and I would bet, won't regret it when they have to look back on their lives.

I met T first over a year ago; she was renting the studio before me (I feel that I should not use her proper name here as I have not asked her if I can tell her story on the internet and she is a private person). I liked her right away because she was really polite and respectful and seemed like a nice person. I didn't get to know her till a couple of months ago. She is leaving for Japan again on Tuesday. She will be back, though she doesn't have any idea when at this point.

There is nothing about her that is show-offy. She is short, and speaks so softly that sometimes it is hard to hear her. She has spent 6 years overall, here, back and forth.

She describes her initial decision to come here years ago as an explosion - working so hard that she didn't do anything else, and having no time for dancing - she quit and came to Spain. She doesn't dance in tablaos, nor to my knowledge, teach. She hasn't tried to rush into the limelight like so many others. It isn't easy living with very little here, when she could have been making a lot of money like she used to. When she first came, she danced 7 hours a day, and described what she did to her foot to keep herself going in spite of pain, and what she's done to help counteract sciatica.

Watching her face as she describes things, I feel like crying - not for sadness or pity, but in awe of the incredible determination of someone driven from the inside by passion and willing to do whatever it takes, with a quiet acceptance of the difficulties that entails. She totally inspires me.

Several years ago she ended up staying past her visa date, and during that time a drunk driver hit her. It took a year to get back to normal, and years later it still causes her pain. During that time she lived in fear that the police would find out and tell her to go home. As everyone who lives here long term or on and off, she still struggles under the weight of paperwork and bureaucracy.

She has passed pain and difficulty with knowing who she could trust during difficult times. But she isn't a complainer; she is always energetic and happy. She struggles with her parents' desire for her to be more stable and with the death of grandparents while away.

Anyways, thank you T; I hope to have half the valor that you do.