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And some Spaniards' rivalries among members of different universities
occasionally could be sensed. But on balance, openness prevailed.
In London, a number of therapists as well would refrain from saying
what colleagues of specific therapeutic convictions might find inadmis–
sible. However, they were in the minority: most of the conference pan–
elists themselves were immigrants, and have put their "marginality" to
professional ends. They are in the habit of working in their native lan–
guages to help old and new settlers probe into the personal, emotional
roots that exacerbate the humiliations and frustrations bound to face all
individuals who are dropped, for whatever reason, into totally bewil–
dering surroundings, and who have to function in a language whose
idioms they do not fully comprehend. Such therapists rely on their own
past experiences, using empathy and knowledge to facilitate the new–
comers' integration. At our conference, this multi-level understanding
bridged the cultural gaps among participants-many of whose parents
also were of "mixed" backgrounds, such as Argentine/British,
African/Hispanic, Israeli/Arab, and more.
In
"Cultura l Salamanca," it was the beauty of the town itself, its his–
toric and imposing monuments, and the organizers' focused program
that bridged our potential differences.
In
English and Spanish we were
exposed to local as well as international music, were taken to the the–
ater, and were shown the irreplaceable treasures of the ancient library
that was started, as was Salamanca University, in the year
J
21
8 (no
more than six persons at a time may enter the inner sanctum, for no
more than ten minutes, in order to maintain the proper temperature and
humidity).
The participants stayed in a sixteenth-century monastery, which had
been converted into a hotel. On our hobbled walks through town, we
passed, for instance, the Casa de las Conchas, the Pontifica University,
and the Castilla y Leon, which bear an uncanny resemblance to
medieval Italian architecture. The grandeur of the Plaza Mayor almost
seems to be a replica of Venice's Piazza San Marco. However, Salamanca
is unique, insofar as all of its buildings are constructed out of the local,
reddish-brown stone, and which overlook the lush Castilian plain. Yes,
here too, new buildings are interspersed, but these fade into the back–
ground fairly discreetly.
[ was struck, also, by the local students' eager pace to get to their
classes on time-to acquire knowledge rather than prove attendance, or
so I was told. Those among them who came to our conference seemed
to speak more than passable English, although for the most part, they
were too shy to publicly ask questions. Once again, [ reflected upon
