My Best Friend Is Angry with the World

I have a friend who is a genuinely good person.

A proper friend.

The kind you can count on.

We’ve been friends since we were twelve.

Now we’re fifty.

He’s in Madrid. I’m in Hong Kong.

We still talk almost every week.

And I still have a great time with him.

There’s just one thing.

The rest of humanity gets on his nerves.

Traffic.

People.

Politics.

Football.

Young people.

Older people.

Nobody gets a free pass.

And he doesn’t just say, “That’s annoying,” and move on.

No.

He’s ready for an argument.

Some people see a traffic jam.

He sees an opportunity to explain everything that’s wrong with civilisation.

Ask him how his day is going and you might get a parliamentary debate.

I only said hello, mate.

But here’s the part that matters.

He hasn’t had an easy life.

He’s worked hard.

There hasn’t been much time—or money—for going out, having fun or spending evenings with friends.

He spends more than sixteen hours a day in a taxi.

Sixteen hours.

I get annoyed when a website asks me to accept cookies twice.

So before I tell him to cheer up, perhaps I should shut up for a minute.

That doesn’t make every argument necessary.

But it gives me a reason to listen.

Towards the world, he can be negative.

Towards me, he’s been a brilliant friend.

Both things are true.

I don’t have to agree with every complaint to care about the person making it.

And after thirty-eight years of friendship, I know there’s more to him than the things that piss him off.

This week at Spanish Super Tutor, we’re talking about character, friendship and the things that get on our nerves.

¿Cómo describirías a tu mejor amigo?

How would you describe your best friend?

¿Qué cosas le molestan?

What things annoy them?

¿Se puede ser una buena persona y estar siempre enfadado?

Can you be a good person and always be angry?

Try this:

“Mi amigo es muy buen amigo, aunque se enfada con facilidad.”

My friend is a very good friend, although he gets angry easily.

Or:

“Lo que más le molesta es…”

What annoys him most is…

And one more:

“No estoy de acuerdo con él, pero entiendo por qué se siente así.”

I don’t agree with him, but I understand why he feels that way.

That last one gives us something worth talking about.

Not just describing someone.

Trying to understand them.

Learning Spanish in Hong Kong? Preparing for IGCSE or IB Spanish?

Join us at Spanish Super Tutor.

Bring your opinions.

Bring your vocabulary.

Bring a story about your best friend.

Just don’t get mine started on the traffic.