Her mother is surprised when, without her asking her anything, she walks into the bar and offers her a paper by hand: “Here you are, White.” She is surprised because whoever gave her the newspaper knew her mother’s name, although she has never spoken to her. We take the two cafes ordered on the bar and we put ourselves on the table. Then comes the comment my mother has made to a low volume (in Spanish): “Others who are silent in the bar will also know perfectly the time I have spent in the hospital.”

It's strange that those around us know about us, often or sometimes others who see us: our name, our profession or unemployment, our relationships, the scarcity of our body -- the surprise is universal: discovering that knowledge generates a rather strange feeling.

However, we are not surprised when we are them and when we refer to others: their name, their profession or their arrest, their relationships, their bodily scarcity… We are not surprised that others are surprised with us.

And in this transition from the old to the new year, I don't know what's most surprising to me. Amazing. Don't be surprised.