THIS IS MY COOL WAY!

Hi there!

Believe it or not, I've already been in Spain for 2 1/2 weeks. Wooooaaaaah. It feels like a rather long time. In fact, I'm starting to forget the things that surprised me at first. But no worries: my plan is to record those hilarious differences right here, right now.

First of all, you've heard, I'm sure, about the different schedule of eating here in Spain. Spaniards generally don't eat breakfast, or only a bit (like a cup of coffee and a piece of toast), have a small snack around 11, eat their big meal, as we call it on Victoria Drive in Alabama, around 3:30, and dinner is both small and very late. We're talking 9:30-10:30 p.m. late. Though I love eating the biggest meal during the day instead of the evening, the other details are a bit, urm, difficult to get accustomed to. Ellie and I decided we needed snacks during our break at school. We took matters into our own hands at our local "Día," a piggly-wiggly esk store here. The problem: Spaniards seem to prefer one of three types of snacks: 1.) cookies 2.) something very fried, like cheetos, or 3.) fruit, which must be refrigerated. Needless to say, Ellie and I left a bit disappointed with 2 rolls of cookies, some melba toast-like crackers, and a jar of nutella. Morning break, bring it on. I'm still getting pretty hungry in between each meal. The biggest surprise, though: I've grown to genuinely enjoy our breakfast of green tea, some melon, and white bread toast with butter. A week ago, I didn't know just how many more pieces of plain white bread I could down. ;)

Secondly, I've already tried to insert random Spanish words in this post about 15 times. It's true: Spanglish is now the only language I speak fluently. "¡Qué guay!" you may think! (how cool!) but no. Think twice. Only the other crazies studying Spanish with me can actually understand my sub-fluent mode of communication right now. Ha! I'm hoping to be semi-competent in both languages by the time all is said and done. And here's the silver lining to this problem: Today at lunch, I successfully talked with our host about last summer. Yes that's right--I used the past tense. Believe me, this is an improvement! 3 cheers!

Next, the sleeping schedule of Spaniards surprised me. It is quite normal to stay out until 3 in the morning, but then go to work the next morning at 8...everyday. "HOW?" you must be thinking. Well, they really use that siesta. They store up in the afternoon to fuel the late night excursions and to power their way straight through the next morning. Wow. I'm not capable of that currently. That being said, Ellie read and article that said Spaniards get the least amount of sleep of any Europeans. I believe it entirely.

Another random surprise: there is little awareness of one's personal space here, or more specifically, of when to yield to allow another person to pass. On the street, people will walk STRAIGHT into you without batting an eye. I haven't been able to shed this part of my American-ism either, and I find myself darting around on the street to avoid what I assume will be collisions in a matter of seconds. And in stores? I'm mildly offended rather often by the brisk bumps I receive in tight spaces. The attitude seems to be, "Why wait? If I push, I'll get where I need to go! Who cares where that girl's going!" Ooh, so funny.

And one of the most fascinating things: dogs don't bark here. They really don't! In fact, this is so fascinating that I think my life might have new direction. I could study what causes this startling difference between Spanish, urban dogs and American, suburban dogs. My own sweet dog, Pepper, makes up for his small size with an inability to pass another dog without releasing at least 5 boisterous barks as we yank him past the other dog with a bit of embarrassment. Just think. If we could isolate the cause of this difference, neighborly quarrels all across the American south could be significantly diminished for good. (!) I'll try to keep you up to date with the details on this fascinating reality of life in Spain.

Next, something I'd been warned about. Waiters here will never bring you the check. Never. You must not only yell or speak up forcefully, but normally you must raise a hand as well. It's only after two weeks that this extreme people pleaser, yours truly, has become comfortable with this practice. If you think, "Oh, he/she is probably just busy, they'll be back soon," you'd better not have any plans for the next hour or two. ;)

What else? Oh yes, the title. It's very amusing to see how English phrases are used in retail here. "THIS IS MY COOL WAY!" is in fact a shoe brand I saw while shopping on the primary retail street here in Sevilla. I couldn't keep back the laughter for long. Along with this, we've also seen a dazzling t-shirt with this inspiring and hip message, "ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC." Soooo american it's not even funny! I own 2 shirts like that back home! Don't you?

Those are all of the differences I can think of for now, but I'm sure this will be continued. As a bonus, I included a picture of my friends and I at a lovely museum that was a home for retired monks in its past. We got to see it for free, and it was lovely! "El Hospital de los Venerables," it's called. I'll have to include more pictures soon. (Including pictures I took of our future apartment!) :D

Until then, think on this: what is your cool way?