Dessert. Usually, in America, when we have dessert after dinner, it usually consists of ice cream, cookies, or cake. Here, they ask if I want a pear or yogurt. Everyone likes their yogurt here in Spain.
Dogs. Um, I don't think there are leash laws here in San Sebastian. You walk along the river and there are people walking around along with what looks like stray dogs. Then you realize the dogs have an owner. I like to play the "Who do I think is the owner of this dog" game. Even though the dogs wander pretty aimlessly, they are very well behaved and usually stay with their owner. A street could be very crowded and the dog will be 30 feet in front of its owner, but the dog will never leave them. I like watching the owners occasionally throw a ball or something ahead of their walking path, the dog chases it, picks it up in its mouth, then stands there, as if frozen in place, looking back at the owner waiting for her to approach the dog and re-throw the ball. Or the dog will wander ahead (again, about 30 feet) and if the owner wants to "reel" them in, they quietly whistle or say the dog's name and the dog surprisingly comes running back to the owner. Oh, and what's also different here is that dogs are allowed to relieve themselves anywhere on the streets, or so it seems.
Seating at restaurants. In Spain, apparently you pay different prices depending on where you sit. The prices, from lowest to highest, are at the bar, at a table inside, and a table outside. You can pay up to a 20% "tax" for sitting outside on the patio of a restaurant, just because it's nicer. Therefore, if you are eating alone, the best deal is at the bar since you pay practically nothing.
Eye contact and smiling. I was told this before I came here that people don't make eye contact or smile much. It's still hard not to do so. When you are walking around Chicago, or especially in the suburbs, one usually smiles at a stranger if they cross paths on the sidewalk. Here, if you make eye contact with someone, especially if it is a girl to a guy, the guy will most definitely start hitting on you/approach you to hit on you. It's so weird to completely ignore people, like last night when I was walking home, I'd have my head up looking straight, and if I briefly glanced at a guy walking with some friends, he'd start curving his walking path toward me unless I'd look straight again and ignore him, then he'd swerve back to his friends. It's so odd. Smiling is also pretty uncommon, and it's more "come hither" than eye contact, again when it is a girl to a guy. People walking down the sidewalk stoicly walk past one another looking straight ahead. Unless they think you are an American (if you talk to your friends in English) then Spaniards staring at you is highly acceptable.
Milk. I am pretty sure they don't have 1% or 2% milk. Therefore, I am dying a bit inside. I can't drink a half gallon at each meal like I do at home. I think it's whole milk, which I don't mind in cereal since the cereal's flavor takes over. And it's also weird because when you go to the grocery store, all the milk is packaged in what looks like large juice boxes...and they are in the store on the shelves. That's right...at room temperature. It's a little disconcerting. My family keeps it in the fridge after opening, though.
Mayonnaise. This seems to be really popular on burgers here, just as normal as tomatoes and lettuce. Of the 4 times I've had a burger here, I've had mayo on the burger.
Open beer laws. In America, it is illegal to have open liquor on public property (in most places). i.e: you cannot carry a 6pack in one hand and an open Heineken in the other while walking down Michigan Avenue. Here, that is not the case, as tested by my friends. This was especially not the case in Madrid, where we'd walk in a group of 15 or 20 people and I'm pretty sure half or more would have a bottle of Heineken, wine, or beer in their hands. Last night while we were walking around, Angela was a bit nervous anytime she'd drink from one of the boys' bottles, but we literally walked 4 feet away from 6 or 7 cops througout the night who stared at us and said nothing.
Here's Luke and Bo when we were walking to a club last night, Luke demonstrating the open beer law perfectly.
Efficiency. I feel like Spain is just a more efficient area in general compared to the US. EVERY apartment building I've been in since I have been here has either motion sensor lights or lights you must turn on when you enter the halls. Therefore, when you walk into the lobby of my apartment, it's pitch black unless you switch on the light. At the hotel in San Sebastian, you had to crazily wave your arms around in the staircase and each floor's elevator lobby to turn on the lights. It was creepier/cool on the staircases there because you'd run down the stairs in darkness, and the more you progressed, the more lights would go on. It was cool. At the Madrid hotel, you had to stick your hotel key in the light switch to turn it on. No key, no lights. It helped I guess to not leave your key in the room. It sucked a little though, because the heating was also attached to this key mechanism and we couldn't warm up the room while we were away, so we'd return after being in 38 degree weather to a 50 degree room. The cars here are also very small, so I guess that would fit into the efficiency aspect as well.
Above: The lightswitch at the Madrid hotel. Slide the key into the top, press the giant square below to turn on.
Below: Katie's and my room at the Madrid hotel, Hotel Regina.
Above: Tiny car on the tarmak of the Madrid airport
Cigarette Warnings. In Spain, the cigarette warnings are similar to those in the US: very small and vague. In Heathrow airport, however, I had a chance to see the British cigarette warnings, which were quite specific as far as what cigarettes can do, and the size of the warning increased with the size of the box. They seriously don't want people to smoke there. Then you go to the Madrid airport and they have an impractical "smoking room" with open ceiling and no doors...so the smoke would just dissipate into the rest of the airport. As far as being effective, they were close, but no cigar. (get it?!)
(the two above) Smoking warnings on cigarette boxes in the Heathrow airport.(below) The smoking "lounge" at the madrid airport.
The big year. In the US, the 16th birthday and 21st birthday are HUGE, but here in Spain, number 18 is the biggest, since it is somewhat of a combo of both. At 18 here, you can drive, buy cigarettes, drink, carry liquor on the streets, etc etc. Also, you know how in America, the underage kids sneaking into bars are around 18-20 since the age is 21 to drink? Well, since it's so low here in Spain, the kids sneaking into bars are as young as 14.
Curfew. There is no legally set curfew here in Spain, but instead it is set by the individual families. The 15 year old daughter I live with is allowed to go out whenever she wants, since she's pretty well-behaved. Last night, for example, she stayed out on a Saturday until 4am. But that's not that unusual as I will explain next...
Time. People always say "oh the Europeans like to be late to everything, blah blah blah." I haven't quite experienced that as I have experienced the times people are out. Here's how it is in Chicago, for example.
11am-1:00pm normal chunk of time for lunch
4:30-8pm normal chunk of time for dinner
7-midnight normal chunk of time for Going out/party time
In Spain, however, this is waaaaay different.
1-3:30pm normal chunk of time for lunch
8-10pm normal chunk of time for dinner
11pm-6am normal chunk of time to go out/party
Therefore, when we leave my friends' apartment at midnight to just begin going out, it's just getting started. The streets by the bars are DEAD from 9-11pm, usually. The places are usually hopping at 1am. I don't think they even have happy hour here.
Oh, and time here is written in military time (aka, the store opens at 16:00!) But the people say it normal ("hey, the store opens up at 4pm!) It's a little inconsistent.
Above: Here's a picture I took while walking the streets in Madrid at 1am. This is how packed it was.Below: a picture of last night at midnight outside the club my friends went to.
PDA/Couples. In Chicago, you'll see couples linking arms or holding hands on the street, occasionally pecking kisses while waiting to cross the street. It's also common to see a guy and a girl walking and it is a possibility that they are only friends. Here, anytime you see a boy and a girl walking, it is GUARANTEED they are a couple. And they have their arms around eachothers' waists, and they will walk 5 or 6 steps and full on make out beside a store front. And no one looks twice. Yesterday I saw a couple walking, then they stopped, the man dipped the woman down and gave her a big kiss on the lips. It's pretty intense.
Buses. I don't know what they are in Chicago for the CTA, but the public buses here are Mercees-Benz brand.
I had to take a picture of this since I always take the #147 bus in Chicago to get to class...and here is one right in Madrid! I am not sure if the Madrid buses were Mercedes, but the ones in SS most definitely are.Keyboards. Katie and I had the hardest time figuring out how to type the @ symbol at an internet cafe in Madrid. Plus the extra buttons were everywhere. And notice the extra letter by the L.
Motorcycles/vespas. There are two differences. In Chicago, I'd say 95% of motorcycle drivers are men, and they usually only ride them when the weather is super nice. Here, it's raining/snowing/sleeting and people are riding around on two wheelers. Also, I've seen a lot of women riding. I wouldn't say it's 50/50, since there are still more men, but I'd say it's more like 60/40 men/women.
Above: Spaniards on their vespas, making their own lane of traffic in Madrid.
Here's Angela and Katie on a motorcycle parked on the street. Katie wanted to look like she rented one, so she hopped on, then I took the picture and they jumped off and we ran, fearing the owner would see us.
No comments:
Post a Comment