First week!
I made it! Spain. At this point, I am starting to grow a little more used to feeling like a fool when I arrive in a new country. I am doing just as many dumb things, but that embarrassing feeling is more familiar now, which has in a way been comforting as I adapt to Spanish life.
I just heard in a great movie called L’auberge Espagnole (about a French guy who moves to Barcelona — I find it incredibly relatable to my exerpiences right now) — that our most horrific experiences are the oddly the ones we most enjoy telling. I think that is so true. I was a little horrified when I held up the line on the bus because I didn’t know why my transportation card wasn’t working and still couldn’t count out 3 euros in coins. But I’m already laughing about it now. What else can you do? Every country has so many unspoken rules.
For example, in Spain, you’re not allowed to sit outside in some areas during lunch unless you actually order lunch.
If you go to the famous chocolatería and order churros and the waiter asks you if you want chocolate, he doesn’t mean chocolate caliente as one would presume. He means melted chocolate, which is essential for your churro. Get the chocolate!
Vino de verano is not a summer wine — it is wine with 7up, and everyone in Spain drinks it even though it’s gross.
Madrileños all walk at different paces and no matter what pace you walk, someone will be angry that you are walking too slow or too fast.
And my favorite: There is a specific direction to walk upon entering the grocery store.
For those who haven’t yet been to Spain yet, though, I would say most of the things I have heard are true. Spaniards do indeed eat lunch at 2 p.m. and everything else closes down in the afternoon. They eat late at night (my airbnb host eats at 11) and sleep even later. I caught the metro this morning at 7 30 and you would have thought it was 5 a.m. ... No one was out! The sun was down and I finally started to understand the schedule here.
The transportation system is amazing, metros and trains and buses — everything I could ever ask for — and they are all clean and on time. There are bustling squares on every corner with outdoor cafes and everyone drinks beer starting around noon. I was definitely meant to live here.
I am staying in an AirBnb with a girl named Vanessa in her little apartment for now, near the center of town, until I find a place to live permanently. I am hoping to live close to the center as well, but my pay is pretty limiting for what I can afford (not that I can complain — I work a whopping 16 hours a week, with a guranteed three-day weekend. Not complaining.)
Vanessa is, how you say, funny ... honestly she is a little bit spacey but in a lovable way. She bought me a bottle of wine and a cake when I arrived at her house from London on my birthday, and she helped me figure out how to get to school on my first day. She is from the Canary Islands.
I went to school my first day today and found out that I was reassigned schools, so I still have yet to report on what it’s like, although I can already tell it’s going to be a lot different from Colombia. Not in a bad way! But certainly in a more organized, less noisy fashion.
In a way, that might be how I describe Spaniards so far. I can’t help but compare everything to Colombia, where there was mad chaos at every hour of the day and you couldn’t ever tell who was friends or acquaintances, because everyone was falling over each other and hugging while laughing over a shared joke. Spaniards so far are incredibly kind, but much more reserved. It’s only off-putting because I keep expecting someone to drape themselves over me whilst giggling.
The accent is fine ... it is difficult but I’ll get over it.
What else? The wine is cheap, although more people drink beer than I expected. My favorite meal so far has been sardines, calamari and pimentones padrones, which are small, lightly fried green peppers. The paella has not yet beat a friend’s recipe but I don’t think I am in the right part of Spain for that. Downtown Madrid is very cool. Parts of it look like Disneyland.
I am working on making more friends ... So far, my best buddies are two women from Australia. One is a girl a little younger than me, a pediatrist who is Egyptian, fluent in Arabic! The other a 46-year-old woman from Sydney named Anita. Fluent in Latvian! We make an interesting trio. We had a good time in Retiro park over the weekend, which is beautiful!
OK, tired and ready for bed! Until next time.
I just heard in a great movie called L’auberge Espagnole (about a French guy who moves to Barcelona — I find it incredibly relatable to my exerpiences right now) — that our most horrific experiences are the oddly the ones we most enjoy telling. I think that is so true. I was a little horrified when I held up the line on the bus because I didn’t know why my transportation card wasn’t working and still couldn’t count out 3 euros in coins. But I’m already laughing about it now. What else can you do? Every country has so many unspoken rules.
For example, in Spain, you’re not allowed to sit outside in some areas during lunch unless you actually order lunch.
If you go to the famous chocolatería and order churros and the waiter asks you if you want chocolate, he doesn’t mean chocolate caliente as one would presume. He means melted chocolate, which is essential for your churro. Get the chocolate!
Vino de verano is not a summer wine — it is wine with 7up, and everyone in Spain drinks it even though it’s gross.
Madrileños all walk at different paces and no matter what pace you walk, someone will be angry that you are walking too slow or too fast.
And my favorite: There is a specific direction to walk upon entering the grocery store.
For those who haven’t yet been to Spain yet, though, I would say most of the things I have heard are true. Spaniards do indeed eat lunch at 2 p.m. and everything else closes down in the afternoon. They eat late at night (my airbnb host eats at 11) and sleep even later. I caught the metro this morning at 7 30 and you would have thought it was 5 a.m. ... No one was out! The sun was down and I finally started to understand the schedule here.
The transportation system is amazing, metros and trains and buses — everything I could ever ask for — and they are all clean and on time. There are bustling squares on every corner with outdoor cafes and everyone drinks beer starting around noon. I was definitely meant to live here.
I am staying in an AirBnb with a girl named Vanessa in her little apartment for now, near the center of town, until I find a place to live permanently. I am hoping to live close to the center as well, but my pay is pretty limiting for what I can afford (not that I can complain — I work a whopping 16 hours a week, with a guranteed three-day weekend. Not complaining.)
Vanessa is, how you say, funny ... honestly she is a little bit spacey but in a lovable way. She bought me a bottle of wine and a cake when I arrived at her house from London on my birthday, and she helped me figure out how to get to school on my first day. She is from the Canary Islands.
I went to school my first day today and found out that I was reassigned schools, so I still have yet to report on what it’s like, although I can already tell it’s going to be a lot different from Colombia. Not in a bad way! But certainly in a more organized, less noisy fashion.
In a way, that might be how I describe Spaniards so far. I can’t help but compare everything to Colombia, where there was mad chaos at every hour of the day and you couldn’t ever tell who was friends or acquaintances, because everyone was falling over each other and hugging while laughing over a shared joke. Spaniards so far are incredibly kind, but much more reserved. It’s only off-putting because I keep expecting someone to drape themselves over me whilst giggling.
The accent is fine ... it is difficult but I’ll get over it.
What else? The wine is cheap, although more people drink beer than I expected. My favorite meal so far has been sardines, calamari and pimentones padrones, which are small, lightly fried green peppers. The paella has not yet beat a friend’s recipe but I don’t think I am in the right part of Spain for that. Downtown Madrid is very cool. Parts of it look like Disneyland.
I am working on making more friends ... So far, my best buddies are two women from Australia. One is a girl a little younger than me, a pediatrist who is Egyptian, fluent in Arabic! The other a 46-year-old woman from Sydney named Anita. Fluent in Latvian! We make an interesting trio. We had a good time in Retiro park over the weekend, which is beautiful!
OK, tired and ready for bed! Until next time.
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