Spain
- Breakfast always consists of toast and coffee, tea, or Cola Cao. Options for condiments include: butter, jam, or olive oil.
- Olive oil is EVERYWHERE. It´s sold Sam´s Club-style in every grocery store and they put it on everything. Or fry the food in it. Supposedly it´s really healthy but I can´t imagine the quantity that is consumed here can be good for you. It is delicious though!
- Olive and orange trees are EVERYWHERE. The city streets are lined with the orange trees, but don´t try to pick them - they´re not for eating. Believe me, I tried. I read they´re used for perfume and cat food.. The olive trees line the countryside; it reminds me of the corn/soybeans in Iowa. Perfect rows, beautiful colors, never ending.
- When dining out, Spaniards never pay separately. When they say "I´m inviting you" it´s assumed that they will pay. It´s then customary to "invite" them back. The money all gets sorted out in the long run.
- Watch where you step. Since there´s no grass, dogs do their duty on the sidewalk, and owners act like it never happened. Sick.
- Also, watch above you. Pigeons have to be the supidest, grossest animals on the face of the Earth and they´re everywhere. They´re so tame and they get so close to people that one could hypothetically kick them. Not that I´ve tried or anything.
- Dogs know how to use crosswalks in Spain. I also think they know Enligsh.
- Dogs are typically not on leashes but I did see a cat on one in Nice..
- José said once that he hates how many hippies there are in Granada because 1 hippie = 300 dogs and I have to agree. (For the record, there are a ton of crazy people in this town)
- Bidet...
- Water shortage is a huge deal in Granada and when we first got here (rain for 2 weeks straight) I didn´t believe it. We´re only allowed one shower per day for 15 minutes max. And, we have to shut off the water in between shampooing, rinsing, soaping, etc. Everyone is constantly complaining about the price of water, it´s like people whining about gas prices in the US.
- In general, Spaniards are very trendy and put-together. They like to look nice and have about a zillion adjectives for anything to do with appearances.
- However, there are some trends that I am not particularly fond of: girls sagging their jeans, hammer pants, every male´s hair, most teenage females´hair, people 100 years old who still dye their hair, tiny over the shoulder purses, dreads, and wearing one color from head to toe.
- Some trends that I do like right now are: scarves (except on some men), skinny jeans with boots, long dark hair, slippers, and never wearing sweats out of the house.
- One thing I have noticed is that I don´t see men wearing suits and ties. Only at weddings.
- There are a bunch of these places we call Chinese superstores. They´re sort of like a dollar tree but with way more crap. Bird cages, drills, water wings, clothes, makeup, dishes, tupperware, lawn ornaments (for their balconies??), jewelry, etc. etc. etc.
- Lots of products have packaging printed in English. Same goes with clothes. Don´t they get confused?
- The news is very graphic - nudity, dead bodies, etc. Nothing is censored. Same goes for advertisement on the streets.
- Bus transportation is relatively cheap, comfortable, and quick. To Madrid is €16, the closest beach is €7, and around town on the city bus is less than €1. Most buses (except the city bus, but including school buses) are Greyhound-ish charter buses.
- Granada is in the process of building an above-ground Metro system. Should be up and running in a couple years but everyone here feels like they´ve been talking about it and working on it forever. Welcome to I-235.
- The three c´s: corazón, choque de coche, y cáncer are the three main causes of death.
- Paella is delicious. Julia makes it with rice, chicken or turkey, peppers, and artichokes.
- Oranges are for desert after every lunch, no exceptions. My orange-peeling skills have dramatically improved to say the least, but I´d really rather have some chocolate.
- Napolitanas are my new favorite food. Rectangluar shaped croissants filled with chocolate - yum.
- Internet is scarce and expensive. Well, I take that back - it´s probably way better than it is in the States. There´s a lot of cafés and I pay about €1 for an hour. Also, besides the computer lab at the CLM, I get wireless there but it´s a pain to lug my computer there. Anyway, since I don´t have unlimited access to it at my house it seems like it´s scarce.
- People from Andalucía seem like they´re very rude at first, but it´s just their culture. Example: they don´t greet you when you walk into a store or café, they don´t say excuse me or I´m sorry on the sidewalk, and they rarely say please and thank you. The reason is because they only really talk to people they know well and if they say please allll the time (like we do) it loses its value.
- To be more polite, they say things like gordito instead of gordo which has nothing to do with being little, but it´s just a nicer way to say a little bit chunky. They also repeat the imperative form to make orders sound a little less harsh.
- Men make this ridiculous noise on the streets when women pass them. "Tsss" Super annoying and if you turn around like you´re either interested or agitated, they act like they´re invisible or it was the guy next to them. Occasionally they´ll throw in a guapa, or a ay, rubia, but typically it´s just tsss.
- Andalusians don´t pronounce letters, usually at the end of the word. Or sometimes, whole words. Example: buenas días often becomes simply buena. Old men are particularly difficult to understand. One of my professors once told us, "En Andalucía (with a lisped c), comemos tapas y comemos letras"
- Andalusians have a stereotype of being lazy and cheap. Two reasons: in the summer it´s unbearably hot so they take full advantage of the siesta, and the south is the only place where tapas are truly free - aka instead of paying for a meal, they go out for a free.
- When it´s like May in March, March will be like May. Kinda reminds me of "April showers brings May flowers" and our whole Groundhog´s Day phenomenon.
- All beaches in Spain are public and all are topless.
- PDA in Spain is out of control. Someone explained to me that when a couple starts dating, kissing/groping in public is their way to show each other that they´re serious. If they don´t, it seems to everyone that it´s some sort of hidden relationship or they want to keep it on the DL. Sometimes it is cute to see the really old couples holding hands walking down the street .. other times I want to vomit when I see 12 year olds you know what-ing on the sidewalk or in a park.
- Open fire is not allowed in Spain. No bonfires, no real grills, no nothing even in the countryside. The Mediterranean has a lot of problems with drought and wildfires so this is the way to curb it.
- Smoking is unbelieveable in Europe. Don´t they know that smoking will kill them? I have seen numerous people smoke 5 cigarettes in an hour without even thinking twice. I hate it and I can´t wait to get back to smoke-free Iowa.
- Lots of people have pet birds. There´s a pajarería near our building.
- Supermarkets exist and are relatively inexpensive, but lots of people buy groceries from little stands instead. Fruits, vegetables, bread, fish, meat, eggs, etc.
- In general, neither milk nor eggs are refrigerated.
- Ham is gross and I still don´t like it. Seeing the huge legs hanging from store ceilings still repulses me.
- Instead of Facebook, lots of young Spaniards use something called Tuenti
- American movies are more popular and more common than European ones. Overall, the dubbing is atrocious. Especially when it´s Penelope Cruz, a native Spanish speaker playing an English role dubbed back into Spanish. I wonder how she feels about that..
- Penelope Cruz is a HUGE star here. Along with bullfighters and soccer players from Real Madrid or FC Barcelona, they make up the majority of the news. (That covers Spanish stories, the majority is of stuff elsewhere in the world)
- Lots of people have BO. I know they conserve water, but hombre, I don´t smell that bad when I skip a day.. I have concluded that just as many people smell as in the US but I just pass/come in contact with a higher number of people in a day here. Same goes for pregnant women - they´re all over the place!
- Windows don´t have screens.
- Napkins in restaurants are super thin and feel like sandpaper.
- Iberia is the worst airline in the whole world and if I didn´t already have tickets bought I would never fly with them again.
- RyanAir has really cheap flights but they drop you off an hour away from your destination then make you pay €20 to take a bus there
- Natural light is a big deal and Spaniards conserve a lot of energy by simply opening windows. Julia choses to wake up at 10:00 and go to bed at 2:00am claiming that it´s better for her electricity bill. WRONG. How about go to bed at sunset and wake up at sunrise?
- Toilets have buttons on top instead of levers on the side.
- If a public bathroom has toilet paper, soap, a toilet seat, some way to dry your hands, and it flushes, consider yourself the luckiest person on earth.
- Marijuana is illegal to buy or sell but legal posess. On shady streets, people who walk by whispering chocolate, chocolate are NOT looking for chocolate.
- Pimping is illegal but prostitution is legal. Prostitutes in Madrid are currently protesting to have their work considered a "profession" - pay taxes, get public healthcare, etc.
- The maximum prison sentence here is 30 years, but for every two days without problems, it´s reduced by one day. Due to this and lack of space and funds in jails, a maximum over 20 years is almost unheard of. Currently, Spaniards are protesting and petitioning to increase it to a true life sentence or impose the death penalty.
- I´m fairly positive that driers don´t exist. Everyone just hangs wet clothes out on the line. My jeans and shirts are now two inches longer than they were in January.
- Julia bleaches, starches, and irons everything which has turned my white clothes whiter, but totally changed my polka dotted underwear. My towel is crunchy and my jeans have weird holes at the bottom.
- Spaniards wear winter coats and scarves when it´s 70º and sunny
- Baseball caps are 100% American. As are white Nike tennis shoes.
- Daylight Savings Time is two weeks later.
- The vast majority of Spaniards consider themselves Catholic but only a minority are what they call "practicing".
- Lots and lots of people speak lots and lots of languages. I´m jealous to say the least
- Spaniards aren´t big fans of Victoria Beckham or England in general.
- Spain has a royal family but the king has no power whatsoever. He´s the "national embassador" and actually doesn´t make much money.
- On the news, Zapatero (the president, or the equivalent of) was talking about Russian immigrants/tourists to Spain and instead of saying we should help/support them like he wanted to say, he said "we should "f$@&" them. It was ALL over the news.. And some people think Bush had problems!
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I´m really not trying to complain with this list, just remember all the cultural quirks about good old España..
