101. The Kansas City, MO is actually Sevilla's sister city because the plaza found in KCMO has very Spanish-type architecture, which I am told is similar to that of Sevilla. I have not yet been to Sevilla, but learned this from talking with a friend.
Spanish Word of the Day: aprendizaje = learning :)
102. Spaniards actually care about 9/11. I had some friends who were interviewed by the news last week at school for a segment on how Americans are reacting. Pretty interesting. I'm jealous they got to be on the news, but they say they will look silly because they were trying to speak Spanish and didn't know how to express what they wanted to say.
103. I had a friend mention PDA (public displays of affection) here and how she sees it a lot. I haven't seen it that much, but when I do see an example of PDA, it is usually a couple making out, rather than just a simple kiss or hug (except for the dos besos in Spanish greetings).
104. For being in Spain, I've seen a whole lot of Disney movies being sold at various different stores and in El Rastro...probably they are dubbed like I hear most movies are. For example, Bridesmaids was playing here...I don't remember what it was called, but I didn't even realize it was the same movie when I saw a poster for it. It's just interesting to me that Disney would be popular here...I always thought that was a strictly American thing.
105. Some websites have automatically changed to Spanish here...just because I am on the internet in Spain, and no matter which network (Paula's, my apartment, probably school too). For example, the sign in option on my blog and the option to create a new blog are now written in Spanish and Google.com automatically takes me to google.es where the options for images, maps, etc are written in Spanish. Strange! Those are the only things that have changed. I didn't expect the change, but I would have thought that it would have been all or nothing...not just a minimal change.
106. The culture here is to never throw away food or waste. At least, that's how it works at my host senora's house.
107. People go crazy here at night. I know this not because I've seen it firsthand, but simply by looking at the absolute mess in the plaza on a weekend morning - trash and food remnants everywhere!!!
108. If you want to get something cheap, check at El Rastro first - bracelets, purses, scarves, clothing, jewelry, other odds and ends...chances are, you will find the best price at El Rastro...or at least a decent price. It is often necessary to look around, though, because not every vendor at El Rastro sells his/her wares for super cheap prices.
109. Pizzas here tend to be specialty...today was the first time I found a plain cheese pizza. I have seen 3 cheese (yum!) and a multitude of cheeses including blue cheese (not so good...), but never just cheese. They all tend to have special titles and a multitude of things on them, which the restaurants will not just take off by request. And I have yet to see any pizza, specialty or not, with pepperoni. Boo! I miss that! EDIT: I have discovered the "margarita pizza" (cheese pizza)!!!!!
Spanish Words of the Say: septiembre = September, once = eleven :)
110. Doors here are very different. Outside doors to apartment buildings have metal bars over the glass. And doors to shops are not just the regular glass or wooden doors one would see in the states. Rather, there is a glass or wooden door, but then the shop closes, there is one of those metal pull-down things you would see on a storage unit that goes in front of the door. These metal pull-down things (sorry, I don't know the technical name for them) are usually either decorated with fun paintings or mostly covered by graffiti.
111. I've seen loads of flies here, like more than in the US - they are quite annoying. But I've only gotten 2 mosquito bites, which is saying something for the amount of time I've spent outside walking around. And I think one of those mosquitoes muse have flown in through my open balcony door while I was asleep. I could do without the flies, but I am liking the lack of mosquitoes. And I haven't heard any cicadas!!!!
112. Mailing things to the US costs A LOT of money!!! Stamps to the US for postcards and letters are 80 cents in euros each and today when I mailed a small manila envelope package that could not have weighed more than a pound and a half, it cost me almost 10 euros...yikes!!!!! After I finish sending out a few more small things, I hope nobody expects anything else until I get home!
113. The nails they pound into the wall to hang things here are not just the normal straight nails. They use nails shaped like an L so that when the long end is pounded into the wall, the short end functions as a hook to hang something. Interesting idea...
Spanish Words of the Day: puerta = door, mosca = a fly, correo = mail, paquete = package, sobre = envelope :)
114. Showers here always take at least a minute to warm up. Even if I turn on only the hot water, it comes out cold for a full minute before it is warm enough to actually start showering. This is not super abnormal - it occurs sometimes in the US too. But what is strange to me is that even when someone has showered only minutes before me, the water will come out warm for about 15 seconds and then turn cold and take a minute to warm up as usual.
115. When people walk their dogs here, I often see that instead of carrying a bag, they have tied it to the dog's leash. Do people do that in the US? I don't remember seeing it...but I also know I'm not the most observant person in the world...
Spanish Word of the Day: ducharse = to shower oneself :)
116. Pigeons allow you to get within a foot of them before flying away, whereas other birds fly away if you come within 10 feet of them.
117. Hotels do not change sheets and towels daily, nor do they clean the rooms daily like they do back home.
118. Hotels also do not provide shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, lotion, etc. They do have soap, but that's about it. EDIT: Found a hotel that provided shampoo and one that provided body wash.
119. Africans in Spain (especially in Mallorca) are very pushy!!!! And persuasive!
120. Most families do not begin having an English tutor for their students until October.
121. The Canary Islands are surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, not the ocean.
122. Internet is not free in hotels. EDIT: Some hotels.
123. "English" when it is used as a adjective (for example "English breakfast") means "British" not "American."
124. Spanish (and forms like the Basque and Castilian languages) are not the only languages spoken in Spain. And...sometimes translations into English are horrible when multiple languages are common in a place (as in Mallorca). For example, I saw a sign on a bus that was supposed to say (based on the Spanish version), "For your security, please do not talk with the driver." Instead, it said in English something to the effect of, "No security in talk with driver." Haha!
125. Spaniards are very lenient and forgiving. I was supposed to interview with a family today for a tutoring job, but found a better offer I wanted to pursue instead. So I called the senora this afternoon and told her that and she was not mad at me and told me not to worry about it.
126. In Spain, they sell Absinth (spelling??), alcohol which is not sold in the U.S. because it makes people hallucinate.
127. Taking a ride in a glass-bottomed boat does not mean you will be able to see anything while the boat is in motion. Also, when a travel guide/ticket seller person tells you that snorkeling is possible at a certain spot, that does not mean that said boat has the equipment or that there is anything under the water to actually see.
128. Students are going to grade school in the mornings and will soon start going later, until even 5 pm here.
129. It is important before traveling to see how far your hostel/hotel is from the airport and then find out how to get there before you arrive at your destination.
130. Bring more cash than you think you need...you will not regret it!
131. When you take the metro from the airport stop, you cannot just use your 10-trip ticket. You have to buy a special ticket that costs 1 euro more than a 1-trip pass at any other stop.
132. Credit card machines stink!!!! I've had troubles with more than one in the last few days.
133. Sometimes facts you learned in high school Spanish classes really come in handy. In my case, what I learned about the Spanish Civil War in Miss Paula's classes came in handy today - it made me feel super smart when I was the only student in my class who knew more than 1 or 2 facts about the Spanish Civil War!
134. The only times when Spaniards walk fast are in metro stations and when crossing the street. Otherwise, they generally walk at a very leisurely pace.
135. Here they are supposed to give you tapas (appetizers) when you go to a restaurant, especially if you buy a drink. But most restaurants that I have been to do not observe this custom.
136. Halloween is not traditionally celebrated in Spain, but these days all of the bars and clubs have fiestas because of the American influence here. No trick-or-treating for the kiddos here though.
137. They have the Disney Channel here...and it can be viewed in English or Spanish.
138. Airports here are very similar to those back home. Just as big, just as bright and noisy, and just as confusing. More importantly, just as hard to sleep in.
139. It's easy to tell which metro stations are newer. But the older ones not only look more run-down, but are also more confusing and the one I was in today had shops and kiosks...not sure if all were open anymore though.
140. Talking on the phone in Spanish is not an easy task...it's a chore to attempt to understand a native speaker with background noise and to make her understand what the heck you are saying. Never try to spell things...it will end badly.
141. Spaniards often say goodbye or thank you to shopkeepers after leaving the store, even when they have not purchased anything. And shopkeepers are much more attentive in general, at least in smaller stores. But not as much in chinos.
142. Tabaco stores are also good for adding time to your prepaid cell phone.
143. Spaniards (or at least my host mom) do not always use fitted sheets. My host mom sometimes puts a top sheet on the bottom and then another on top.
144. It definitely gets colder at night here, but summer lingers for much longer. We are just beginning to have cool days here.
145. Temperature here is measured in Celsius/Centigrade.
146. The "IT" movie director here is Almodovar.
147. I thought the education system in the U.S. was bad...yeah, that of the Autonomous Community of Madrid at the moment is worse. The system works like this: to teach in a state school, you must take this ridiculous exam (the one Paula is currently studying for). Not going to even try to explain that more. But if you get a superior grade, you are set for life with a position even if you take a year leave of absence. If you get a pretty good grade, you are given basically a substitute position. Subs here outnumber teachers and take the place of those on leave of absence, those on maternity leave, and those who are sick or gone for the day. They also help operate the science labs, specials, library, etc. They get paid the same amount as regular teachers, but do not have a guaranteed position and have to take the exam every 2 years. So...what happened in Madrid is that the president decided she would make each teacher teach classes for 20 hours per week (not including other time at school, grading, prep, etc and work teachers do at home). By so doing, she planned to cut down on the number of subs but "not make any cuts to education." Yeah...bad idea...basically what is going on is that schools are losing an average of 6 teachers (sub positions) and are still expected to offer all the same services with less staff. And each teacher can only have class or other duties like library for 20 hours each week. Paula was telling me how messed up this is. First, she has a friend who is the director of a school that experienced sub cuts. This person worked for 22 hours straight trying to figure out each teacher's schedule before the first day of classes and still ended up having to cancel classes because there were 60+ students in one class. Also, Paula tells me that to be a teacher, you have to take this stupid, ridiculous exam. But some teachers who already have positions are being asked to teach other subjects than the one they have certification or permission to teach. How is a Math teacher supposed to teach French???? And what is the point of making a teacher jump through ridiculous hoops to be allowed to teach her subject if that is not even the subject she may end up teaching?? All of this also means that many people with sub positions are having trouble finding work, protests and probably a short strike are beginning to occur, and less teaching positions will be offered. This is not fair to either the teachers or the students. Ok...I will stop ranting now. Sorry.
Where was I??? Oh...I remember...
148. Gay marriage is allowed here.
149. After mentioning that I wanted to have both biological and adopted children one day, Paula told me that there aren't really babies available for adoption here.
150. Professors do not really check homework here...and most of my work is not turned in. For 2 classes, I have only had 1 homework assignment each. 1 I will have to turn in next week and 1 that was not even graded. Not much reading either...but it's not like I'm taking a literature class...
151. I think my professor told me today that the fascists are actually a functional political party here...not sure if I heard that right...
Sorry...this is a random list of all the things I thought of that I learned ages ago and forgot to put on this list, along with everything I learned during my travels to Mallorca and everything I learned today and at the end of last week.
Peace and Blessings,
Melanie
Spanish Words of the Day: caminar = to walk, casarse = to get married, educación = education, sistema = system sabana = sheet (like on your bed) :)
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