Monday, July 11, 2011

Days 5 & 6: Normal Life

I apologize to anyone who has diligently been following my blog for falling behind a few days in my posts! I decided to combine yesterday and today's events into one entry for convenience and simply because I haven't done anything too interesting since Saturday night. Given that we didn't make it home until nearly 9:00 AM on Sunday, I ended up sleeping most of the day (until 4:00 PM!). I thought that was ridiculously late, but apparently not since Cova didn't arise until around 7:00 PM. We didn't miss much though since the majority of stores here are closed on Sundays. After eating dinner (rice, sausage, and hard boiled eggs with some sort of tuna/tomato/mayonnaise concoction), Cova and I went to the movies with her boyfriend and another friend of his. The choice came down to Transformers 3 and Blitz, another action movie that I knew nothing about. They had me choose, so figuring it would be easier to understand a movie to which I had a point of reference, Transformers 3 it was. It wasn't until about halfway through the movie that I was informed that in Spain this movie franchise isn't very popular. At all. Until then, the other three weren't even aware that Transformers 1 and 2 existed. Nevertheless, I think they enjoyed it. Besides, now they can say that they've experienced a bit of American culture! I expected that I wouldn't understand much of the movie at all (obviously it had been translated into Spanish), but I guess I was underestimating myself. The only parts that I couldn't get anything from at all were either the parts where they discussed very technical or scientific topics, or when they were in combat with the transformers at the end of the movie.

One thing that I'm loving about being young and in Spain is the fact that I am meeting so many new friends. The majority of the people that I've met so far have been extremely nice and patient with me. I've only met one person who didn't treat me well just because I'm foreign. Basically what happened was that he figured out I was American and said a whole bunch of mean and dirty things to me thinking I wouldn't understand him. Unfortunately for me (since it really hurt my feelings), I did understand. But other than that, everyone has been very kind. I especially enjoyed talking with my new friend David last night because while I was practicing my Spanish with him, he was practicing his English with me. Spanglish worked perfectly well for the both of us.

Today was another laid back day. We slept in, had lunch, went shopping, came home, and ate dinner. Really not too interesting. Actually, for me that's a lie. Ever since my plane landed last week I have been itching to see what the Spanish malls and clothing stores had to offer. Finally, today was the day. Of course I had to get used to converting everything from euros to dollars in my head. (It's not that difficult though- just multiply everything by 1.5.) That's when I realized that the majority of Spanish clothes are slightly more expensive than those of America. I'm already frugal enough, and then add to that how much money I've already spent on this trip and the fact that less than a month after my return I'll be entering college. But I've been telling myself that while I was here I would definitely treat myself to some fabulous Spanish clothing. I haven't been saving all my money for nothing! I justified my little shopping spree as being a once in a lifetime chance, plus I knew that I would regret not taking the opportunity to shop in a place so far ahead of America's fashions. Oh, and to all my fashion loving friends and acquaintances reading this, shoulder pads are without a doubt making a comeback. I can't even tell you how many jackets I saw today with them. I'm fine with it just as long as 80's hair doesn't come back as well! Anyway, I ended up buying a jacket, a sweater, a dress, and a pair of shoes, but there were so many other things that I wanted to buy! It's alright though, I'm sure I'll be back to the mall in no time. (I'm living with a fashionista, remember?)

Two days ago I was given what I consider to be a very nice compliment: "You don't seem American." It's true that people (or at least the people I've met so far on this trip) have certain ideas about Americans, and not necessarily good ones. My host parents are very surprised by the fact that I want to try every single food they have to offer. They thought that all I would want to eat when I got here were hamburgers and other typical American foods. When I told them that I can't remember the last time I ate fast food, they were shocked. I think it would be an absolute shame for a person to travel all the way to another country just to refuse trying their cuisine. Besides, I've loved eating so many new foods! Another of my new Spanish friends said that he was surprised when he met me because he thought that all American girls were "fat and gross" (his words, not mine). I'm glad that I can put at least a few people's American stereotypes to rest. With all of that being said, I almost thought it was a joke when I saw we were having hamburgers for lunch today. But no, it was real. I felt like things were back to normal when we ate dinner since it was another dish that seemed much more Spanish than it did American. Baked potatoes topped with cheese and ham or salmon, homemade ham and sausage pizza, bread, and for dessert, meringue. Alright, so maybe that doesn't seem too different from something we'd eat in America, but still, at least it wasn't a hamburger.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like you are having a wonderful experience. It's also nice that you were able to show people that you are an individual, not a stereotype. Hope you continue to have a great time!

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  2. David huh? ;)

    "YOU DON'T SEEM AMERICAN" lol. That's funny. I was wondering if you were going to get any of that. At least Obama has hopefully raised the world's expectations of our country a little. Aren't stereotypes funny? People walk around with the world already categorized in their heads.. Americans are this way, the Spanish are this way, librarians are this way, college students are this way. It's the silliest thing, an ignorant person's crutch.

    I want to see photos of your buys. More pictures!

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  3. Yum - eating new foods and trying everything. Good for you! Thanks again for taking the time to write and allow me to experience a cyber trip to Spain!

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