Joy in the Small Things: A Look into the Mundane

When I first arrived in Spain, everything in general besides the language and the age of the buildings seemed to be very similar to the United States. However after living here for awhile and interacting with Spaniards I've realized that there are lots of small differences between the two.

My strange excitement over the small things in life!

Although it might seem strange, I'm dedicating this post to the mundane qualities of Spain.

Let's start with something really boring- the work schedule. Like I've mentioned in a previous post lunch is their biggest meal of the day, so logically everything revolves around lunch. A day in the life of a Spaniard is such:

1. Wake up and get ready (but not take a shower) in order to get to work on time.
2. Work from 8:00 or 9:00ish until 1:30 or so.
3. Come home in the midday traffic, eat lunch, clean up and go back to work in the afternoon traffic.
4. Work from 3:30ish to 8:00 at night.
5. Come home, eat dinner and/or socialize with friends.

With this in mind ALL shops (except the superstores) close for at least 2 hours in the afternoon. What I find to be odd is that they don't stay open later when everyone is out and about having fun with friends. Wouldn't it bring in more revenue to be open when more people are in the streets? I suppose the employees would complain. Which brings me to the next point...

Carrefour: the only store not closed from 2:00-4:00,
AKA heaven sent European version of Walmart.

Strikes and demonstrations are EVERYWHERE right now, which can be a little frightening at times. I've seen several in Madrid as well as Barcelona for various reasons. Last weekend my friends and I were near Puerta del Sol for a homework assignment when we ran into several college age groups being taught by more experienced/older men how to properly rally and organize a public demonstration. Crazy! They also say that the Occupy Wallstreet movement was influenced by a demonstration Puerta del Sol where people brought tents out to sleep in. Regardless if that is myth or fact, public rallies, etc. are super common.

I've also noticed that there is a fascination with American pop culture. Almost all of the songs on the radio are ones that are on our American stations too! Taylor Swift is extremely popular and they play Diamonds by Rihanna waaaay too much for my taste. It's funny because many of them don't understand the lyrics but sing the words anyway. It's hilarious to listen to them sing with their accents!

Most popular hip-hop-high-heels on the market.

Moving on to a happier note, the local styles here are very different. It seems like they are both ahead and behind of the American fashion (if it's even possible to say that!) The young people, or "jóvenes" as we say in Spain, like to dress in the typical "hipster" style with hip-hop looking shoes. Piercings seem to be really in style, but I haven't seen too many tattoos or punk hairstyles. In fact, the most popular men's hairstyle is very handsome as of late with long on top and short on sides and back. In a way it reminds me of the character Neil Caffrey on White Collar.Speaking of hair, Spain is a little ironic. The crazy colored hairstyles are reserved for the old grandmas of all people! Every day on the bus I see these ladies that are decked out in fancy furs and red-purple hair that looks like the color of my Jeep.

Crazy old lady with a furry hood and pink streaks getting off the bus!

My friend Andy sporting his new Spanish haircut.

Another irony is that EVERYONE LOVES LITTLE DOGS. Okay, I understand that I don't like pets in general (in fact I loathe dogs) but Spain is obsessed! They dress up their dogs as if they were children  and take them everywhere they go. I've seen sweaters to rain jackets on those puppies. This whole time I've been trying to get good pictures of the pampered little brats but it's super hard without offending the owner.

A macho guy taking his puny dog for a walk

Because the population of small dogs and grassy areas are not in proportion with one another, there is a little more fecal matter on side walk than I care to mention. I know it's nasty, but I have to mention it because I'm always the one in the group that finds a way to step in it. I honestly don't understand why they don't have the "clean up after your dog" signs with plastic baggies because there are plenty of small public garbage cans!

What gets stuck on the bottom of my shoe every day!

If you can look past the poop, the streets in Spain are pleasant to walk on. The streets are narrow and the drivers are extremely observant to pedestrians (I wish my college town would take note!) In the residential towns like Alcalá de Henares the side walks are actually an assortment of tiles instead of poured cement. A month ago I saw some construction workers laying the tiles and it looked a lot less complicated than bringing a cement truck out. The street signs are normally small on the walls of the corner buildings, which makes navigating at night a painful adventure.

Most people live in apartments or chalets or town homes (you know, variation of a theme.) Very few people actually live in a home because there's not a whole of space in these towns. Back yards, patios and porches are non-existant here, but it's not necessarily a bad thing because there are tons of parks, bike friendly areas, and most people have to walk a lot anyway to catch the public transportation.

My friend Juliana and I are exhausted
 after running to catch the bus!

Alright, I am now going to clear up a common misconception. I always thought that Europeans were skinnier than Americans because of their diet. WRONG!!!! They eat greasy stuff here too. In fact I eat more pan fried things in my Spanish home-cooked meals than I did in the past five years, no joke-- granted I don't eat fast food, but still.  The real reason Europeans are skinnier is because they smoke like chimneys. People think it's weird that I'm young and don't smoke, which took me by surprise a little since Americans are taught from the age of five that cigarettes should really be labeled "smelly cancer sticks."

Something about the culture I really enjoy are the "besos." Instead of greeting with a handshake, people kiss each cheek of those they meet with the exception, of course, of  two men meeting each other for the first time. I really like it because I feel like I am already a friend and not simply a cold acquaintance. I'm sure Spaniards probably don't feel the same way as I do, but it is something I prefer because I see it as a very accepting and warm greeting

Anyway, that's enough of the mundane. If you've read all the way to the end, congratulations! I hope you've enjoyed it and I wish you the best until next time!

I hope you don't look like them now
that you've reached the end of this post!

Paris- Another look at language

This past week was my first and last spring break from BYU classes! For those of you that don’t know, there is no such thing as “spring break” in a Winter Semester at BYU—No it does not have anything to do with Mormon beliefs! In fact if I had it my way I would allow students at least three days off, because my three days of a European spring break was phenomenal.

For my break I went with two friends to Paris, the city of love. In a nutshell we climbed the Eiffel Tower at night, ate French pastries, enjoyed Montematre, walked through Notre Dame, stared at some amazing artwork, explored the Latin Quarter and locked our love on a bridge over the Seine. We had the time of our lives. As magical as it was to do all of those things my favorite part was something that money cannot buy. My favorite part of the trip was interacting and talking with other people.

Our love is locked!

Faith at a love locked bridge near Notre Dame 

We ran into so many random people of different backgrounds. The first group was three 15-year-old boys that were obsessed with the United States, one of which new English and wanted to practice talking with us. We literally chatted for a whole hour about the differences between France and America as well as movies, actors/actresses and sports. It was so fun to hear about what they thought! They went on and on about how they thought Vanessa Hudgens was “the most beautiful actress in the world” and that they wish their schools had sports teams and “pom-pom girls!”

Faith and Juliana with some Frenchies in Trocadero

We also ran into lots of Asians that we photo-bombed a couple times. I really wanted to talk to them some more but I didn’t really come off very polite when I asked some Korean hotties to teach me the Gangam Style.

When we were in the Eiffel Tower looking at the pretty view we ran into a group of Frenchmen in their late 20s-ish  (don’t worry we didn’t let them creep on us or anything scary like off of the movie Taken.) They spoke just as much English as we knew French—aka next to none. Despite the language barrier we had a hilarious conversation that consisted mostly in body language about the basics.

If we both spoke the same language, this is how the conversation would’ve happened:

Us: Hey we’re from the United States.

Them: Cool! I kinda like Obama because of his stance with the war in the Middle East.

Us: Really?

Them: Yeah! I mean it’s also pretty awesome that he’s black.

Us: (chuckle) That’s where it is. What do you think about President Hollande?

Them: I hate him.

Us: What’s that supposed to mean? Why?

Them: He’s raised taxes so high that it’s ridiculous.

Us: Hmm… That’s interesting… (striking a thoughtful pose)

Here’s what really happened:

Us: We are from the United States.

Them: Huh?

Us: America?

Them: Obama!

Us: Oui!

Them: Like Obama?

Us: Sometimes (giving the so-so hand signal). You?

Them: Oui! Obama… (striking a Hercules pose and flexing muscles). President Hollande bad! No like him!

Us: Why?

Them: (slouching to show pop belly and pretending to eat like a slob).

Us: American boys like… (mimicking the slob posture)

Them: Oui! American boys…(slob) American girls…(making the curvy hip lines in the air with their hands). Oo la la!

That is when we started laughing so hard we were about to cry.

Love wall in Montematre

By being in a country that literally everything was foreign to me (although I’ve been to Paris twice before) I learned a ton about communication that I didn’t see beforehand in Spain or in English speaking countries.

Here’s what I feel like I learned:

•     Communication is so, so, so much more than what comes out of your mouth. What you wear, your posture, your eye contact, you face and hand gestures all contribute to how information is perceived on the receiving end. Even though the only things I knew in French were “Bonjour,” “Merci,” and “Baguette” I could tell the intentions were of the people I was chatting with.

• Communication/language is what makes us human. I took for granted that in Spain although I am not fluent and often times come off as an idiot I can at least communicate and understand someone else. Whereas I can’t understand a lick of French even if I wanted to! Being Paris was awesome but I really missed being able to crack a joke or ask an intelligent question and actually get to know people a bit. It amazes me that no matter what language you speak, the purpose of that language is just the same as English or any other tongue. That purpose being to express yourself! I can’t even begin to stress how awe-inspiring it is to realize that those strange French sounds can convey emotion, tell stories, and give instructions.

•  Learning a new language is such a smart idea. Even the basics help A TON no matter who you are or your profession. In America it is really impressive to know more than one language, and rightfully so because learning a new language is difficult and it takes time, blood, sweat and tears. But the street vendors in Europe know the basics of at least two languages, if not more to be able to accommodate as many people as possible. SMART! No matter what your profession. That’s all I have to say.

 I hope you enjoy this week's post. Let me know if there is any topic in particular you'd like me to look out for here in Spain/Europe.