Boo...
I'm not really in a blogging mood but I want to write about this before I forget too much. So here goes:
I took the train to Rennes the day after Christmas, changing trains at Redon. I was a little worried because I only had six minutes but I had no problems. It was a small station. I had to wait a few minutes when I arrived but I recognised Marion instantly when I was her. We looked around Rennes for an hour or so then went back to her place. She is house-sitting with her boyfriend for a friend of the family who is in India for two years. It's a large house out in the country, just gorgeous and improved hugly by their young cat, Piwi. He's so cute! Also a troublemaker. But I love cats.
We had lunch then played the weirdest rabbit game on the Wii for a while, then headed over to Marion's parents place for a boxing day christmas family dinner. There were about 20 people, it was a good afternoon. We ate more delicious food and played Cranium Black, which my team won! Yay. We played it at christmas last year in my family. I felt at home, although my french is still quite wobbly. We later played The Game of the Wolves, one I've played with the italians in spanish, in french. I hope one day to play it in english!
It was good to see them again. Marie and Patrice, the parents, were friendly enough, and Helene, the middle sister hadn't changed much, but I didn't recognise the younger one, Alice. I'm glad I didn't ask her her name!
The next day we had croissants for breakfast (yum), played some more Wii, then jumped in the car for St Malo. We also went there 5 years ago, I had a good time there going back. There were some people having a short prade of drums and things in the street, they were really good, all perfectly in time. I got a video.
Then it was back to Rennes and onto the train. It was a short visit but I enjoyed catching up with Marion and I'll definitely visit again sometime.
In other news, we went to see Avatar in 3D. It was good, although I didn't enjoy the 3D effects as much as I thought I would. It hurt my eyes so I took the glasses off from time to time. Although the 3D forest was very, very impressive. My main reaction to the movie was shame of human beings. Also revulsion at the mindlessness of the armed forces. You have brains!!! USE THEM!!!
Ok, rant over. I'd like to see it again in english, because I did miss a bit. And I can't wait until 3D technology improves! It's gonna be amazing!!
New year's tomorrow. Ana bought a bumblebee costume. I bought a shiny red wig. I'll let you know how it goes!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
"Jingle Bells, Christmas Smells, Good at Ana's House..."
So, Ana's family. Mum and Dad are Nadine and Robert, then there's Morvan, 31, his wife Claire, and their little boy Mazen, 1 and a few months old. Next comes Gaela, 26, and finally Ana, the baby ( well, not any more thanks to Mazen) of the family at 21. They have all been so kind to me, I even got a few christmas presents, which I was not expecting! Ana gave me a necklace with a replaceable dreamstone, Morvan and Claire gave me a cute wooden bracelet from Brazil (they bought it in Europe), and Nadine and Robert gave me some perfume. Thankyou!!
I can see why Ana fitted in so well with my family. We have played a board game pretty much every night after dinner... We've played some pretty interesting stuff actually. I have had a few issues with the language (although my french is slowly returning!) but my biggest issue was different thought processes...especially when we played a game where you have to represent movie titles with random object like a peg and a ballooon.
Christmas was fun. We went to a catholic service on Christmas eve before having the main christmas meal, lasting until 2am including a break for unwrapping presents/digesting. I called my family after this, it was great to hear their voices. Ana had a chat to them too. Then I went to bed. Cristmas day we got up late, went for a walk in a park, ate christmas cake (it was close enough) and had dinner. Soooo much food! It was sooo good! I loved the Foie Gras.
The christmas decorations were awesome too. There were these little houses that light up from the inside; soo cute! Also stickers on all the windows...and these little men made of wood, hollowed out, with space for some incense inside. They had pipes so when you lit the incense it looked like they were smoking. Cool!
The house is great too, a wooden staircase with landing that overlooks part of the lowzer floor, nice wooden decor, they've got several potplants, large ones, so it all feels very natureish. I like it!
Ok. I'm tired so that's all for now. I'll write more tomorrow about my trip to Rennes to visit my host family from five years ago.
Byee!
I can see why Ana fitted in so well with my family. We have played a board game pretty much every night after dinner... We've played some pretty interesting stuff actually. I have had a few issues with the language (although my french is slowly returning!) but my biggest issue was different thought processes...especially when we played a game where you have to represent movie titles with random object like a peg and a ballooon.
Christmas was fun. We went to a catholic service on Christmas eve before having the main christmas meal, lasting until 2am including a break for unwrapping presents/digesting. I called my family after this, it was great to hear their voices. Ana had a chat to them too. Then I went to bed. Cristmas day we got up late, went for a walk in a park, ate christmas cake (it was close enough) and had dinner. Soooo much food! It was sooo good! I loved the Foie Gras.
The christmas decorations were awesome too. There were these little houses that light up from the inside; soo cute! Also stickers on all the windows...and these little men made of wood, hollowed out, with space for some incense inside. They had pipes so when you lit the incense it looked like they were smoking. Cool!
The house is great too, a wooden staircase with landing that overlooks part of the lowzer floor, nice wooden decor, they've got several potplants, large ones, so it all feels very natureish. I like it!
Ok. I'm tired so that's all for now. I'll write more tomorrow about my trip to Rennes to visit my host family from five years ago.
Byee!
Snow, I love you, But...
HELLO!!! It's been a while since I last wrote so first of all, I'm sorry for neglecting you. I hope you've all had a wonderful christmas and that you're managing to relax a little. Here's looking at you, Dad :-).
As you might have guessed, this post is about SNOW!!! One day during the last couple of weeks of uni (I've forgotten which one) I walked out the door and it was about ten times colder than normal, and there was all this white stuff everywhere. You would probabl have worked it out faster than me, but in my defence my room looks out into a well in the middle of the building and I couldn't see anything before I left my flat. Anyway, it wasn't just snow on the tops of the cars, it was actually snowING, and it was the most peaceful weather I've ever experienced. Maybe not the most comfortable (athough I'll take it any day over 30+ degrees), but it was very tranquil. It never settled on the ground but the roofs of cars and rubbish bins, trees, the church looked lovely... I enjoyed it once I warmed up walking to uni. It snowed all morning, stopping around 4 or 5pm I think. I didn't have my camera and I didn't feel like venturing out twice so I didn't take any photos, but there's lots on Faceboo that I can steal from other people. Keep an eye out!
So I finished uni, with some very decent grades (I am most proud of my 9/10 in Arabic (yay!), I was a little worried about that), packed my bag, and headed to Madrid. I had an early flight to Milan then on to Nantes, so I went to Madrid the night before and had dinner with a uni friend (Yasmin) and her husband and their friend, who were in Madrid that night too. They were very good to me actually, they took me to dinner and then dropped me off at the airport which is quite a drive. I was going to take the metro but that stops running about 1am, and dinner took a while. Thanks guys!!
So I spent the night dozing in the airport. I later wished I'd made more of an effort to sleep properly, but I'll get to that. When I tried to check in, the girl at the desk looked at my visa, which had expired, then my residency card, which had also expired, then my letter confirming that I'd applied to renew my card and saying it would take several months, then turned me down saying the letter didn't count. Madrid had never looked at the residency card before. I had a minor panic attack, and went to the customer information desk where they told me I only needed a valid passport and stamped my boarding pass, then it was bag to check-in to drop off my bag. She accepted me with a little bad grace, and I headed to security. I got on the plane ok, but it was not a good start to the day. I was worried that in Milan for the next flight they'd refuse me too, as last time I was in Italy they checked the visa, but that turned out to be redundant.
It was snowing when we boarded the plane, and it was deep enough to close the airport. We sat on the runway so long that it became clear that I was going to miss my connecting flight from Milan, so I asked the Stewardess, who said that if I wanted to get off the plane they could arrange that, but since the delay wasn't Ryanair's fault I would get little in the way of assistance from them. So I had a choice. Go to Milan, and hope to find a flight to Nantes from there, or abandon the plane and look for a direct flight to Nantes from Madrid. With no information available, other than that there were no other RyanAir flights to Nantes from Milan that day, I felt a bit stuck. What to do? In the end I left the plane at Madrid, as Madrid is a bigger airport ad therefore I figured that it would be more likely to have flights to Nantes, and also, if I was going to be stranded anywhere I'd much rather it be Madrid, where I can have a decent crack at the language and I know there's food available 24 hours a day!
I got lucky; in that there was ONE flight to Nantes that day, at 9:30pm. It was with Iberia, so I went to enquire. This was the point where I wished I'd got more sleep, as I stood in line for an hour. This was actually my shortest wait of the day (apart from food) as the snow had stranded lots of people and it was CHAOS. Anyway, the guy who I finally spoke too taught me the value of a smile, as with so many frustrated passengers I'm sure it was a day from hell for him to. So I smiled and asked politely if he spoke english (people hate it when you just assume they do!) and he gave me a REALLY good deal: 361 euros for a return ticket. It was 900 one-way! But he gave me a deal that closed two months ago. THANKYOU!!!!!!!!!
The rest of the day was spent sleeping on the ground in a corner and wondering if a) the airport would be open that late at night (I thought ice might ground the planes again) and b) the airport at Nantes would be open, as even once Madrid was going again there were lots of flights cancelled due to bad weather all over europe. However, all the waiting paid off, and after the almost two hour wait to check in I finally headed through security in the new terminal, Terminal 4. I'd never taken off from there before, and I have to say it is impressive. It's like a shopping mall, and the gates area has pillars painted in the colours of the rainbow, red fading all the way throught to purple down the other end. Purty.
Then guess what? My 9:30 flight was delayed...til at least 11, I suspect because the plane was delayed at another airport. I headed off for a cup of tea, and 20 mins later got a boarding call. I guess they found another plane. I didn't believe it until we were actually in the air but we finally landed in Nantes at pretty much midnight. I was beyond exhausted. Waiting I can do, and worrying I can handle, but doing both all day was something I'd never done before.
And then ANA MET ME!!!!! I have never been so glad to see anybody in my life. Especially not a family member I haven't seen for three and a half years. She and her boyfriend, Harold, picked me up and we went back to their flat in the centre of Nantes. It's gorgeous, yellow walls, pretty furniture from ikea, one bedroom so I have the couch but it's actually pretty comfortable. They have a goldfish called Bob.
See the next post for family and xmas talk!
xox
Katie
As you might have guessed, this post is about SNOW!!! One day during the last couple of weeks of uni (I've forgotten which one) I walked out the door and it was about ten times colder than normal, and there was all this white stuff everywhere. You would probabl have worked it out faster than me, but in my defence my room looks out into a well in the middle of the building and I couldn't see anything before I left my flat. Anyway, it wasn't just snow on the tops of the cars, it was actually snowING, and it was the most peaceful weather I've ever experienced. Maybe not the most comfortable (athough I'll take it any day over 30+ degrees), but it was very tranquil. It never settled on the ground but the roofs of cars and rubbish bins, trees, the church looked lovely... I enjoyed it once I warmed up walking to uni. It snowed all morning, stopping around 4 or 5pm I think. I didn't have my camera and I didn't feel like venturing out twice so I didn't take any photos, but there's lots on Faceboo that I can steal from other people. Keep an eye out!
So I finished uni, with some very decent grades (I am most proud of my 9/10 in Arabic (yay!), I was a little worried about that), packed my bag, and headed to Madrid. I had an early flight to Milan then on to Nantes, so I went to Madrid the night before and had dinner with a uni friend (Yasmin) and her husband and their friend, who were in Madrid that night too. They were very good to me actually, they took me to dinner and then dropped me off at the airport which is quite a drive. I was going to take the metro but that stops running about 1am, and dinner took a while. Thanks guys!!
So I spent the night dozing in the airport. I later wished I'd made more of an effort to sleep properly, but I'll get to that. When I tried to check in, the girl at the desk looked at my visa, which had expired, then my residency card, which had also expired, then my letter confirming that I'd applied to renew my card and saying it would take several months, then turned me down saying the letter didn't count. Madrid had never looked at the residency card before. I had a minor panic attack, and went to the customer information desk where they told me I only needed a valid passport and stamped my boarding pass, then it was bag to check-in to drop off my bag. She accepted me with a little bad grace, and I headed to security. I got on the plane ok, but it was not a good start to the day. I was worried that in Milan for the next flight they'd refuse me too, as last time I was in Italy they checked the visa, but that turned out to be redundant.
It was snowing when we boarded the plane, and it was deep enough to close the airport. We sat on the runway so long that it became clear that I was going to miss my connecting flight from Milan, so I asked the Stewardess, who said that if I wanted to get off the plane they could arrange that, but since the delay wasn't Ryanair's fault I would get little in the way of assistance from them. So I had a choice. Go to Milan, and hope to find a flight to Nantes from there, or abandon the plane and look for a direct flight to Nantes from Madrid. With no information available, other than that there were no other RyanAir flights to Nantes from Milan that day, I felt a bit stuck. What to do? In the end I left the plane at Madrid, as Madrid is a bigger airport ad therefore I figured that it would be more likely to have flights to Nantes, and also, if I was going to be stranded anywhere I'd much rather it be Madrid, where I can have a decent crack at the language and I know there's food available 24 hours a day!
I got lucky; in that there was ONE flight to Nantes that day, at 9:30pm. It was with Iberia, so I went to enquire. This was the point where I wished I'd got more sleep, as I stood in line for an hour. This was actually my shortest wait of the day (apart from food) as the snow had stranded lots of people and it was CHAOS. Anyway, the guy who I finally spoke too taught me the value of a smile, as with so many frustrated passengers I'm sure it was a day from hell for him to. So I smiled and asked politely if he spoke english (people hate it when you just assume they do!) and he gave me a REALLY good deal: 361 euros for a return ticket. It was 900 one-way! But he gave me a deal that closed two months ago. THANKYOU!!!!!!!!!
The rest of the day was spent sleeping on the ground in a corner and wondering if a) the airport would be open that late at night (I thought ice might ground the planes again) and b) the airport at Nantes would be open, as even once Madrid was going again there were lots of flights cancelled due to bad weather all over europe. However, all the waiting paid off, and after the almost two hour wait to check in I finally headed through security in the new terminal, Terminal 4. I'd never taken off from there before, and I have to say it is impressive. It's like a shopping mall, and the gates area has pillars painted in the colours of the rainbow, red fading all the way throught to purple down the other end. Purty.
Then guess what? My 9:30 flight was delayed...til at least 11, I suspect because the plane was delayed at another airport. I headed off for a cup of tea, and 20 mins later got a boarding call. I guess they found another plane. I didn't believe it until we were actually in the air but we finally landed in Nantes at pretty much midnight. I was beyond exhausted. Waiting I can do, and worrying I can handle, but doing both all day was something I'd never done before.
And then ANA MET ME!!!!! I have never been so glad to see anybody in my life. Especially not a family member I haven't seen for three and a half years. She and her boyfriend, Harold, picked me up and we went back to their flat in the centre of Nantes. It's gorgeous, yellow walls, pretty furniture from ikea, one bedroom so I have the couch but it's actually pretty comfortable. They have a goldfish called Bob.
See the next post for family and xmas talk!
xox
Katie
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Pros and Cons of Spain
Hi everyone! With less than two months to go I have been thinking about my return to NZ, and I have made a mental list of what I'm looking forward to. Of course, it's only fair that I say what I'll miss too, so here goes.
Things I'll Miss About Spain:
1. The friendly smiles in the hallway.
In a big apartment block I see quite a lot of people entering and leaving the building, and 95% percent of the time they'll smile and say "Hello!" or "Good Day!" to me. EVERYone does it, old people, teenagers, harried mothers with prams and ten billion shopping bags... in New Zealand it is not the custom to talk to someone you don't have to interact with. Spaniards are so much more... open.
2. The window blinds.
Every window in every apartment block has the same kind of blind, and they're great. They're vertical (not venetian) blinds that you control from inside so you don't even have to open the window, and if you let them all the way down they block the light completely. Perfect for siestas and sleeping late.
3. The bread.
The bread in europe is divine. Infinitely superior to New Zealand. Baguettes, sliced loaves, specialty bread, even the cheapest stuff is soft and fluffy on the inside and just the right level of crunchiness on the outside.
4. The apartment blocks.
I am the sort of person who can freak myself out without any horror movies. Occasionally I get scared when I'm home alone at night, so to live in a flat, sandwiched between other flats and other apartment blocks, provides a sense of security just not present in the separate houses of NZ. I'm not saying that I would trade the lack of space permanently but it has been something I've appreciated this year!
Also, they're a lot warmer, partly because the spanish actually heat them, and partly because there's very few outside walls for the heat to escape through.
5. The laid-back attitude.
The italians are more notable for this, but it's the way of life here in Spain too. "I'll meet you for coffee at 10:30" means see you at ten to eleven at the earliest. "I'll come over for dinner at 9" (usual dinner time here) means you'll maybe see them at 10. Unbelieveable. It's great though, especially not having to worry about being late to class. No-one cares if you walk in ten minutes after class has started, some students have two classes back to back and take a 15-min cigarette break in between.
6. The long lunch break.
Uni starts classes at 8:30, it's true, but the shops don't open til 10. Then at 2 everything closes and people go home for lunch. Some shops open again at 5:30-8 (and the big american chain stores don't close for lunch) but mostly between 2:30 and 5 the streets are fairly empty. It's a very relaxed life, but it doesn't include a lot of time for extra activities (eg band practice), especially if you take a siesta.
7. Fashion.
Everyone here looks so nice! I don't know about anorexia/peer pressure issues etc but dressing well is very important. It is quite pleasant actually. Although I have to say, I have noticed that people don't tend to shower as often. Greasy hair with product in it is still greasy hair.
Things I Can't Wait To Get Back To In NZ!
1. The water, and the milk.
The tap water here is DISGUSTING!! So is the milk actually. Yes you can buy water at the supermarket, but it costs quite a lot if you only drink bottled water and it's very heavy to carry home. The milk is worse, it's impossible to find fresh milk at all pretty much. In NZ I hated the taste of plain milk, I'd always have it with cereal or tea, but after trying the milk on offer here I would drink a whole bottle on NZ milk straight without complaining. The water is pretty-much self-explanatory I think.
2. The doorbells.
The doorbells here in Spain are so annoying. To start with, we have two, one for the door onto the street and one for the door into the flat (yes that means two keys as well), and they sound EXACTLY alike. I hear it and go to the telephone to let someone in, and I'll be like "hello, hello?' and then I'll hear a tap on the door. So the next time I go to open the flat door, and the person standing on the street gets impatient and pushes the button several times in succession to tell me to HURRY UP COZ IT'S COLD! And to make it worse, is the sound is a very demanding LET ME IN!!!! I HATE IT!! You wanna come in? Ask me nicely! The worst times are when my flatmate can't be bothered to use her keys and expects me to drop what I'm doing and open the door for her. I'm busy! Take your rude doorbell and f&%k off!!
Ok. Rant over.
3. How people speak.
Over here, I often think people are having a huge fight, whereas they're actually just having a minor disagreement. People speak very harshly, and I admit, sometimes I do speak more harshly than I mean to, and it's nice that they don't take offence, but I do resent being told to do things instead of asked.
4. Apartment blocks vs houses.
More space!! Can't wait!
5. Greenery.
Theres lots of redery and yellowery here (read: dirt. Parking lots etc) , but also lots of concrete. Nothing wrong with grass, people! Also no-one will walk diagonally across a lawn. They all walk along the side and stay on the path. It won't hurt you, promise.
6. Smoking, or less of it.
Smoking is a huge thing here. Almost everybody does it, and the spanish attitude to the law prohibiting smoking inside bars/pubs (passed several years ago) is that it doesn't exist. I. Hate. It. There is NO excuse for harming yourself, your friends and family, and costing your country god-knows-how-much in healthcare, littering (cigarette butts EVERYWHERE) and the smell! Sometimes I don't go out because I don't want to have to wash the stink out of my hair the next day. Smoking is foul. This is one of my strongest beliefs.
7. Trash on the street.
I'm not talking about litter/broken bottles left behind by drunkards - both countries have this. But I have seen spanish people screw up a piece of paper and throw it onto the ground, and keep on walking. McDonald's wrappers, coke cans...here, every morning, you can see street cleaners at work. They have trollies like in mall food courts, and they use brooms with twigs (yes exactly like witch stories) to clean up the streets. There are plenty of rubbish bins too!
8. Windows, and light in the mornings.
A good percentage of windows look into 'wells' in the middle of buildings, and as such there is no view apart from other people's washing or the window opposite. To get any privacy you have to close the blind, which blocks all the light. I'm looking forward to waking up to sunlight streaming through the curtains again.
9. Fashion.
Here it's much less acceptable to venture outside in less-than-fashionable clothes. I'm looking forward to not having people look sideways at trackpants.
10. Personal space.
Standing in line at the bank/supermarket. Overtaking someone walking on the sidewalk. Gaaaah! Get away from me! Move over! Make room! If it's obvious that I'm going to walk past you when you're standing there gossiping with your friend and blocking the whole footpath, MOVE!
I know, I know, it's just a cultural difference. I've gotten used to it. But I have to remind myself that it's not that that guy is being a dickhead on purpose, it's just that for a spanish person, there IS enough room for them to pass.
Old ladies behind you in a queue are the worst.
That's all I've got at the moment! I dare say I'll think of a few more to add.
Have a good day :-)
Things I'll Miss About Spain:
1. The friendly smiles in the hallway.
In a big apartment block I see quite a lot of people entering and leaving the building, and 95% percent of the time they'll smile and say "Hello!" or "Good Day!" to me. EVERYone does it, old people, teenagers, harried mothers with prams and ten billion shopping bags... in New Zealand it is not the custom to talk to someone you don't have to interact with. Spaniards are so much more... open.
2. The window blinds.
Every window in every apartment block has the same kind of blind, and they're great. They're vertical (not venetian) blinds that you control from inside so you don't even have to open the window, and if you let them all the way down they block the light completely. Perfect for siestas and sleeping late.
3. The bread.
The bread in europe is divine. Infinitely superior to New Zealand. Baguettes, sliced loaves, specialty bread, even the cheapest stuff is soft and fluffy on the inside and just the right level of crunchiness on the outside.
4. The apartment blocks.
I am the sort of person who can freak myself out without any horror movies. Occasionally I get scared when I'm home alone at night, so to live in a flat, sandwiched between other flats and other apartment blocks, provides a sense of security just not present in the separate houses of NZ. I'm not saying that I would trade the lack of space permanently but it has been something I've appreciated this year!
Also, they're a lot warmer, partly because the spanish actually heat them, and partly because there's very few outside walls for the heat to escape through.
5. The laid-back attitude.
The italians are more notable for this, but it's the way of life here in Spain too. "I'll meet you for coffee at 10:30" means see you at ten to eleven at the earliest. "I'll come over for dinner at 9" (usual dinner time here) means you'll maybe see them at 10. Unbelieveable. It's great though, especially not having to worry about being late to class. No-one cares if you walk in ten minutes after class has started, some students have two classes back to back and take a 15-min cigarette break in between.
6. The long lunch break.
Uni starts classes at 8:30, it's true, but the shops don't open til 10. Then at 2 everything closes and people go home for lunch. Some shops open again at 5:30-8 (and the big american chain stores don't close for lunch) but mostly between 2:30 and 5 the streets are fairly empty. It's a very relaxed life, but it doesn't include a lot of time for extra activities (eg band practice), especially if you take a siesta.
7. Fashion.
Everyone here looks so nice! I don't know about anorexia/peer pressure issues etc but dressing well is very important. It is quite pleasant actually. Although I have to say, I have noticed that people don't tend to shower as often. Greasy hair with product in it is still greasy hair.
Things I Can't Wait To Get Back To In NZ!
1. The water, and the milk.
The tap water here is DISGUSTING!! So is the milk actually. Yes you can buy water at the supermarket, but it costs quite a lot if you only drink bottled water and it's very heavy to carry home. The milk is worse, it's impossible to find fresh milk at all pretty much. In NZ I hated the taste of plain milk, I'd always have it with cereal or tea, but after trying the milk on offer here I would drink a whole bottle on NZ milk straight without complaining. The water is pretty-much self-explanatory I think.
2. The doorbells.
The doorbells here in Spain are so annoying. To start with, we have two, one for the door onto the street and one for the door into the flat (yes that means two keys as well), and they sound EXACTLY alike. I hear it and go to the telephone to let someone in, and I'll be like "hello, hello?' and then I'll hear a tap on the door. So the next time I go to open the flat door, and the person standing on the street gets impatient and pushes the button several times in succession to tell me to HURRY UP COZ IT'S COLD! And to make it worse, is the sound is a very demanding LET ME IN!!!! I HATE IT!! You wanna come in? Ask me nicely! The worst times are when my flatmate can't be bothered to use her keys and expects me to drop what I'm doing and open the door for her. I'm busy! Take your rude doorbell and f&%k off!!
Ok. Rant over.
3. How people speak.
Over here, I often think people are having a huge fight, whereas they're actually just having a minor disagreement. People speak very harshly, and I admit, sometimes I do speak more harshly than I mean to, and it's nice that they don't take offence, but I do resent being told to do things instead of asked.
4. Apartment blocks vs houses.
More space!! Can't wait!
5. Greenery.
Theres lots of redery and yellowery here (read: dirt. Parking lots etc) , but also lots of concrete. Nothing wrong with grass, people! Also no-one will walk diagonally across a lawn. They all walk along the side and stay on the path. It won't hurt you, promise.
6. Smoking, or less of it.
Smoking is a huge thing here. Almost everybody does it, and the spanish attitude to the law prohibiting smoking inside bars/pubs (passed several years ago) is that it doesn't exist. I. Hate. It. There is NO excuse for harming yourself, your friends and family, and costing your country god-knows-how-much in healthcare, littering (cigarette butts EVERYWHERE) and the smell! Sometimes I don't go out because I don't want to have to wash the stink out of my hair the next day. Smoking is foul. This is one of my strongest beliefs.
7. Trash on the street.
I'm not talking about litter/broken bottles left behind by drunkards - both countries have this. But I have seen spanish people screw up a piece of paper and throw it onto the ground, and keep on walking. McDonald's wrappers, coke cans...here, every morning, you can see street cleaners at work. They have trollies like in mall food courts, and they use brooms with twigs (yes exactly like witch stories) to clean up the streets. There are plenty of rubbish bins too!
8. Windows, and light in the mornings.
A good percentage of windows look into 'wells' in the middle of buildings, and as such there is no view apart from other people's washing or the window opposite. To get any privacy you have to close the blind, which blocks all the light. I'm looking forward to waking up to sunlight streaming through the curtains again.
9. Fashion.
Here it's much less acceptable to venture outside in less-than-fashionable clothes. I'm looking forward to not having people look sideways at trackpants.
10. Personal space.
Standing in line at the bank/supermarket. Overtaking someone walking on the sidewalk. Gaaaah! Get away from me! Move over! Make room! If it's obvious that I'm going to walk past you when you're standing there gossiping with your friend and blocking the whole footpath, MOVE!
I know, I know, it's just a cultural difference. I've gotten used to it. But I have to remind myself that it's not that that guy is being a dickhead on purpose, it's just that for a spanish person, there IS enough room for them to pass.
Old ladies behind you in a queue are the worst.
That's all I've got at the moment! I dare say I'll think of a few more to add.
Have a good day :-)
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