10 things I learned about Spain's culture

I only have two weeks left in this wonderful country of Spain, and I truly can't even believe I've been here for over three months. It absolutely flew by, like I knew it would. I've been through a lot, both positive and negative, and have had a chance to reflect on my experience this past weekend.

Before this turns into a sappy emotionally-driven rant, I'm going to organize this blog in my favorite way ever--you guessed it--with a list!

In this list, I'm going to share things that were only easy to see because I could compare them with the culture in the U.S. So here it is.

España vs. the United States of America:

1. Time isn't that important in Spain. In the U.S. time = money, but really the only thing it does it cause us extra stress. I've never thought of myself as a punctual person because I showed up on time, but showing up on time in Spain is actually being 15 minutes early. Think about how much easier life would be if it had a little bit of flexibility?

2. But, health IS. People here don't eat comida basura (junk food) nearly as much, and it makes a huge difference. There are markets with fresh everything: meat, fish, dairy, fruits and veggies. The food seemed bland to me at first, only because I was accustomed to eating food loaded with sugar and salt. Funny how in the U.S. we stress about time so much, but we don't realize that unhealthy food is cutting loads of it off of our life.

3. People enjoy knowing about their culture here. I've never met so many people (around my age, even) who knew where every museum in the city was, or the historical significance of *enter street name/building/person here.* While Americans do have a sense of pride, it's not the same as the patrimonio that exists within the culture of Spain.

4. Partying has no time limit. What is this word "time" you keep speaking of again? Bars sort of decide to close when they feel like it, usually around 3 a.m., but then you can just head down to the puerto and keep going until 8 in the morning. I don't know how they do it. It would be locura in the U.S. I guess we'll see how this whole 4 a.m. scene works out for Detroit...

5. It's unusual to hear about theft or murder (at least in Alicante). Yes, it happens, but way less. Maybe it's just because I live so close to a murder capital in Michigan, but I'm a little more used to hearing about horrifying things on the news. Maybe it's just me, but I would never walk around Detroit at night alone, but here, I haven't once felt unsafe doing so.

6. People are more liberal. It's not unusual to see a couple making out and groping each other on the public transportation. Swearing is also for the everyday folk. The words coño and joder get thrown around like any normal, non-offensive word. Girls wear provocative clothing and high heels absolutely everywhere. Women go topless on the beach because boobs are not sexualized. Thse are just a few examples of the liberal culture here.

7. Everyone smokes. Okay, not everyone, but according to this study, 27% of females and 36% of males smoke in Spain compared to 18% (total) in the U.S. It seems like everyone, though, seriously.

8. College is cheap and affordable. Just from my personal experience of chatting with a few friends here, I've learned that an entire year of college only costs around $1,500. That's equivalent to about a month's worth of income. Therefore, we pay nearly 12 times as much in the U.S. for our education. Such ridiculousness, if you ask me.

9. The culture is very family-oriented. While Americans pride themselves in being individuals, Spanish people are very proud of having close-knit families. My host mom sees her sons and grandchildren every week. Not to mention, there is no pressure to move out of your parents' house here. You could live with them until you're 40 and that's fine. In the U.S., if you haven't moved out already, you better at least be trying to fend for yourself at age 18.

10. American culture is everywhere. Even though it seems like Spain has us beat in a lot of categories, hey at least we have worldly influence of our awesome music, movies, and TV shows. Spaniards love Breaking Bad and Justin Bieber just as much as we do! Wait.... You get the point.

As a friend mentioned to me today, you really only notice things about your own culture once you have the ability to compare them to another, which is precisely what I feel like I've been doing since I got here. These are just a few examples of the obvious culture differences I've noticed, and I can only imagine how much broader my thinking will be upon my return to the U.S. in just 15 more days! Hopefully I'll have the chance to travel again in the future, and I'll never forget this as being my first experience to expand my horizons.

Happy Holidays!

My Alicante rant post, because every blog needs one

Don't get me wrong this place is great. Actually, it's not just great, it's amazing. However, you can kind of compare studying abroad to being in a relationship. In the beginning of a relationship, you're in lust, awe, and see no flaws in the other person. After dealing with the same person for awhile, small things might start to annoy you, but you learn to deal with them because you love the person anyway.

Studying abroad is kind of like that. I still love this place, but there are definitely some differences in culture I'm beginning to notice a lot more. I also miss having certain things that only being at home could provide, which I have listed below. 

1. Common courtesy

Not that people are intentionally being rude here, but it's just part of their culture to not say "excuse me/pardon me" in public. The only time I hear anyone say "excuse me" is when they accidentally bump into someone else. People just kind of squeeze by or push you out of the way. And on the street, people just don't get out of your way. It's also not super common for people to say "thank you" if you open the door for them, or pick up their dropped papers, or anything of the nature. It may come across as rude to us, but I just think that's the norm here and they think nothing of it.

2. Junk food

Never thought I would say this, but being away from salty, fatty snacks creates this indescribable craving that you can't get rid of. I splurged on a hostess-style brownie the other day from the vending machine--and then to my surprise, thought it was disgusting and felt horrible afterward. Weird, weird, weird. I want it, but can't even enjoy it anymore. Even the delicious looking croissant below gave me a stomach ache for nearly 8 hours. 

3. HUGE coffees 

A normal size coffee here is literally a cup. No, not a coffee cup, but like a measuring cup size. If you want an "american sized" coffee, the only place you can find them is at McDonald's (and even then, their sizes are smaller and cost the same).

Coffee and Nutella-filled croissant, which can be found at any café. This coffee was actually a bit larger than at most other cafés, but still not enough to satisfy my coffee addiction.

4. Normal dinner time

Dinner in Spain is optional, or something very small (like a plate of steamed vegetables or bread and cheese). Since the main meal, lunch, is at 2 p.m., you have to eat quite a bit to hold yourself over. If you do eat dinner, it's at 9 p.m. which is a 7-hour gap between the meals. Tough.

5. Free water

Fresh water is a lot more scarce here, so if you go out to eat or are out and about, you have to actually buy water, which can add up. One tiny water bottle is 1 euro. To satisfy my thirst (due to all the heat and sweating) I would have to buy like 5 waters per day. And then if you decide to have a drink or two at the bar, you can't re-hydrate between drinks unless you want to pay the price. I decided to buy a large water bottle that I could just fill at home to bring with me to class and such.

6. Long, hot showers

Like I said, water is scarce. Don't leave the water running, ever. Also, the shower stays hot for about 2 minutes, so I prefer to turn the water off while I'm lathering so I can rinse with hot water before it runs out mid-shower. Showers here are not to enjoy and relax, they're to get yourself clean. 

7. Accessible bathrooms in public

Restaurants and fast food joints won't let you use the bathroom unless you buy something. I've only found one place that I've been able to get away with using their bathroom without a purchase and that's at 100 Montaditos. And then many times, there's no soap and toilet paper and the guy/girl bathrooms are combined. Blasphemy! 

8. Last but not least: A car

Public transportation is great for the environment and usually pretty darn convenient, but there's so much walking involved everywhere. I can't just hop in a car and be somewhere instantly. And then there's still places that the tram doesn't reach, so you don't always have that option. I better lose some weight from all this walking, that's all I have to say! 

So, there you have it. It's not always butterflies and rainbows here, but I can manage to give up these few American conveniences to experience Alicante's rich culture, friendly people, sight-seeing, diverse shops and restaurants, beaches, perfect weather and healthy lifestyle!

Week 2 in Alicante: The start of classes and meeting people

So much has happened since my last blog post, but I'll try to keep it quick and to the point. I'm going to divide the following sections by topic.

PUNCTUALITY: Our first classes started on the 10th, but apparently the first week of class is optional for some professors. Out of four that I went to, only two professors actually showed up. And one of the two was a half hour late. The culture is a bit different here.

CLASSES: I have decided to "try out" five classes, but I need to drop the two I decide I don't want. It's extremely difficult to try and translate in my head while also understanding material. Fortunately, the directors here are offering an advanced Spanish grammar course that is tailor-made for our group. They are bilingual in English and Spanish so it's helpful that they understand the struggle.

Another beautiful image of the campus

In addition, they don't offer as much flexibility when choosing your classes. My schedule is basically all over the place with huge gaps and class Monday-Friday. Also, the classes here are two days a week but two hours per class, so actually for the same amount of credits, I'm going to class for 4 hours extra per week.

PEOPLE: We also sat in a couple of classes of Spanish students trying to learn English. Many of them were very shy but very interested in learning about American culture. It's amazing how much people know about U.S.A. here. Many of them are fascinated with our culture and our music and movies. When asking many students' favorite movie, many of them told me an American movie. Odd.

DIVERSITY: It's super easy and cheap to travel on this side of the world, so there's a ton of people from all over. I've met some Irish people, Belgian people, English people, French people, Russian people and Algerian people.

Our new Irish friends. We watched soccer at their apartment

FOOD: There's different kinds of food for different areas of Spain, but one plate that is authentic to Alicante is patatas bravas (potatoes with a barbecue-like sauce). Tapas and monteditos are also EVERYWHERE. It's like fast food for Spaniards. Tapas are small appetizer plates that are meant to be shared. They can literally be anything. Montaditos are tiny sandwiches that are about 2-3 inches.

Sharing tapas in Villena

Montaditos

The one thing I really miss though is junk food. They eat super healthy here and eat fruit with EVERY meal. My host mom got mad at me one day when I didn't eat fruit after lunch because I was already too full. So she made me eat twice as much the next day. They also drink coffee which I was afraid they wouldn't have, but it's all mostly espresso.

As many of you probably know, lunch is the biggest meal of the day (during siesta) where everyone comes home, eats together, and everything is closed between about 2-5. Then dinner is optional or they eat something small around 9 p.m.

OVERALL: I really enjoy Spain. It's different, it's beautiful, and the people are super friendly. I also have a beach in walking distance. There's never a dull moment (unless I chose to sit at home and relax). I'm still trying to get used to taking public transportation and walking everywhere, which does eat up a lot of time, but it's pretty darn convenient to get around. My host mom is nice, I've been making friends and have gotten closer with my CMU group.  Now, all I need to focus on is passing these classes and trying to make the most of my time here!

They have "American parties" here! I had no idea that was a real thing.  

City landscape near the beach

Downtown is just gorgeous

Week 1 in Alicante: Festivals, shopping, cafés and more!

I can't believe a whole week has already passed! This place is so different and full of adventure that I feel like the time is flying by.

I found out that I basically live in the center of everything. The center of the downtown area is called "Plaza Luceros" and it only takes me 5 minutes to walk there. The other day, our whole group went to "La Festival de Los Moros y Cristianos" or the Festival of the Moors and Christians in a city pretty close to Alicante. It was a religious parade, but also a party in the entire street in the city of Villena. 

Some pictures from the festival:

These were my favorite costumes! (They can cost $1000!)

The streets of Villena

Moors

The next day, Kris, Damaris and I traveled to San Juan Beach (which was about 45 minutes on the tram) and had tapas and cañas and talked politics for a few hours. The water is SO extremely warm, it's amazing!

Saturday night, Damaris, Katie and I looked around and went up and down streets by the beach. One very well known spot in Alicante is La Explanalda, which is their colorful riverfront: 

La Explanalda

My favorite park, Gabriel Miró, in walking distance and the Fuenta La Aguadora

Interesting graffiti (notice it's in English)

A funny misspelling on one of the "American Diner" menus

Today, we finally started classes and I think it's going to go smoothly. The directors of this program are incredible! Not only are they directors, but also guides and friends. They took us for our first tour, and also one of them is teaching a class we all have together. I thought I would be way more lost here, but I've felt comfortable and safe the entire time! 

Jose Calvo-Ferrer even helped me get my SIM card for my phone (so I can have a Spanish number and call people in my group without insane roaming charges). Thank god he was with me because I don't understand technical terms in Spanish (yet). A plan for 20 SMS/ 20 minutes/ 600 mB cost 10 euro and you can "recharge" it whenever you run out. Not bad, but I'll be using a lot of Wifi as to not go over. So for tonight, I'm going to buy some school supplies and relax for the rest of the day!

Some interesting things I found out about Spain:

• They use the word "conducir" instead of "manejar" for drive (manejar is Mexican)
• They use the word "coche" instead of "carro" for car (carros is also Mexican)
• It hasn't rained in Alicante for almost a year
• You can buy beer at the cafeteria on campus
• They also don't enforce the drinking age (I saw drunk kids at the festival last week!)
• It's easier to take public transportation than drive
• No one here knows what a longboard is. Good thing I didn't bring mine
• The word for "coffee" actually means espresso. If you want a regular coffee its called "cafe americano"
• Locks on the doors are extremely difficult
• It's VERY safe to walk around alone
• There's shops called "tiendas chinas" (chinese stores) that are extremely cheap
• All of the food here is extremely healthy. My host mom doesn't eat ANY processed food. Even the tuna is fresh (and not canned).
• "Monteditos" are little sandwiches you can buy for about 1 euro

That's all for today! Thanks for reading. :)