Observations: Episode I

Hey! So, this Friday (two days from now), we are going to be heading to Barcelona on a short two-day trip, so I’ll do a post-trip post when I come back. However, I’ve lately been trying to be more meticulous and actually write down my observations when they occur to me. Generally it’s just stuff that pops into my mind while I’m walking around the city, stuff like that, but I hope that these thoughts might be interesting. I think part of living in a place is recognizing the little things, and sharing them gives you all a sense of what it’s like to live in Europe from the point of view of a thoroughbred Yank. I’ll start the blog post with some of these observations, but also I will throw in some brief recaps of some of the things that I’ve been up to here.

The random observations:

• I’ll start with one that’s really hard for me to get used to as an American. Here, in most areas of your day to day life, tardiness is more or less acceptable. I am still used to Duke (and America in general) where, if class starts at 10:05, you had better be in your seat by 10:00 so that you have everything ready when the professor starts lecturing, or else risk enduring his wrath. That’s not how it works here… If you’re on time, you frankly probably beat the professor to the classroom, and you will have ample time to twiddle your thumbs waiting for the rest of the class to get there, too. Generally speaking, five minutes late is on time. One of my professors put it quite eloquently, saying that “Spaniards don’t let the watch govern their lives.” I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.

• Another thing I’ve noticed is a very random–something you don’t really think about. When you pass people on the sidewalk, to which side do you need to strafe to avoid bodily contact? Spain can’t make up its mind at all about lanes of traffic in general. Cars drive on the right side of the road, the Metro goes on the left. Sometimes you enter Metro station turnstiles on the left side, other times on the right. Escalators may be going upstairs on the left and down on the right, or vice-versa, with no rhyme nor reason–it’s just odd, like it’s entirely unplanned. When you find yourself in the sometimes inevitable situation where you need to walk around someone, they seem to have no real instinct as to which side to pick. I have sort of turned it into a little game, where I try to predict my opponent’s next move and steer clear in advance in order to avoid that awkward dance that sometimes results just before contact. It’s just an odd thing to have to consciously think about, as in America I think everyone just habitually walks past each other on the right. Am I wrong?

• Here, the party scene is nuts. You generally can go out any night of the week, but particularly Thursday through Saturday. You generally start consuming at around 10 or 11, but the night can last (I kid you not) until 8 or 9 AM. It’s insane. I’m told it’s a big plus for getting Real Madrid players to live in Madrid. Beckham apparently was quite the addict of the clubs here–it’s common knowledge, I am told, that he cheated on his wife frequently.

• PDA out in the open is really common. It is almost expected if you’re anywhere near a university that there will be at least one couple aggressively making out. I’ve also seen it in the Metro car and on the bus. After some thought, I believe the comparative openness is because people live with their parents here for so long–I admit that would be more awkward to engage in tongue fencing next to mommy or sissy than next to a rando.

• The police cars here always keep their top lights on. They’re not flashing, but rather the blue lights are constantly lit. I can’t imagine that speed traps are particularly effective.

• Everybody here listens to American music. When I ask about Spanish music, invariably they tell me that Spanish music sucks. They also think they know the lyrics, but usually they are comically wrong.

Random thoughts… gotta love them. It’s fun to record them, though. I carry around a little notebook to write down vocabulary words (I’m at around 600 right now), but when I get a little thought I sometimes write it in the margins.

As far as some of the actual things I’ve been doing, here goes:

• Carnaval was last weekend, and it was a relatively fun experience. It’s a Brazilian tradition, but they also celebrate it here (to a far milder degree). Generally it involves a normal night of partying… plus costumes. Thea and I went with our two Italian friends from school, meeting them at their apartment. Finding the flat sucked, as we got caught in VERY cold rain halfway there. Upon arrival, they were still getting ready with makeup and such, so I just talked to the girls who were already costumed as I dried off. We then went to a club that they knew and liked. Upon arrival, the womenfolk were stormed by men (men here are very forward, even more so than a frat star in the US), but they handled it well. Generally it was a successful, fun night. I intend to hang out with them more, as they’re silly and exciting to be around.

Carnaval with the Italians - Click to Enlarge

• My intercambio Pedro introduced me to his friend Roberto the other night. Roberto went to a British school in Madrid, learned English, and speaks almost fluently. From watching American TV and such, he has learned a lot of vocabulary and has quite the arsenal of phrases and idioms at his disposal (he said “gut it out” to me. I was stunned). A bit comically, he has essentially adopted an American accent. Spaniards have a lot of trouble pronouncing certain sounds, like the soft “g” in “hug” and the “i” in “igloo”, but Roberto speaks like he’s from the midwest–something he’s picked up from copying the sounds he hears in movies and in music. He’s a really cool guy. The three of us played billiards the other night, something I haven’t done in ages. Another cool thing about Roberto is that he admires American culture very extensively–bordering on being more patriotic than many Americans. I can’t wait till he visits!

Me, Roberto, and Pedro playing billiards at a bar near the Bernabéu - Click to Enlarge

• I bought a plane ticket to Amsterdam for the weekend of March 31. Of course that will be another blog entry. Additionally, I’m intending to visit Felix’s (my brother’s roommate’s) family in Sweden over Spring Break. If I can make it happen, I’d also like to visit a contact in England and Felipe Gaitan in Germany. We’ll see what happens, but at the very least I’ll get to see the Netherlands and Scandinavia–not a bad deal at all.

• As a result of having worn braces, I currently have a permanent retainer on my bottom teeth, and about two weeks ago or so, it broke free on three of the six teeth it was connected to (once one breaks, you get a domino effect). I managed to secure an appointment with an orthodontist today, and they fixed it in less than 20 minutes for less than 20 dollars. When I had a similar repair done in the USA in Chapel Hill, it cost me 150 bucks. I was floored that it was so cheap. It was certainly unexpected, because everything else here costs a fortune.

Classwork:

• I wrote an essay for Art History about the transformation of Velázquez’s style over the course of his lifetime, and the effects that his exposure to Italian art had on his works. If you want to read it (or just look at the pictures) you can read it here. I think the Spanish is relatively well-written, but I’m certain it could be improved to sound more native. Nevertheless, I’m pretty happy with it.

All right, the next time I update this will be post-Barcelona. I’m still ticked that their football club beat Arsenal yesterday. I went with Roberto to an Irish Pub called Shamrocks to watch and left a tiny bit disappointed. They have a frustratingly good team. Anyway, with that, I bid you all adieu.

¡Hasta luego!