INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SPAIN
disclaimer: all these things are just in my little experience here. Not necessarily facts, and certainly not unbiased ones.
1. A few words about Spanish fashion: pants waaaay down low. But very few cracks showing, because underwear is pulled up. It's actually fashionable to have your underwear hanging out in the back (and usually not thongs, either -- I'm talking coverall underwear). I know at least two girls who sometimes sag their pants like many American boys. Incredible.
2. Fasten your seatbelts, girls: for many boys, the mullet is BACK IN. Hot stuff.
3. A lot less makeup than in America, just in general.
4. White jeans are fashionable. I might get me a pair. Or not.
5. Off the topic of fashion...lunch is the biggest meal here. They think it's insane that many Americans eat only a sandwich for lunch. I'm not even gonna get into how much food there is at lunchtime in these parts.
6. They TOTALLY believe stereotypes about America. For example, my first night here there was Coke on the table at supper. My family asked me what I'd like to drink, and I asked for water...they were surprised. Ramon told me that they had thought Americans drank only Coca-Cola. I know now that they bought the Coke just for me. It's totally unusual to have soda in this house.
7. Cereal is eaten with warm milk. It's quite good, actually, though it gets squishy. So it's good with deliciously squishy cereals.
8. Shaving is not so necessary. I won't reveal how long it's been since I've shaved my legs, but that's only because I don't remember when the last time was. Heh.
9. RIDE THAT MOTORBIKE. SO MANY PEOPLE, as young as 14, ride their motorbikes to school. At first I found it hilarious, all these super young kids walking around with their helmets, but I barely even notice it anymore...
10. Everyone smokes, too. I still haven't quite gotten over seeing kids who look about 11 walking home from school with a cigarette between their lips. And now it seems amusing to me that it was kind of scandalous in Asheville to walk away from school while smoking. During break here, kids only make it about a foot beyond the gate (which is right up next to my school) before they light up. And the students not yet old enough to go outside the gate during break smoke in the stalls of the top floor bathroom. Unfortunately, the top floor is where all my group's classes are. Ew.
11. Teacher's don't have their own classrooms. Students do. I usually only have to walk across the hall to my next class (almost always I'm in one of two rooms), whereas the teacher has to carry their stuff all over the school to their next class.
12. Maths is unbearably easy for my Batxillerat. All I have to say. I'm getting stupided. What?
13. There are two ways to do quotes. "Like this," and <
14. Several people still think I can't understand ANY català, because I'm just really dim or something. Also, they tend to speak to me in veeerrrryyyy ssssllllooooowwww VERY LOUD voices. Or in terrible English, to which Català would be preferable. Not everyone, but some people.
15. The division sign is different. They use a colon. 14:2=7
16. They don't write on lined paper. They write on blank computer paper, or graph paper. Everyone.
17. The classical philosophers and planets aren't the same in every language! Aristótil, Ura, etc...
18. THEY SAY "EH" ALL THE TIME! I love this. Why are Canadians known for this? Spaniards must do it just as much...Merci, eh?
19. There are a lot of things that seem backwards to me...for example, it's perfectly okay to eat galletes with warm milk or a piece of almond cake for breakfast, but the former is not acceptable as a dessert. And fruit IS a dessert, along with plain yogurt with just a spoonful of sugar or honey...shouldn't it be the other way around?
20. Absolutely EVERYTHING (as in TV and movies) is dubbed. They can't handle reading subtitles or something. It drives me insane.
21. They're way too into the Simpsons and Family Guy. And, to continue on the topic of dubbing, they try their best to make the voices similar, but they really screwed up on Homer Simpson. His voice is not even close to the original. And to think, the people here don't even realise! It's a terrible sorrow.
Marge is pretty good, though.
I could add more, but I'll leave it at that for the time being.
Unless someone wants to know anything specific. Any takers?
