The rundown:
- (shocking) somethings are the same, some are differnt
-i have a better chance to see the simalarites in the culture

-kids are kids world wide

- I am concered very advanced for no longer living with my family at 24

-to the outsider, spain looks ghetto as ****.

 

 

             When I set off for Spain the first time it was my first time ever traveling abroad and it was only for a month. That time around, it was a different world, 100%.  However, this time I am beginning to notice more similarities than differences. With the families I am living with, I am getting a more insiders view of the life here. And while of course there are things that are very different in my day-to-day life, so many of the things are the same.

For example:

-There are still McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger King and KFC.

-They have Irish Pubs, Chinese Restaurants and Pizza delivery.

-They have shopping malls and cheap dollar stores.

-People are still addicted to their phones and videogames.

-They have public and private schools.
-The children still beg their parents for a new school supplies with their favorite TV show character or sports team plastered everything.

-Parents still adopt Chinese babies.

-Children play hopscotch, swing on monkey bars and play sports after school.
-They still have many graphic t-shirts…in English.

-Kids whine and make up excuses to avoid going to bed.
-Children are also still picky eaters.

-Girls play school and house; boys play pirates and fight.

 

 

           However, as I said before there are some differences in Spain. Often they are small things, but nonetheless, little things that remind me “we’re not in Kansas anymore”
Some include:
-They write they date as the Day/ Month /Year
-They eat breakfast at 9, lunch at 3, and supper at 9.
-They go out from 12-5am on the weekends.

-Everyone and their dog has a dog.
-I have not seen a clothes dryer since I have been here; they hang everything.
-Almost all cars are manuals.

-They always wear slippers or flip-flops inside.
-They never walk around in work out clothes, but almost never sit around at home in clothes they wear to work .
-Almost all their intersections are roundabouts.
-Jeans and a T-shirt are common for teachers.

-The door knob on the outside of the door is in the middle, and does not turn (therefore if you shut the door it automatically locks, every time…I learned from experience)
-Keyboards are different letters because of the ñ and upside down question mark/ exclamation mark (clearly I am typing this from my laptop).

-They have MANY athletic shoes stores, but I am the only young person, let alone female, I have seen running. 
-And finally, they have an entirely different view on age. For example, it is very common for people to “become independent” around 35, marry around 40 then have children. A person is considered “Young” if they are younger than 40.

 

             I stayed in Madrid for 2 weeks and now in Ourense for about the same. Living with two different families in two different areas of Spain has given me some insight about differences between the city and more rural life here.
In my last blog I mentioned El Corte Ingles being the death of my bank account; however, we don’t have one in Ourense. This is convenient for my wallet but also makes shopping a bit more difficult. Spain is completely developed and they have everything from Oreos, to Nike shoes, to Dove deep conditioner…however these are all at separate stores.  In Ourense there is not the one-stop-shop that Madrid had.  Ourense is in the mountains, and it is much more relaxed than Madrid but also more difficult to travel from Ourense given its location in the mountains and lack of  an airport, which will be a pain when I try traveling out of the country. However, in regards to living (not traveling) I much prefer Ourense . Just outside the city there are free thermal pools along side the river, with the mountains in the backdrop, there is hiking and beautiful landscapes, it rains a lot, which I find refreshing and there’s no flight in the world that can beat fresh air (unless of course it’s a flight to more mountains and fresh air).  Finally, with less people, I am also able to walk around Ourense with a backpack and not be concerned that I will have something stolen. Ourense is safe, it is rich in cultural traditions and fresh food from the gardens and has everything my heart could ever desire (except my loved ones back home).

 

 

            All that being said, I am glad I visited Spain in 2010, because had I not, I would have thought it was Ghettoooooo. There is graffiti EVERYWHERE, along with rusting metal bars over windows and dirty walls. The buildings are old and often look like they are falling apart. It took me a good while to realize despite the appearance, my city is safe, it’s super friendly, and I feel at home.