I could talk about my second trip with Mare Nostrum to Andalucía but the truth is that I was quite sick for a good part of it. The hotel was nice! We saw a very authentic flamenco show, given by a gypsy family in an old cave, and the Alhambra and the Mosque in Córdoba were amazing pieces of Moorish architecture that remain well-preserved, but I've written enough lists of things I've done. I'm in a more reflective mood.
Things I will unquestionably miss about Spain
- Public transportation. It's good in just about any big city, but Madrid's Metro is king. Probably the best subway in the world (although some people argue for Tokyo) despite Madrid's only being the world's 50th largest city. (Honorable mention to London and Paris... not quite as good as Madrid's Metro but still very, very good.) Additionally, the buses are really good: both the local city buses, and the inter-city buses that run across Spain. It's all really affordable and efficient. Everyone owns a car here, unlike New York City, but if I lived here I honestly couldn't imagine needing one. It's a refreshing feeling and makes life a lot easier not having to drive everywhere, and as much as I'm going to enjoy having my car again, in the States you have to drive everywhere, and in the 'burbs it takes 10-15 minutes to get anywhere.
- My host family. I have gotten along with Pilar incredibly well. After hearing everyone exchange horror stories about their families on the bus home from Andalucía, I wished I could have had my recommendation form back. Not that I said anything even remotely negative about Pilar; I loved living here because it's a great location, she's a good cook, and I get along well with her and her family (namely her grandson Germán of 20 months and her daughter's dog Tai). No, the reason I wanted the recommendation form back was because I had the perfect answer to the last question in my head...
Q: Would you recommend this family to another student?
A: Let me put it this way... When everyone sits around and exchanges horror stories about their señoras, I can just sit back, smile, and listen to the conversation in silence, because I have absolutely nothing to add. - The attitude toward alcohol. One of the biggest differences between America and Europe. Kids are introduced to alcohol younger, as a part of life, and it's not made out to be the Forbidden Fruit like it is in the US. Almost anywhere that sells food sells cañas of beer or red wine, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Returning to the US, where you can only order alcohol at a bar and not at, say, McDonald's will be strange. Enjoying a small beer or copa with lunch isn't done out of alcoholism here; more just because it's refreshing, you like the taste, and you get tapas too for the price of the drink. People here do not drink too much, ever, despite the fact that botellón (drinking outside in groups) and ir de copas (going out for drinks) is practiced by teenagers. The stereotype of Americans is that they have a tendency to, well, overindulge.
- The Spanish lifestyle. Especially during the summer, I think the Spanish really do it right. Light meals, the famous siestas (the extent of which are a bit overblown, but I enjoyed them in the summer heat), late dinners after the weather cools down, and bottles of wine and sangría shared among friends at outdoor terraces afterward. Madrid's a big city and the difference between here and home isn't as striking as in Italy, but things are just a half step slower here -- nobody's really in a rush at restaurants or supermarkets -- and that's just fine with me.
- My elementary school kids. Most were very enthusiastic about learning English. I felt like the class started getting a lot more productive once I gave up speaking only English and explained more complicated concepts in Spanish. This helped on many levels; it helped me improve my Spanish by conversing with them, it helped them understand English, and it made the kids that much more attentive. I've heard the only way to really teach or learn a language well is to speak only in that language -- my host sister Arancha, who teaches Spanish to Arabic-speaking students, told me. But when you're trying to explain something very complicated, especially about grammar, no amount of gesturing and slowing down is going to force comprehension, and a short sentence or two in Spanish let my kids know exactly what I was talking about, and quickly.
- Getting to constantly practice Spanish. I need to lots watch of Spanish TV and speak whenever possible so I don't lose it. People here say I speak really well, I need to keep that up. (I probably peaked sometime in early November but am still doing very well with it.)
- The climate. The last two weeks, it's been a bit cold -- around 8 degrees Celsius, or 46 Fahrenheit -- but to a native Syracusan, that's nothing. Here, that's freezing. People bundle up with heavy coats, hats, and gloves in this weather, and always ask me how I can walk around with an unzipped coat and nothing else. "Hombre," I reply. "Soy de Nueva York. Hoy, no hace frío." And I laugh.
- Döner kebabs, good Spanish ham (and seeing big legs of ham just chilling in every restaurant), and actual tapas culture -- tapas should be cheap dishes received for free with drinks or ordered relatively inexpensively à la carte in moderate portions. They should not be what most "tapas" bars are in the USA: overpriced, posh bars where everyone's dressed to the nines, they only serve cosmos and wine, and there's house music playing. No. (It would actually be cool to open a Spanish restaurant / cafetería back home, because if it's done right, it's a fun atmosphere with good prices.)
Things I am unquestionably looking forward to at home
I'll be more brief here...
- Good pizza -- like, with tomato sauce.
- Fast food that doesn't make me wake up in a cold sweat with horrible stomach pain. (Taco Bell especially, because duh.)
- Being able to watch my American sports. I tried to stay away from them here, and I did a pretty good job of it, but the addiction to Michigan football and Syracuse basketball is hard to break and reading GameCasts and liveblogs just doesn't quite have the same appeal as actually watching a game.
- Walter's! Enough said. (Sub-thing: buying beer at a bar that doesn't cost 5€ / $7.)
- Video games; haven't touched one since I left in August, but MW2, MVP, and Gretzky are calling my name.
- Wegman's. Oh, Wegman's. And Pavone's. And Alto Cinco. And Cosmo's. And cheapish sushi. All-American classics.
- Living somewhere where it's socially acceptable to wear a baseball cap in public.
- TV shows where the commercials aren't literally six minutes long.
- Friends and family, of course.
- Finally, just a little bit... snow. (Remind me of this when it's still snowing in April.)
Advice I'd give to others studying in Spain and elsewhere
- Make sure you have $500-$1000 more than you think you need saved up. Until you get a hang of where and how to find the cheap food in a new country, you'll end up paying a lot more than you need to when you go out to eat or drink, or even when buying water or snacks. Also, you don't want to have to say "no" to taking a trip to somewhere that interests you because you're running low on cash. It's good to try to go on a budget but you're HERE in Europe, might as well see it. (I did pretty well with this.)
- Along the same lines... grocery stores -- NOT alimentación places or los chinos (named for their Chinese owners), as convenience stores are called here -- are the places to find the best deals on anything. Oh, you just paid €1.50 for that liter of water? The grocery store nearby probably has 1.5L of the same water for €0.30. Bread, meat, and cheese are really cheap, too, and if you have a knife (or don't mind a few crumbs), you can make your own bocadillos (i.e., baguette sandwiches) very very cheap... around €1.50 per person.
- Bring a water bottle so you don't have to buy lots of water -- especially if you're somewhere that has good, drinkable tap water (like Madrid). This is especially useful when going out to eat because some places will not bring you a tap water if you order it, no matter what you say. Also, water fountains in Europe more or less don't exist.
- Don't go in thinking you'll use your American phone. Just buy a cheap prepaid one when you get there. Everyone you'll be calling will have a Spanish number, too.
- Abuse Skype, both with your friends and family from home and with friends at school. Much cheaper than calling or texting on your Spanish/whereverish phone.
- Save your Spanish phone; you really can sell it back for 6€ if you have all the original stuff that came with it. And at the end of the semester, 6€ might as well be winning the lottery.
- Do postcards early. Otherwise you'll just forget until it's too late and you'd end up beating the postcard home.
- If your camera/SD card breaks the first week you're here, for the love of God do something about it. (Those last two things may apply to me.)
Well, that is about all that is on my mind. Tomorrow, I have my last exam -- Modern Spanish Art -- and Thursday will be lots of packing, culminating with my Farewell Dinner Thursday night at the Institute. I have been taking pictures of the house and random things that have defined my stay here -- not landmarks, but the more everyday things, so that I can remember them and so you can see them. I will post those pictures in a sort of photo essay here soon, perhaps even after I get back. Friday, my flight leaves Madrid at 16:55 CET and gets in at 19:35 EST -- an eight-hour+ flight that only takes 2.5 hours on the clock -- and then I get into Syracuse at about 23:45. Long day but I'm really excited! After I get back, I don't know what will become of this blog but that's a decision for another day.
¡Nos vemos muy pronto!
