Random things about Madrid!

I have now been here in Madrid for about a week and a half, although it feels much longer! Already I'm starting to get a feel of the city and am beginning to feel more comfortable. Before coming to Madrid, I had so many questions: What is the culture like? What do people look like here? How do they dress; how do they act; what do they do for fun? What kind of food do they eat? Now that I've had enough time to observe some of the differences from American culture, but haven't been here long enough to forget about them or grow accustomed to them, I wanted to write them down so I can look back at them later and also for those of you who ask me these same questions!

First, a few interesting things!

1. Spaniards tend to talk REALLY LOUD. Some people are different from others, of course, but in general they speak a little louder than people in America. It took me a few days to realize that was what was different when they would speak--sometimes, at the beginning, it felt like people were yelling at me! For example, the first day I met my host mother, as she was showing me around the house and explaining the way she ran things, I felt a little like she was scolding me!! Thankfully someone explained later that that is just the way people talk. The accent is definitely strong and more in-your-face than the Mexican accent, so that has been an adjustment.

2. Spaniards eat a lot of ham. Everywhere you go there will be some kind of dish that has "jamón", of all kinds. (They even have jamón flavored chips, which are pretty popular and, actually, pretty good). They also like bacon and pork. On my day trip to the monastery last weekend, the tour guide explained to us that the reason for that is historical: in the past, if you wanted to show you were a "good Catholic," you would eat pig publicly, because the Jews and the Muslims did not eat it. Since then it has just become part of the national diet.

3. Another thing about the diet: they are much healthier than Americans in some ways: the customary dessert after a meal is a piece of fruit, they don't load their salads with fatty dressings (instead, they top it with olive oil and/or vinegar), and they eat a light breakfast, usually a piece of fruit and toast. However, in some ways their diet is less balanced than what I am used to. They eat a lot of carbs! Everywhere you go there is bread, bread and more bread. Plates like rice and pasta are popular, and it is hard to find vegetables on a restaurant menu unless you want a salad. The meat is usually limited to jamón serrano on a sandwich, which is like sliced ham, or maybe a small piece of chicken, but it is not customary to eat a lot of meat at a meal. (At least that has been my experience so far).

Some things about the language:

1. The "lisp" has actually started to grow on me. I don't notice it as much when people talk and I've even started to slip it into conversation a little.

2. I like using the "vosotros" form (which refers to an informal group of people). It is actually a lot easier to pick up than I expected!

3. Everyone says the word "vale." It's a phrase that kind of means "okay?" or "do you understand?" in a friendly way. It is really excessive though! One of my professors literally says "vale?" at the end of almost every sentence. That definitely hasn't grown on me yet!

4. A few differences in words for those who know Spanish:
"zumo" instead of "jugo" for juice
"ordenador" instead of "computadora"
"bolso" instead of "bolsa" for bag
"gamba" instead of "camarón" for shrimp
....and I'm sure there are more but I can't think of any others!

Lastly, I'll show you a picture I took from my trip to Toledo on my birthday last Sunday. There I was able to see a beautiful cathedral, a synagogue-turned-cathedral-turned-museum and a very picturesque little town.

Hasta pronto!