Ireland: Howth and Dublin
Spain: Toledo
Spain: Toledo (Puente de Alcantara, and la Catedral)
I've lost track of how long it's been since I came overseas. I know I left on June 22nd. But it feels like I've been here forever. From my two days in Ireland, then spending five days in Spain before running off on an impromptu trip to Lisbon, Portugal, it's been hectic, exhausting, but amazing. This was the first full week of classes and, while it's all information I have learned before, I'm learning to apply it in ways which are actually more useful for conversation. In America, I think they teach us the "technical" way to say things- the very formal, very proper mechanics. But here, they teach us to talk the way that they do, so it's exactly what I wanted to get out of the conversation skills class I signed up for.
Things are different here though, and I've missed home this week. I never was a patriotic person before I started studying abroad and missing the 4th of July. If I had been home these last two summers, I probably would've worked, or stayed in. But over here, I put on my low-key red, white, and blue outfits and we search out places that serve hamburgers and other things that remind us of home.
Things that are different:
-People are very direct here. They don't let you waste their time, and what would seem very rude and abrasive in America is just commonplace and expected here. "Hello" is replaced by "Dígame", and while I've grown used to saying "Dáme un cafe" ("give me a coffee"), I still tack on "por favor" at the end, even though saying "please" and "thank you" isn't really expected in most situations.
-Meals. I'd read up on this ahead of time, because food is very important to me, but I still somehow thought it wouldn't be an issue. But the meal times and quantity of food is vastly different. In America, we value breakfast as the "most important meal of the day", and experts say it should be the largest meal/full of proteins and healthy stuff, etc etc. However, most people I've seen here eat very little in the morning- a coffee and maybe a croissant or a pastry, although small pulgas with ham and tomato can be purchased. Lunch here is gigantic. They follow menu del dia in the university cafeteria, and it's also available in many restaurants as well- great value for the amount of food, but I can never finish it and they don't give you boxes to take leftovers. Menu del dia is basically a three course meal for a low cost, about 10-12 euro, depending on where you go. After lunch everything in the casco antigua (old city) shuts down for siesta. It's very hard to find a place to go if you want to stay out and have a beer (a cana) or sangria (tinto de verano.) Dinner is also smallish. We are lucky because in the university cafeteria, our meals are decent sized and served at 7:30, but elsewhere in the city, people don't go out to dine until after 9-10 pm. In other words, from an American point of view, it's very smart to go out at about 8 pm because nobody is at the restaurants, which can be nice and quiet (unless you want to people-watch.)
-The service. In America, we are all about being on the go: fast food, fast cars, quick lunch breaks, no delays. THAT IS NOT THE CASE HERE. Meals are meant to be more leisurely, and especially with how big lunch is, you should take your time eating. I'm so used to gulping down my meal that this is difficult for me. But they place value on enjoying the dining time with friends or family, and slowing down to relax and enjoy yourself. So the service is the same way. You can seat yourself often in an outdoor terraza (like a patio, almost all restaurants here have them) and the waiters go in and out, checking on people, serving people, etc. You'll probably get greeted pretty quickly, but even if they take your drink order, it'll probably be quite a few minutes before you receive it. For me, that's very strange. I actually thought at first that the waiter had forgotten about our order, but then he came out with it- really, never less than 5 minutes. Same with ordering and receiving food. The worst though is when you try to get the bill. They don't offer to give it to you like in America, where they just put it on your table and say, "Whenever you're ready." Ohhh no. The waiters here don't really come to you, especially if you have food on the table still (unfortunate if you can't eat everything you ordered...), but if they notice you are low on drinks maybe. Or you have to call them over, or holler across tables "La cuenta por favor!". Eventually they will bring it. Usually after another 10 minutes. It's a very drawn-out experience. I honestly love it. I've been trying to be more conscientious about how quickly I'm eating, so I can try and slow down and enjoy the food and the company more.
-They don't take tips here. None. The only tipping we do is if it comes out to 8.90, it can be rounded up to 9. But they don't expect it. They'll give you back that ten cents if you wait for it. It might even be considered rude to tip here. The waiters actually have good pay here, so they in theory don't "need" your money- not like servers in America rely on tips.
-Siesta!!! Here, siesta is from about 2 pm- 5 pm, and it makes sense because it's the hottest part of the day. It routinely has been between 95-100 degrees here, with maybe one or two days dipping below 90 before 7 pm. It is so hot, that nobody is outside. Siesta is not as common in Spain as it used to be, but still followed in many places because, as stated above, lunch is the most important meal here. People shut down their shops and can go home and dine with their family and relax and rest, then they come back to work at 5 or 6 and finish out the shift. I have a love-hate relationship with siesta. On one hand, it's SO HOT OUTSIDE that it's almost crazy to walk around in the afternoon. However, 2 pm is right when my free time starts and I really like taking long walks to explore the city, look into shops, do whatever. BUT when everything is closed, and it's deathly hot, and you're thirsty and need a bathroom, but nothing around you is open, that's where the trouble sets in. On the other hand, I love to sleep, so on a few occasions, I've taken pretty epic afternoon naps (not recommended though.) Finally, siesta is a good time to complete homework in my beautifully air conditioned dorm room. So it really comes down to the day and how I feel after lunch has ended.
Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Candeleda, which has a series of caves we are visiting as well as a lake for swimming. I'm very excited! I think the town is near the mountains, so it will be a very lovely day.
No comments:
Post a Comment