While listening to my American music (which is pretty standard here) and thinking about my time here, a few things come to mind that I've been wondering about. And so if you were expecting a post about 7 grand sights of Spain, you are mistaken. Instead, I'd like to tell you about a few things that always leave me scratching my head.
7. Dog Poo
Yes, dog poo. It's weird here, and EVERYWHERE, in case you were wondering why I'm mentioning it. The streets are continuously being cleaned, but I'm still finding myself checking my shoes every time I get to my destinations. Also, the poo is orange. Yup, orange. I understand the dog food is probably different here, but orange? Why the heck is that? What are they feeding these dogs? I'm curious.
6. Bugs
O.K., I generally am alright around bugs, but the other night during dinner I saw the biggest freaking cockroach of my life! And my host parent's reaction? Just something like a "oh" or "oops; " one stomp of my host mom's foot and that pest was gone, but let me tell you, I was flipping out a little. I had never seen very many bugs here in Spain so far, so seeing that huge one has got me wondering what other little lovelies I'll run into here this semester. I'll try to stay positive, but I'm starting to realize why it's important to wear slippers all the time.
5. Trees
Alright, so I know I've been here for a few weeks now, but for some reason I never noticed the funky trees on my way to school. So to my surprise, I looked up one day, and see these birch-like trees that have little balls hanging off all of them. At first I thought they were decorations, but sure enough, they're connected! I've tried doing some researching for this particular vegetation, but have not yet been successful. Ever since then, I've been very intrigued by these mystery trees, and I'm going to try and get to the bottom of this. Still, I'm convinced each ball contains a speck of a whole new world of little beings, just waiting for a giant friend to come along and change their lives. :)
4. Mullets.
Why? WHY?.....'nough said.
3. Old Men & Buses
Another thing I'm confused about...buses (schedules) and the old men who wait for them. For one thing, I feel like as much as I try to keep up with the bus schedules, I still never have any idea when the heck they're coming. There's one bus that has exact times it's supposed to come, but then again, it's Spain, so time means nothing. :) Lucky for me, I have 3 different options for buses going to and from town, but it seems like I'm always getting to the bus stop at the wrong times. I go there early and there's no one there, and then right before the bus comes, tons of people show up! It's like they have a sixth sense! Or maybe they've just had a lot of practice. Either works. :) ...and either way, I need to somehow obtain this knowledge! But anyway, I wait for these buses, and there's often an old man sitting there waiting too (apparently they don't have the sixth sense everyone else does). These men always like to talk to me, and they mumble a lot so of course never have any idea what they're saying. --I've become a pro at the smiling, nodding, and saying "si" method for communicating-- I often wonder if they know I'm completely oblivious to what they're saying or if they actually think I'm following along. No matter what, it's always a bit uncomfortable for me, and I heave a sigh of relief when the bus comes. It's alright though, I just hope they haven't been talking about something weird, so I don't keep agreeing with them that Franco was the good 'ol times or that all the gypsies live in Poligono (my friend's neighborhood...I have heard this though! lol) or something like that haha.
2. Smoking, Hills, and Health!
Honestly, how do they do it? With the intense hills and cobblestone streets that make up Toledo, I really wonder how SO MANY people here can smoke! And then live so long! Seriously, there are a lot of elderly people here in Toledo, and they can still make it up the mountainous terrain of Toledo's "streets" fairly easily. I mean I know they must have the lung capacities of whales or something from all the hills, but I would think the smoking would pretty much counteract it. Who knows? They must have some sort of health secret that they aren't telling the rest of the world. I must discover it and make my fortune! Really though, if people didn't smoke here I think they'd last forever. Perhaps that's why Spain has thrived for so long.....
1. Man Purses
The man purse. Or, as others like to call it, the satchel. It has become a popular topic in the world recently, and it has got me thinking whether they are a fashion statement or simply a bad life choice! I had never really had an opinion about it before, but after listening to my new friend Megumi try to convince her boyfriend to let her get him one, I became more interested. After all, she did have some good points. Where are guys supposed to put their cameras? Their purse! She also tried to inform him that they can be very stylish, and that she could even get black leather, that's really masculine. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful in convincing him, but I assured her that he just needs some time to think about it and come to his senses. She assured me she'd probably buy one for him anyway, no matter what he says. haha. In the end, I think Megumi won that battle, and yay for her. As far as the man purses go, I'll leave that opinion up to you. Just something to think about.... :)
So there you have it, 7 things that have been running through my head here in Spain. Of course there are still random things I wonder about, like no dancing at disoctecas? Weird. Also, I just want to say right now that not listening to my music for the first week was a major FAIL on my part! I had forgotten the effect it has on me! I think I would have felt better sooner, because once I started using my iTunes again, I began to relax and feel like myself again. Yay :) ....and don't think it's bad that I'm not listening to music in Spanish, because 75 % of the music here is 80's pop and Beyonce. True story. Also, I'd just like to say that I am meeting so many new people here, and I love it so much. They all have such great personalities and different stories to tell of their lives, and I think it's one of my favorite experiences of this semester. I'm very grateful to share all of this with them, and I can't wait for more adventures!!!
Hasta luego amigos!
No comments:
Post a Comment