BILINGUAL-ISM: I am right now
watching La Voz (The Voice) on TV. It is surprisingly intriguing and not too
hard to follow. There are a number of people in Spain that speak English and I
would say that of those older than 15 that speak English, over 60% of them
learned it by watching TV. I find this incredible to be honest. I also find
that it takes away any excuse any of us could have to not speak multiple
languages. Who can’t access the Spanish version of a movie on the options menu
of their favorite DVD? And why haven’t I picked up French yet? The difference
is that our TV shows (not all) are great, and the Spanish ones are not.
Spaniards have verified this for me. They like American entertainment and they like
the original versions enough that they end up learning English from them. One
guy used Two and a Half Men, one liked Breaking Bad, and others have mentioned
House and How I Met Your Mother. I got a vote for Grey’s Anatomy too.
Unfortunately I’ve also heard mention of the Simpsons. Nonetheless, our TV shows are rampant here. However,
compared to almost all other European countries, Spain has a much, much smaller
bilingual population.
THE SBUCKS: Starbucks is an
underdog here as far as coffee sources go. Believe it or not, it’s even more
expensive than the states. I see people at them, and there are several throughout
the city, but I’ve probably only seen a total of 3 people en route to somewhere
with a Starbucks. The coffee on-the-go is not a thing. Actually, any sort of
consumption on-the-go isn’t really a thing, besides smoking. One is to sit and
enjoy coffee with friends or a book. Smoking is prevalent, but laws were
recently passed banning it inside so while the national number of smokers has
decreased, the streets appear even fuller of smoking that in previous years. It
is one thing that truly and consistently bothers me here: being outside and
feeling enveloped in smoke.
HEALTH: Spaniards age very well.
They eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and walk more than I could’ve
pictured. Did I mention that for “dessert” we normally have a pear? Per usual,
the average portion size is smaller than in America, and dinner is nearly a
non-event. Our host mom cooks for us, but she just sits and has a piece of
fruit. On the whole, it seems that people are healthy, confident in their
bodies, and exhibit great temperance as a way of life. This does not seem to
coincide with the absurd amount of pastry shops, artisan desserts available,
and quantity of white bread consumed daily, so I am still trying to work that
out. Truly though, this country is healthier than our country and they are
going to reap the associated benefits. We should be inspired, but if not, then
perhaps at least feel an urge to compete. However, they have the same type of
problem regarding increasing obesity in children; it is just not a rapid or
extreme.
EDUCATION: Yesterday I chatted with
a Spanish student at the university and we talked a little about the university
systems in our countries. At the end of high school, students take an exam
called the selectivo and the grade
they make determines which career paths (a "carrera") they are allowed to enter in the
university. For example, the test is on a scale from 1-14 and to enter the path
to medicine, you must get at least a 12.5. Once they have chosen, they are
stuck with that. You are only allowed to enter and mix 2 career paths if they are
related. Related? What does that mean? That’s what I thought too. I am seeking
degrees from two different colleges in TCU and to me it makes great sense. But in Spain, someone (I’m not sure who)
decides whether or not two paths go together, and if they don’t, you cannot
have them both. This baffles me, which is perfect evidence of our different
mindsets. I told my friend that the system sounds very limiting. He responded
that the mindset is what limits them and explained that the mindset here is
more “what the state says is what is”. His example was that in America, anyone
could be president (theoretically, though he still acknowledges the difficulty)
but here in Spain, that could never be. Is anyone else fascinated by this? I
just want to send TCU and Texas and the department of education a thank-you
card for not caring that I want to learn Spanish and neuroscience. And that
some of my friends want to study economics and psychology of leadership. Or
whatever other combo or trio they have imagined making a life from. I apologize
because I know I’m getting rant-y here. But I do, in a
totally sappy way, appreciate America’s version of freedom so much more in this
regard.
POLITENESS:
Sevillanos are extremely friendly, nice, and helpful. I have loved living
around them. However, sometimes their desire to help reaches a non-helpful
extreme in the realm of directions. If you ask someone for directions, they
will want to help you. . . so much so that if they do not know the location of
whatever you have asked, they may make up a direction to point you in just so
they can “help”. The best advice I’ve gotten on this is to note if there is any
hesitation in the direction-giving, and if so, ask someone else because they
probably made it up. The level of directness here is higher as well. People
just say things how they are and there is no offense taken and no one skips a
beat. For example, my host mom will tell us about her family members, one of
whom is her “ugly niece”. This is not family gossip though, it is just a fact.
Friends will say goodbye to each other with “See you later, chubby” and it is a
loving gesture. My favorite encounter so far was yesterday. A Spanish friend
came up to say hi, looked at me for a second, and said (in Spanish) “What
happened to you? You have a bad face.” I didn’t really know what to say (I’m
tired today?) but then he just asked if I could get coffee. I find
the directness overall refreshing (so far).
So
those are some of my recent musings. I know it’s been a good while that I haven’t
posted anything, but life has been moving right along, just as it is in Texas
and Missouri (which is weird to think about sometimes). I’m really growing to
love this place and its people and I notice new things every day. I think
people can make every effort to be aware of their own background and be
extremely conscientious of their culture, but until you are taken out of your
context, I’m not sure you can fully realize the things you take in as “normal”
without thinking. And I realize this is coming from my single month in a 1st
world, democratic country! I can’t imagine what other things I would find if I
went somewhere truly, extremely removed from American lifestyles. But trust me,
I can’t wait to find out. J
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