I’m currently sitting on my bed in my new home in Granada, Spain, munching on a banana because my stomach can’t hold out for 9pm dinners. In Spain, the norm is a tiny breakfast, a large lunch at 2 or 3pm, and a small dinner at 9 or 10pm. Many Spaniards, including my host madre, Ana María, don’t eat breakfast or dinner, just lunch. I know this for a fact because when my roommate, Ally, and I asked for cereal for breakfast she gave it to us on a plate without milk (but she makes delicious vegetarian lunches and recently published a cookbook, so I’m not complaining). Spaniards also don’t really seem to sleep—they go out until like 6am but wake up bright and early for work the next day. And they don’t seem to need bathrooms because there are none in any stores anywhere. Being someone who eats, sleeps, and pees a lot, I am impressed by this ability to forego basic needs. Although stores here are always playing American music and many signs are in English, there are a number of things, in addition to meal times, that I have yet to get used to. To name a few:
-Men here wear bonnets and poke their heads through strollers that have fake baby bodies in them meant to look attached to their heads. These man babies wail and gurgle while you walk by, hoping you’ll tip them for their gruesome cuteness. When I saw my first man baby, I was impressed by the creativity, but then I realized there’s a whole species of them, they’re everywhere, and they’re all the same. Now I barely notice their cries as I walk by. Also, the first time you see a shiny goat, a man with glasses but no head, or a man balancing midair from a stick, it’s eye-opening, but then you start to realize one is just like the next; they’re not wacky weirdos but trend-following conformers just like the rest of us.-Unclothed feet are a sin here. I keep almost walking out of my room only in socks, only to dash back for my slippers before Ana María notices. For whatever reason, showing feet here is as scandalous as wearing no pants.
-It’s customary to press your cheeks against people while kissing the air here, first right and then left. I still don’t have the timing right. I only remember to kiss when the whole thing is over, so I’m left to awkwardly kiss the air after they’ve already moved away.
-Waiters will give you a strange look if you ask for your food to be wrapped up, and there are no to-go cups. The culture here is more relaxed—people don’t feel the need to walk while they eat or drink and actually take time to digest. But I’m going to miss walking around with a warm cup of coffee in my hand.
-Like in America, bread is served before the meal, but unlike in America, you’re generally charged for it. If you ask for water, you get expensive bottled water. They’ll give you tap water if you ask for it, but you can tell it brings them grief to give you a beverage they don’t profit from…I’m assuming that’s why the tap is called the “grifo” (pronounced “griefo”).
These oddities are really nothing to complain about because I can make a list of how Spain is superior to America, and it will be much longer than the above list:
-Tapas, small plates of various types of foods, are served free with drinks. This evening, I had tinto de vino (a summer wine mixed with lemonade), a small tuna sandwich, and chips for 2 euros.
-There are major sales until the end of February. I explored the sales yesterday and am currently wearing a ring I bought for 2.50 euros. Apparently the sales are meant to bolster the failing economy, which isn’t something to be happy about…but still.
-The Alhambra, a picturesque palace on a mountain (which we’ll explore tomorrow) is right there. Like, within half an hour of my apartment. I can’t say they have that in America.
-Every street is made of tiles in intricate patterns, and places for walking are much wider than the roads for cars. In America, there are plain old paved roads for cars, and you’re lucky if there’s a sidewalk. It’s definitely a walker-friendly city, and I love being able to use my body, rather than a gas-guzzling machine, to get places.
-There are quite a few parks around here, all with exercise machines. So you get to work out surrounded by palm trees rather than cold walls, and you don’t have to pay.
-It’s the norm for nuns to sell cookies from their convents. You buzz in and the nun puts your order on a rotating concealed plate so you never see her face. It’s kind of like a drug deal but with a nun. No big deal.
-Classes here don’t start until February 6th, so I get plenty of time to acclimate myself to this amazing city.
So yeah, even though I can’t get coffee to-go or watch “Desperate Housewives” for four months, I’m unbelievably happy to be here. I feel like I’ve been transported into an alternate reality where people zoom around cobblestone roads on vespas and casually walk their dogs by a magnificent Moorish palace.
Since I’m in list-mode, I’ll add a list of the major places I’ve been so far, just for the record:
1. Arrived January 23rd in Madrid- Barajas Airport after sitting next to a girl from Madrid on the plane and listening to her rant about the wonders of the city for nearly the whole trip.
2. Stayed at the Hotel Moderno in Madrid for three nights. While in Madrid, I was first exposed to the man babies, goats, etc. Like Granada, Madrid is a city that clearly puts much effort into appearance. Went to the Prado Museum and got to see El Greco, Velásquez, and Goya.
3. Went to El Escorial, a small town an hour north of Madrid. Saw el Monastario de San Lorenzo, a breathtakingly beautiful monastery. It consists of intricately decorated rooms, including an ornate golden room filled with caskets for the bones of dead royalty. The dead royalty are pretty lucky—if my bones had to go anywhere, that’s probably where I’d choose.
4. On our way to Granada, stopped in Toledo, which is right out of a fairytale, with castles, a moat, and little cottages. We saw the famous “Burial of Count Orgaz” by El Greco and visited a beautiful church and synagogue. Then we made our way to Granada, where Ana María picked Ally and me up at the bus stop and brought us to her apartment, where she is currently spoiling us with her cooking skills.
That pretty much sums it up for now…stay tuned!
