Spanish Oddities and Other Thoughts on Life

(+) 1 tapa: Spanish hairstyles
While seriously ugly and clearly lacking good judgment, men run amok in this city with the most absurd hairstyles. There’s the regular mullet, the rat-tail, the dread mullet, and the single dread rat-tail. I have also seen the occasional single dread on a few women as well. This only received a plus because I enjoy a good laugh every time I see one of these.

(-) 1 tapa: Gold diggers… the gross kind
For some reason men and women alike think its socially acceptable to pick their nose on the metro, in the middle of the street, waiting at a streetlight, inside a bar, etc. They just go straight for the gold without any second thoughts. BLECH

(-) 1 tapa: Small apartments
Apartments here are tiny, rooms akin to walk-in closets in the states.

(-) 1 tapa: Lack of personal space
While I generally don’t mind people getting too close to me in line or touching me for emphasis during conversation, I truly cannot stand being grabbed and groped by men in bars/clubs.

(-) 1 tapa: Normal eating hours
Breakfast at 8am, lunch at 2:30pm, dinner at 9pm. It’s not so much the hours I mind, it’s the fact that Spaniards don’t snack, thus leaving me extremely hungry and irritable in those hours between meals.

(+) 1 tapa: Late dinners
Like I said before, I don’t mind eating late. In fact, I embrace it. It reminds me of living in San Diego and waiting until the last minute to eat. And it also reminds me of home, when we don’t sit down for dinner until very late due to bad planning.

(-) 1 tapa: lack of sleep
The only down side of eating so late is that I don’t get to sleep until late. And if I have to eat breakfast at 8am, then I get very few hours of sleep. I don’t understand how Spaniards function like this, but hopefully I’ll acclimate.

(-) 1 tapa: the weak $
Even though the dollar has been appreciating these past couple of weeks, it still SUCKS. The reason I don’t really eat between meals is because I don’t want to spend money on over-priced food when I’ve already paid for the meal plan at my dorm. I’m also very tempted to buy so many clothes here, but need to save my money for more important things, like travel and rent.

(+) 1 tapa: IVA
IVA = VAT = sales tax. While IVA is extremely high (something like 16%), I learned that if I save my receipts I can be refunded at customs when I eventually leave the country!

(-) 1 tapa: blog upkeep
I’m already disliking this blog business. It’s already become somewhat of a chore, but alas I know I’ll benefit from having written it all down once I leave this fabulous country.

(-) 1 tapa: my internet connection
My computer LOVES to HATE internet connectivity. It once again has become allergic to wireless internet. In San Diego it hated to function, at home it rarely connected, and now here in Madrid it refuses to let me have access even when everyone else in the entire building has access. I’m never buying an HP computer again.

(+) 1 tapa: vinegar
Since all the food in the dorms is composed of salt, ham, and potatoes, vinegar has become a lifesaver. It transforms the food and makes everything taste better, or just tolerable.