"Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith." -Margaret Shepard
The Stereotypes
During my spring break, I was fortunate enough to travel to Madrid, Barcelona and Granada for the week. We decided on three days in Madrid, two in Granada, and four in Barcelona. We knew people studying in every city, so we had free tour guides.
Hands down, Spain was my favorite country (outside of Germany, of course). The people were friendly, but my favorite part was being forced to speak their language. In most other countries, the natives know a little bit of English. In Spain, they really don't know much English other than some ingredients. I learned pretty conversational Spanish over the years, a special thanks to Mrs. Iggins who never taught her class in English, and I was able to remember a lot more than I thought I would. It was awesome having to remember things we learned a long time ago because that was all we could do to get by. We could speak to the taxi drivers, the waitresses, the locals in the streets to ask for directions. It was awesome! Spain is also the only place I have been to where I could see myself studying. All other cities I have been to have been amazing, but Spain really topped it. If I didn't studying in Germany, I would definitely have wanted Spain. It was also interesting how much petty theft there was, especially in Barcelona, due to their struggling economy. Its a completely different perspective from the successful German economy. I also liked noticing these differences. All of my friends agreed that leaving Spain was the saddest. We really loved it!
Hands down, Spain was my favorite country (outside of Germany, of course). The people were friendly, but my favorite part was being forced to speak their language. In most other countries, the natives know a little bit of English. In Spain, they really don't know much English other than some ingredients. I learned pretty conversational Spanish over the years, a special thanks to Mrs. Iggins who never taught her class in English, and I was able to remember a lot more than I thought I would. It was awesome having to remember things we learned a long time ago because that was all we could do to get by. We could speak to the taxi drivers, the waitresses, the locals in the streets to ask for directions. It was awesome! Spain is also the only place I have been to where I could see myself studying. All other cities I have been to have been amazing, but Spain really topped it. If I didn't studying in Germany, I would definitely have wanted Spain. It was also interesting how much petty theft there was, especially in Barcelona, due to their struggling economy. Its a completely different perspective from the successful German economy. I also liked noticing these differences. All of my friends agreed that leaving Spain was the saddest. We really loved it!
The Spaniards- Siesta. People will work until the middle of the day and then they will go home for a few hours to relax and have lunch with their family. It is considered rude to call someone during this time.
- Because of this, Spaniards work much later than Americans. You will see more people outside at night than you typically would in the US. - Desert in Spain is usually a fresh piece of fruit. |
The Americans- People obviously work through the middle of the day.
- Desert is usually some cake or something else not healthy. - SPEED WALKERS |