So it's been a few days since my last post, so this is going to be a monstrous blog post. During that time here is one of the more interesting points that I've learned that Europeans love American entertainment. Yes, I knew that before adventuring across the big ocean blue. I knew that Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Madonna, Justin Bieber, ect. are popular. But I didn't understand the magnitude of their love for American singers and movies. Day before yesterday we spent the day cruising the local factory outlet. All day "Single Ladies" and Katy Perry hits were blaring over the speakers. You can't help but feel at home when you get the urge to groove to Usher in the middle of a Mary Paz. Even when my madre was getting dressed here she was listening to Usher's songs. Keep in mind that this is a high-class, proper lady. Then I wonder, is this how they feel when they come to the United States and hear us listening to Sharkira and Pit Bull. It's a thought. But the American craze does not stop there. Go to the movies. You'll see the sequel of "Sherlock Holmes" among the load of other American releases. What's even more entertaining is having a conversation with my madre about American pop culture. It took here a good minute and a half to understand that I was saying "Herri Potteer" (the closest written English pronunciation that I can come up with to the Spanish pronunciation of Harry Potter). We sat around the table drinking "vino dulce" and laughing at each other's pronunciation of famous celebrities. This has continued for the past couple of nights at supper. Other pronunciations that have taken descriptions and lots of laughing for all of us to figure out have been Peter Pan, Harrison Ford, and Melanie Griffith.
Along with the swarm of American pop culture, there is a gigantic list of cultural aspects that absolutely no one warns you about before a naive student ventures off to a foreign land. You're probably asking the question of whether or not I researched the culture before I came here. Yes, yes I did. They give you a nice little booklet of information specific to your place of study during the university's study abroad orientation. In addition to that information, I googled anything and everything that I could find out about Spanish culture. Yet, all my endeavors have proved to be nearly useless.
For example, the language barrier. Yes, I know that I am in a Spanish speaking country. However, I've been a Spanish major for a few years and can more or less hold my own when it comes to communicating. But apparently that only applies to everywhere but here. I come here and I feel like a novice who knows nothing, and I mean nothing. Verbs have completely different meanings and some they say don't exist even though I've had multiple professors teach me them. Even a simple sentence is extremely difficult for my madre to understand because I do not have the Spanish accent that is spoken here (a.k.a. the lisp). And if you think that Spanish speakers on that side of the ocean speak quickly. Bah, I laugh at that notion. The only thing I can compare this frustration to is traveling up North. As a native Southerner I have quite the pronounced Southern Belle accent. I never think anything of it until I encounter a Northerner. It's like I want to scream at them, "I'm speaking the same language as you. Why don't you understand me?" Except that here the looks are far more confused and my frustration is much worse. Oh, and to all you students who are wondering why you have to learn these dumb phrases and vocabulary that you'll "never" use. Learn it. I always wondered why in the world I needed to know how to ask for tickets at the bus station, what a post office or a bank is called, or how to read labels in a supermercado. Now I know. You think you'll never use those things because you think you'll never be able to travel to another country. Wrong. I'm so thankful to my high school Spanish teachers for drilling those phrases and vocabulary into my head because even when it's your major, it's easy to forget the basic stuff. So thanks, Mrs. Dellinger and Mrs. Aquaviva, I owe you a churro or something.
Furthermore, "no grass, always shoes, no breakfast, lots of problems," is my parody of Kenny Chesney's incredible work. I'm dying to find a field here instead of the city streets. There's not even a park to kick off your shoes and enjoy a sandwich in. What's worse is I always have to wear shoes. Always. Yes, that's how it is in a few countries which is what I found out in Costa Rica. Except for in my house here house slippers don't exactly seem to be allowed like they are at other houses. So no flip-flops or comfy shoes for me. Just the same boots that give my poor little piggies blisters. Yes, they look fabulous but I can rock a pair of Chacos just as easily as a pair of knee-high rocker boots. Which means that I must always look like a model on the runway or else the stairs are way worse. Oh, and note to Americans. When it's winter in Spain, anything with a print on it, other than a scarf, draws a lot of attention. This is coming from the girl with a plaid coat, so trust me on this one. What's even worse is the fact that it's like mining for gold to find anything bigger than a B cup here. This means that I now know the reason why the Clarks migrated from Europe however many centuries ago. I mean come on, half of the women in our family are already wear a bra that's midway through the alphabet. Thank goodness I brought enough underwear for a year. And what's even worse is that no one ever tells you where to find the simple stuff. Where in the world do you go to find cheaper tampons or deodorant? I mean those are essentials people. Thankfully we found out that the supermercado does carry a small selection of cheaper versions of these items. But, the list goes on and on. There are so many small things that you couldn't even imagine until you actually experience the culture. But I know that little by little, "poco a poco," I'll learn and come to appreciate the differences that I'm encountering here. That's why I'm here right? By the end of the four months I will have learned far more than I could have ever imagined.
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