Things that I have experienced/learned

I would like to think I have become a little bit more culturally aware since I have come to Spain.

So here is a haphazard list of things that I have experienced and learned:

Sandia (there should be an accent over that I but I'm too lazy to learn how to do it on a laptop) aka Watermelon, is much better in Spain than in the states. I say that because in the states the good part, at least to me, is only the part in the center and far away from the rind. Well, it is fantastic here and juicy all the way up to the rind!

When eating a meal, always keep your hands above the table. At least for me, I'm kind of accustomed to maybe resting one hand on my lap when I'm not using it.

The water in Madrid is unbelievable. About ten times better than any bottled water I could ask for. This is a very useful thing, because it is SUPER dry here. I wake up every morning with terrible cotton mouth and need about 45 glasses of water. My host mom was telling me they haven't had a drop of rain since June!!! And of course there aren't any public water fountains here...I guess they are very frugal about their water and have done a nice job saving it up or something like that.

The weather here has been constantly in the high 80's lower 90's. I've always said I don't enjoy the weather unless I can't walk down the street with a constant glaze of sweat on my forehead or fall asleep at night without waking up soaked in sweat. But hopefully it will cool down soon because these nights are getting to be ridiculous. I'm starting to think it would be better for my health to go out drinking all night every night and sleep until my classes start.

By far however, the most difficult thing for most people seems to be the eating habits. Normally, from what I have learned, is that most people will eat a smallish breakfast (cereal/toast/fruit with coffee) before they go off to work, then eat they're lunch around 2-4. After that they don't have dinner until about 8-10. I think some people are sturggling with the change and I know that one of my buddies has resorted to buying two lunches a day haha. Lucky for me I had already pretty much adapted this eating style for work so Ive done ok I think.

The food here has been really good. Paella is the specialty and my host mom made it for me - AWESOME. Go check it out. I've also had Pato, Cerdo y my favorite, Tortilla de patata. Oh man. So good. I had a Tortilla de patata Bocadillo which is kind of like a sub on a staleish type of roll. It was so good. Definitely my favorite food so far. Mom, if you're reading this, learn how to make this please. It's like a potato omelet. So good.

Ive also had artichokes. Certainly different than I thought they would taste. I asked my mom if they were eggs because they looked like the insides of a hard boiled egg and she just laughed at me. I knew at that point I probably wasnt going to like whatever it was.

I think they're are a few other things I need to put in here that I'm forgetting but I can do that in another post, plus tell you all about Nightlife in Madrid Vs. Salamanca.

Until then, let me know how everything is going back in the states: Kevin.Matteson@hws.edu