thought this was a clever way to introduce you all to some of the strange quirks of spain...

We all know the ins and outs of Spanish culture...Here is just a glimpse...

You Know You've Studied Abroad in Spain when....

1. The mullet, made for men and women alike.
2. You know what a croqueta is.
3. You've eaten more fish and veal in one week than in your whole US life.
4. You've tasted ponche.
5. You have seen people in 50 degree weather in winter coats and scarves.
6. You've waken up to the sounds of Britney Spears, or your mom cleaning the water out of the radiator.
7. You have heard P.I.M.P. as a ring tone.
8. You have done shots with the bartenders in CanCan.
9. When you know how to the use the metro when the map is in Spanish.
10. It's taken you and hour to get to Madrid.
11. You have stolen internet.
12. You watch a dog take a crap on the side walk and the owner doesn't clean it up.
13. You have encountered numerous people haciando un pis in the streets.
14. You have encountered tiny children wandering the streets.
15. You know what a ferret store is.
16. You know you can have a chipmunk as a pet.
17. You know what a doner is.
18. You got drunk off wine.
19. You are a huge fan of the Menú del Día.
20. You stayed in the Madrid til 6am because the Metro doesn´t start.
21. You´re life span has been shortened 5 years because of the second hand smoke.
22. You have seen a cigarette box that says ¨smoking can cause a slow and painful death¨
23. You have learned that deoderant is obviously not necessary.
24. You have seen a vending maching with thongs.
25. You have had a staring contest with a stranger in the streets.
26. You´ve watched Simpsons, multiple multiple times.
27. You have trouble speaking both English and Spanish.
28. You´ve left the house to go out at 1am.
29. You know what a true dulce is.
30. You have never been to a store between 1430 and 1730.
31. You have fought with the lock on the door and have only won half the time.
32. You have gorged on scrambled eggs at the hotels.
33. You´ve had bread everday for every meal.
34. You have a lisp...
35. You know what Joder means.
36. You can take showers in a 2 ft box called a shower.
37. You jump when you hear the words Vamos A Comer
38. Your dinner time is about 2130.
39. You know what Corte Inglés is.
40. You have seen rainbow hair.
41. Fútbol is amazing.
42. You root on Barcelona or Madrid...
43. You know where the closest TGI Fridays is.
44. You know what Turron is.
45. You know Tortilla Francesa.
46. You have gotten Flan in a pudding Cup.
47. You know what the Chinos are, and when they are open...24-7
48. You have seen buildings that are older than our country.
49. You know who Velázquez is, and how to say it.
50. You have seen Pizza boys on Mopeds.
51. You´ve been suprised to see a ¨big¨car.
52. Calimocho, Sidra
53. Gazpacho, you know what it is...and ya like it.
54. You have seen old people out at 2 am
55. You know the differnce because tengo calor y estoy caliente.
56. You have been stopped at the plaza and asked if you speak english.
57. You have walked an hour to school
58. You have gotten funny looks when you have your lap top out in the school.
59. Vale, pues, venga
60. It´s not hasta luego, it´s hadalugo
61. You write on graph paper and not lined paper.
62. You have found the horrible truth that double spacing is not normal.
63. You have learned the true meaning of a cell phone bill.
64. Yelling is not yelling...it´s just excited chatter.
65. Personal space = 0cm.
66. You have seen pointy elf looking shoes.
67. You know fichas are a rare commodity.
68. You know what a puente is, and love it.
69. You know where to find cheap tickets.
70. You have seen porn on TV under news.

i havent quite experienced alll of this but then again ive only been here a month! i miss you all and send mi amor.

soo things are moving along. my madre and i are getting more comfortable with eachother each day. we get along really well, except she talks very loud and very fast, and feels the need to lecture me constantly about things like wearing a jacket, eating enough, etc. i think she misses having kids to boss around. she lives a very quiet life, watching the news, sewing, reading, hanging out with grandkids. but once she gets talking she turns into this totally fiery opinionated spanish lady. but even if shes just talking about something very simple, like what we are having for dinner, she feels the need to emphasize every tiny detail and get all worked up about it, it stressed me out. she waits on her children hand and foot, literally. her daughter (who is 34, with 2 children) had a headache one day. so carmen, my madre, made her lunch and dinner and walked over to her apartment and delivered it to her. because of a headache! at age 34! crazy.

classes have begun, and im sad to say they are not any easier than oberlin. they are just as hard as oberlin except in a language i dont have full mastery of... excellent! but my teachers are cool and i have lots of friends in my classes. the weather has been beautiful, and i spent a weekend in murcia just wandering around in the sun and hanging out with the girls. we were supposed to go to granada but it didnt work out. turns out planning ahead is usually a good idea when traveling, but hey you live you learn.

i feel like i should explain about alicante a little. its a big city, full of all different types of people, lots of restaurants, and more tiny dogs than i have ever seen. its a safe city, i have never felt really nervous, but you still need to be careful. its sunny with lots of palm trees and right near the beach. the sunsets are really beautiful. the nightlife is insane. this is the weekend schedule for spanish kids my age:

friday 10 pm have dinner
12 pm go out and start drinking in the barrio, which is a section of clubs-bars
2am go to a discoteca
4am go to the puerta, a club-filled area right on the water which doesnt even open until 4
6 am go get some food
7am go home and sleep

saturday 4pm wake up
10pm dinner and the whole thing repeats

like i said, crazy.

my parents are coming this weekend! and after that, sevilla. gotta run, will write more later.

amor, raquel

granada

going to granada this weekend...in a van... with 7 crazy ladies. and i cant wait! and best of all we are doing it very economically. the van is only like 30euro a person, and the hostel is 16. we are going to do the alhambra, albaicin, etc and get tapas and wander around and be fabulous. now i just hope the weather is okay. the end.

im very upset with my host brother, jose right now. hes such a mess. hes almost 37 and still lives with carmen, mi madre. she cooks all his food, does all his laundry, and yesterday she spent the better part of the day organizing all of his bills, taxes, and everything. he got in a car accident the other day and *didnt have insurance* so the police had to impound his car and carmen got him out of it, somehow. and then at lunch today he was just treating her like shit, i dont exactly know what they were saying but he was being really mean to her. such a machisto attitude with a lot of men towards their mothers/sisters. i mean, this guy literally does nothing to contribute to the household and then feels like he can treat her poorly. also he told me to change the sex and the city documentary i was watching because "he doesnt like it" and that pissed me off too.

p.s. i just bought diet coke, spanish version of m and ms, and peanut butter. such an american. and im going out for pizza tonight with my friends!