IRES Post #2

Culture

It's been two weeks since I first arrived here in Spain. In that time, what I've done here has felt so  different from what I have lived in Texas. The way people live here is simply different.

Transportation
I know this might not seem like an important part of culture, but it is one of the things that changed the most for me. Living in Texas where huge 4x4 trucks with a lift kit, are used daily to go to church or to school, or simply to go mudding (consists of trying to go as fast as possible through muddy terrain on one of those four wheeled monsters). Everyone has their own car, not necessarily a truck, but some sort of transportation of their own. Even in my family, just recently, we had 4 cars for our household of 5, something that seems unimaginable being here in Europe.

Here, the public transportation system seems to be what a good amount of people use, and honestly, it's soooo easy to use. As long as you're not going the wrong way.

I can definitely see many of the traffic problems in Texas being alleviated with a system similar to the one they employ here that includes trams, metros, and buses. It's frustrating, actually, seeing how the US claims to have the best of everything, but they aren't setting cities up right.

Come on, America

Okay, next.


Workdays
Here, they take it easy. They have the same pressure as we do, but they handle it differently. Work is a good comparison. In Spain, they start work at 8, usually. If not 9, is good too. After an hour or so, taking a coffee break (or beer if you want) is also good to increase productivity, to eat, socialize, and finish waking up basically. I take advantage at this time to eat a bocadillo, almost daily. A bocadillo is a sandwich served on a baguette that can bring pretty much anything. This thing will fill you up until 2, no matter what. Believe me, I know. At 2, another break, this one longer for their lunch and a nice little siesta (I have also taken full advantage of this). After that, they go back and finish the day out strong. They still get all of their work done, but the scheduling is different. I think this is the right way to set things up, because just going straight from 9-5 every day is unbelievably mind-numbing and stressful. I hear UTA might be introducing this system soon...

Food

Bocadillo con tortilla de
 patata y morcilla (blood sausage)

Paella Valenciana

Usually I'm too busy stuffing my
 face to get good pics of food

Simply amazing.

I have gotten along well in Spain. People here are so friendly, and they go out of their way to help us sometimes. Three of us speak Spanish, one of them being me, so moving around and getting food (always important) is relatively easy. Talking to my mentors is a bit more complicated. Since they know I understand Spanish perfectly, they explain everything in the lab in Spanish. The problem there is that a lot of what I've learned in college was taught in English, and some of the words don't really translate, so I have to google them or something of the sort. But apart from that, it's all great. They're always letting me know of things that are happening around Valencia that actual locals go to, which is always a good way to know what the city is all about.

The view from my balcony

I've gotten used to Benimaclet, the neighborhood we live in. We are located in a pretty nice area, not too far from the beach, with a fair amount of people around us at all times. They really are a tight knit community, it's like its own town where everyone knows one another and they can tell who isn't from around there in a heartbeat. Maybe it's because people are used to being outside a lot more, so they see each other every day. Kids are usually running around during the day, and at night a lot of the young people can be seen just sitting down having beers and chatting. The European Cup started soon after we got here, so I'm starting to get to see the Spain games at local bars, and the other day we walked past a basketball court that had been transformed so people from the area can get together and watch Spain play. Let's just hope they make it far into the competition. Around the neighborhood I'm starting to see more and more familiar faces, and I try to be as nice to them as they are to me.

Being here, it just makes me want to spend time outside, enjoying the beach as I would do in Honduras, or taking in some of the sights around here. The weather is always nice, the breeze from the sea keeps people cool, and the heat has never been unbearable. On top of that, it gets dark at 10PM, so there's time in the day to go around Valencia. I don't think I'll ever get tired of being here.