I have found myself over the past week, jotting down little notes and reminders of things that I can include in these weekly musings. Some of the topics are amusing, others ironic, others just interesting, while others really gave me pause. What do you think?
Spain and its Americanisms
One of the things that attracts me about Spain is its laid back, old world feel (i.e. clothespins & freshly baked bread)…mixed with some modernsims (mobile phones and email). Leaving the USA was tough…but leaving some of the more “American” things behind was a relief. Well, imagine my dismay when I turned on the TV and heard “Whaaaaassssuuupppp??!!” come floating from the speakers. It is one of the hottest commercials here…so much for Bud Light. America has its Energizer Bunny. Here that bunny is a turncoat and acts for Duracell. Are those two battery companies owned by the same multinational? This past Saturday I was rudely awakened to the Spanish version of “Achey Breaky Heart”...(you remember that Billy Ray Cyrus song). I can assure you that it´s no better in Spanish. Adding insult to injury, the line dance of choice here is the Electric Slide…of course danced to the tune of “Mi Pobre Corazón” (My Achey Breaky Heart). DH´s favorite restaurant here in Gandía is not the local tasca…nope,…it´s a chain called Fosters of Hollywood. Go figure. Of course his meal of choice…cheeseburger. I won´t even tell you how lousy the “authentic Philly Cheesesteak” is that they have on the menu. Oh…and Big Brother is one of the most popular TV shows (it airs twice daily) and on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire the smart guy wins 50,000,000 pesetas…$250,000…someone is getting shortchanged here… (Although I do believe that those two TV shows are actually produced by a company in Sweden or some other Nordic country and then the rights sold to different countries).
The Basque Elections and Political Passion
Just recently as Pennsylvania was gearing up for its primaries, and Philadelphia was witnessing a heated race for the D.A.´s office, the elections in the Basque region (or the Basque Country as the Nationalists prefer to call it) of Spain were taking place. The Basque region is actually part of northern Spain (around the Cantabrian Sea) and southern France. For years, the Spanish part of the Basque region has been fighting for its independence. So passionate is this fight that it has turned violent at times. In the USA, some of us are familiar with the bombings by the Basque separatist/terrorist group, ETA. I recall one summer when I was in San Sebastian (beautiful city in the Basque region) visiting some friends and rioting broke out in the streets, led by ETA. The sheer terror that I felt when we stepped outside of the bar to see what was going on as a wave of rioters came rushing up the street and washed us back inside quickly followed by police in riot gear was incomparable. For me as an American the terror was on a couple of levels, not understanding fully what was happening, never having been that close to violence before…and never really having to feel that passionate about political freedom. In Spain, that passion unfortunately manifests itself in terrorist acts and bombings. A week or so ago, the day before the elections, at precisely midnight, a car bomb went off in center city Madrid…in a very popular crowded section of town. In fact the bombing took place two blocks from where I used to live 14 years ago (ohmigod has it been that long?). The day after the elections, when the political party closely aligned with ETA lost the elections, ETA retaliated by mailing a letter bomb to one of the more prominent journalists in the area. Fortunately the journalist did not die, but suffered extreme injury to his face and lost his thumb. I cannot imagine living with such passion. Do we, as Americans, feel such passion during our elections? I tend to think not, or if we do, that passion manifests itself in other ways, such as mud slinging. Somehow, I don’t think it’s the same.
Numbers Numbers and more Numbers
Since moving here, I have had to learn a lot of new numbers and the math…new phone number, mobile phone number, street address, zip code. I have the numbers floating in my head like the fruit in a pitcher of sangría. Oh, and I am beginning to understand the Finnish stock market…and the French…and the German and the English…etc. So much for the Dow Jones and NASDAQ. How quickly can you convert pounds to kilos? Ounces to grams? Feet to meters? Miles to kilometers… Celsius to Fahrenheit Ughhh... I am getting there! What is even more a kicker is trying to estimate the economy here and constantly dividing the prices by 200 to figure out how many $$ I am spending. Eventually the $$ amount won´t matter when I am fully integrated and am earning my own pesetas…for now it´s to have a point of reference. By the beginning of 2002 the Spanish peseta will cease to exist when the Euro dollar (almost equivalent to the US dollar), as hard currency, gets introduced into the market. Imagine living in a country where your entire currency is changing…and we thought quarters for each of the states was a big deal…Not only is the currency itself changing, but the value as well. Almost everything here carries two prices, the peseta and the Euro dollar.
Am I American?
Everyone from Breadwoman to the taxi drivers are surprised to learn that I am from Philadelphia. Afterall, I look latina and I speak spanish...I am not blond and blue-eyed…so of course I live in a state where they only speak Spanish such as California (according to Breadwoman) or Miami (according to a taxi driver...afterall the only Americans that he knows are the ones he has met online playing chess. They are from the northeast coast...Connecticut and don´t speak spanish...so how do I speak it so well?). Diós mío!! What do I tell them?
Dollar Stores Spanish Style
So you thought that the Spain brothers (no relationship to the country Spain) had the market cornered on the Dollar Stores huh? I guess they did not consult with the Lee´s, Cheng´s and other Chinese entrepreneurs here in Spain. Yes, there are Chinese entrepreneurs here too...there are days when I am tempted to go in and see if they speak English…out of desperation for someone to speak to in English!! Apart from the multitude of Chinese restaurants here (one per block) the Todo Cien (All for 100 pesetas) stores make a killing. I guess for American tourists looking for a real bargin, the Todo Cien stores are where they should go since 100 pesetas is equivalent to about 60 cents. Woo Hoo! Interestingly enough...the articles for sale don´t really change from country to country...
Housework...Not Physically Labor Intensive According to Spanish Judge
The Spanish legal system is preoccupied with America´s lax laws regarding online child pornography (although according to today´s Wall Street Journal the Supreme Court is revisiting its ruling)…and it is also concerned with ruling housework in Spain non-labor intensive (according to a judge in Southern Spain). Well, I work up quite a sweat when I use those darn clothespins to hang clothes out in the blazing sun. Seriously! I need to remember my sunscreen! Apparently, that Judge hasn´t swept and mopped the floors at our house...in the heat...ithout airconditioning. Forget the aerobics classes, I get the exercise just moving that mop along. Let´s not talk about Angel´s 10lb iron (is that 5 kilos??). No kidding. He is very proud of this iron and the fact that he paid $80 for it (is he sick??). It is a quality tool, not like the light weight one that I had in the USA which, by the way, did not see much use. I don´t need to use my handweights...I get the workout with the iron. My biceps are looking good these days!
Ahhh...!! Life is good!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment