Happy first (or more likely second) week of school everybody! How´s it been going? I hope you´ve all learned a lot and that your textbooks didn´t cost a fortune. I´m sending good thoughts your way that your lab partner won´t be that girl who only ever talks about her sorority and your professors will be radical and inspiring. As for me, I´m still just hanging out in Madrid, because for the past two days my classes have been canceled. The professor for all of the advanced Spanish classes (all of my classes) is having some sort of emergency that they won´t tell us about and has been unable to attend class. For tomorrow and Thursday there is a substitute for the grammar class, but my literature and stylistics classes are canceled for the whole week. Happy extra week of summer vacation to me? While it´s kind of awesome that I still get to just hang out, estoy aquí para aprender, ¿no?
Anyways, I figured you may be wondering what one does in a big, beautiful city like Madrid when all responsibilities seem to vanish into thin air. Luckily for me, there are a million things you can learn just by being in la calle, and honestly, I don´t mean to toot my own horn, but I totally kick ass at being Spanish! Seriously, people keep asking me for directions and stuff! Then they hear me talk and it´s suddenly obvious that I´m not from here.. anyways, here´s a list of 10 things you can do to make yourself super Spanish without ever going to school:
1. Strut your stuff with confidence. Spanish women are beautiful and effortlessly stylish. They´re the kind of women who can make high heels seem casual for walking your dog on a Tuesday afternoon, and I kind of love it. While my possessions currently total four shirts, a skirt, a sweater and a pair of jeans (the minimalistic lifestyle is a long story for another day), you better believe I´ve been trying to keep up with these sassy, Spanish ladies.
2. Stare. Seriously. Spanish people unabashidly stare more than anyone I´ve ever seen. They´ll stare at you for a 40 minute metro ride, and when you make eye-contact with them, they won´t smile. They´ll just keep on staring. Don´t smile at them either. While this is totally weird and creepy at first, it´s actually kind of fun because it means you can stare at other people without being rude. Watching people is a great way to learn the culture and the languge.
3. If you´re a boy yell "guapa, guapa, guapa" like a chicken at every girl who passes you on the street, even if she´s not that cute. If you´re girl, keep up the strut you had going earlier and ignore this.
4. When in doubt of what to say, always go with vale. Vale is like "okay" and can be used for pretty much anything that has a positive answer. You will hear people say it a million times a day and you should say it too... ¿vale?
5. Eat tapas. People in Spain don´t eat giant meals like we do in the US. Breakfast is usually a small but delicious café con leche and perhaps a pastry or toast with tomatoes and olive oil, while dinner is an array of tapas, or appetizers, that you pair with wine or beer and share with people. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, but Spaniards also take nap after eating it. You should take a nap too because you´ll inevitably...
6. Stay up late. In Madrid it´s not uncommon to see kids playing in the street until 11 pm. If you´re going to go out with friends, you´ll meet up around 11 for dinner, go to the bars until 1 or 2, then to the clubs that open at 2 am, where you´ll find yourself dancing until 6 am when the metro starts up again. Believe me, you´ll love your little siesta in the middle of the day.
7. This one is silly and shouldn´t even have to be mentioned, but I am going to say it anyways: speak Spanish. Even if all you know is vale, that´s better than nothing and people will appreciate it. The Americans are really easy to pick out here because we are so loud and jabbering away in a foreign language. Madrileños aren´t huge fans of foreigners anyway, but if you try to make them cater to your culture instead of the other way around, they can be especially unpleasant.
8. Leave you flip-flops and university sweatshirt at home. Remember the woman walking her dog in high heels? She´s offended by your flip-flops. Now, believe me, I love a good pair of flip-flops and a hoodie as much as the next person, but at the right place and time. Europeans don´t wear flip-flops in public, nor do they wear Stanford sweatshirts. I wouldn´t have worn tank-tops or short skirts in India because Indians don´t wear that. Same idea.
9. Botellón (drinking in public). Spaniards love to drink in the streets/metro/plazas/parks. Join them! Most people get pretty chatty after passing around a bottle of vino, and you´ll love the stories you hear from them. If you run out of booze, you can buy it from a Chino with backpack. 6 cañas for €5. Don´t get wasted, though. While Spaniards obviously like to have a good time, they really don´t like public drunkenness and will find belligerent study abroad students obnoxious and rude.
10. For number 10: to everyone I know who´s been to/lived in Spain, I´d love to hear your tidbit about what makes you a rocking Spaniard. Can you roll the world´s best cigarette? Does joder put up a fair fight with vale for the most commonly used word in the Spanish language? Must you always look exhausted and annoyed on the metro to be a true Spaniard? Do you sport your Real Madrid jersey with pride?
Hopefully, one of these days I will start classes like I came here to do. Until then, I´ll keep learning in la calle and updating you on my love affair with this fantastic place. Dos besos.
Anyways, I figured you may be wondering what one does in a big, beautiful city like Madrid when all responsibilities seem to vanish into thin air. Luckily for me, there are a million things you can learn just by being in la calle, and honestly, I don´t mean to toot my own horn, but I totally kick ass at being Spanish! Seriously, people keep asking me for directions and stuff! Then they hear me talk and it´s suddenly obvious that I´m not from here.. anyways, here´s a list of 10 things you can do to make yourself super Spanish without ever going to school:
1. Strut your stuff with confidence. Spanish women are beautiful and effortlessly stylish. They´re the kind of women who can make high heels seem casual for walking your dog on a Tuesday afternoon, and I kind of love it. While my possessions currently total four shirts, a skirt, a sweater and a pair of jeans (the minimalistic lifestyle is a long story for another day), you better believe I´ve been trying to keep up with these sassy, Spanish ladies.
2. Stare. Seriously. Spanish people unabashidly stare more than anyone I´ve ever seen. They´ll stare at you for a 40 minute metro ride, and when you make eye-contact with them, they won´t smile. They´ll just keep on staring. Don´t smile at them either. While this is totally weird and creepy at first, it´s actually kind of fun because it means you can stare at other people without being rude. Watching people is a great way to learn the culture and the languge.
3. If you´re a boy yell "guapa, guapa, guapa" like a chicken at every girl who passes you on the street, even if she´s not that cute. If you´re girl, keep up the strut you had going earlier and ignore this.
4. When in doubt of what to say, always go with vale. Vale is like "okay" and can be used for pretty much anything that has a positive answer. You will hear people say it a million times a day and you should say it too... ¿vale?
5. Eat tapas. People in Spain don´t eat giant meals like we do in the US. Breakfast is usually a small but delicious café con leche and perhaps a pastry or toast with tomatoes and olive oil, while dinner is an array of tapas, or appetizers, that you pair with wine or beer and share with people. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, but Spaniards also take nap after eating it. You should take a nap too because you´ll inevitably...
6. Stay up late. In Madrid it´s not uncommon to see kids playing in the street until 11 pm. If you´re going to go out with friends, you´ll meet up around 11 for dinner, go to the bars until 1 or 2, then to the clubs that open at 2 am, where you´ll find yourself dancing until 6 am when the metro starts up again. Believe me, you´ll love your little siesta in the middle of the day.
7. This one is silly and shouldn´t even have to be mentioned, but I am going to say it anyways: speak Spanish. Even if all you know is vale, that´s better than nothing and people will appreciate it. The Americans are really easy to pick out here because we are so loud and jabbering away in a foreign language. Madrileños aren´t huge fans of foreigners anyway, but if you try to make them cater to your culture instead of the other way around, they can be especially unpleasant.
8. Leave you flip-flops and university sweatshirt at home. Remember the woman walking her dog in high heels? She´s offended by your flip-flops. Now, believe me, I love a good pair of flip-flops and a hoodie as much as the next person, but at the right place and time. Europeans don´t wear flip-flops in public, nor do they wear Stanford sweatshirts. I wouldn´t have worn tank-tops or short skirts in India because Indians don´t wear that. Same idea.
9. Botellón (drinking in public). Spaniards love to drink in the streets/metro/plazas/parks. Join them! Most people get pretty chatty after passing around a bottle of vino, and you´ll love the stories you hear from them. If you run out of booze, you can buy it from a Chino with backpack. 6 cañas for €5. Don´t get wasted, though. While Spaniards obviously like to have a good time, they really don´t like public drunkenness and will find belligerent study abroad students obnoxious and rude.
10. For number 10: to everyone I know who´s been to/lived in Spain, I´d love to hear your tidbit about what makes you a rocking Spaniard. Can you roll the world´s best cigarette? Does joder put up a fair fight with vale for the most commonly used word in the Spanish language? Must you always look exhausted and annoyed on the metro to be a true Spaniard? Do you sport your Real Madrid jersey with pride?
Hopefully, one of these days I will start classes like I came here to do. Until then, I´ll keep learning in la calle and updating you on my love affair with this fantastic place. Dos besos.
