After what is now one month in Spain I feel compelled to share a few little things which intrigue about my life here.
1) I live on the second floor in large Franco era apartment complex, however, my address is 1D-thus shows me living on the first floor. Its just a little thing which to me seems completely backwards (perhaps a little Westside Story-y even) but its just how things are here in Spain. The primero piso (first floor) begins on floor number two. The first floor is the piso bajo or bottom floor for those who are interested.
2) Why I am afraid to turn on lights in Spain:
All apartments in Spain are within a building, so there are no outdoor entrances to an individual apartment like most apartments in the US. The interior hallways and stairwells of my apartment complex lack windows so its always pitch black. It is impossible for me to find my way down a dark hallway and then down stairs in complete darkness (believe me I have tried when my fear of turning on lights takes hold which I will soon explain), thus, I must search for the light but here is the problem:
Lights here are a sort of a wide see-saw shaped contraption; the doorbells also have this same design. Also, both have a little orange light which illuminates them in the dark. I have several times at ungodly hours rung a doorbell instead of turning on the lights I was searching for. I really hate doing this, it really stresses me and makes me always always scared every time I go to turn on the lights in the hallway. Now that I've lived in my apartment for a few weeks I think I've got down which are the lights and which are the doorbells but I still get a rush every time I go to switch on a light.
3) Hours in Spain
I work from 9-2pm every day. When I get back from work around 3pm my roommates are just waking up, walking to the bathroom bleary eyed and in slippers. These are full grown adults but this sort of activity is quite acceptable in Spain. You sleep in and stay out/up late late late/early early early every day. I've given in to the eating schedule in Spain (main meal at 3pm and then dinner or tapas at 9 or 10pm) but I cannot stay up till 4am on weekdays and stay out till 8 am or noon on weekends. On this Spain and I will just have to disagree.
4) On a sadder note, the unemployment in Spain
Unemployment here is sky high. The overall figures for the whole country right now are above 20%. I walk past the unemployment office everyday when I go to catch my bus and there is a line wrapping around the block. People have to wake up and get in line by 5am in order to be seen by 2pm my unemployed roommate Noelia tells me (well both my roommates are unemployed). The office doesn't even open until 9am. I feel pretty awkward as a foreigner walking to go catch my bus to work by this line every day. Right now, I'm getting paid as much as a good lawyer in Spain--I work part time talking with kids and have no responsibilities. In the beginning I got sassed a couple of times about how Spaniards don't have jobs so "isn't it nice that I, an American, get to come over and work in their country." At first I kind of wrote it off, I'm really the only one who can do my job (well me and any other semi-educated American) and they really need my help in learning English and working with pronunciation, even the teachers make lots of mistakes. So I really believe I am a good investment for the country and will help these kids be more employable with their mad English skills! Also, 80% of the euros I'm given each month go back to the Spanish economy. However, its hard to explain this to a Spaniard who is well educated and desperate for any kind of work. I'm getting sassed more and more about this every week by people I encounter and a pretty continuously by my roommates. I think I will be moving in the next month or two to a better location and into a place that will have more friendly roommates (mine just stay in their rooms all the time, not helping my Spanish guys!). Its will be rented by my favorite teacher in the school I work at who is probably worth a whole blog entry in and of herself and one day I will write about the infamous Judy. I'm a little worried that I'm going to be making this really tough for Noelia my roommates who owns this apartment because she is recently unemployed and will be losing her tenant....its probably going to be an awkward conversation. Basically, its been interesting being in Spain during this tough economic time.
And BOOM! thats how you spend one month in Spain already.
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