I have been here in Madrid for 3 days and I am enjoying my stay in this city. Let me share with you a few things that i have seen, tasted and experienced on my first few days in a foreign country where I speak poco Espanol (a little bit of Spanish) just enough to get by.
Here are what I know of Madrid so far......
Greeting: A hi! or hola, smile, nod or some kind of acknowledgement when meeting someone on the street is very rare. They usually walk by you with a serious face and avoid eye contact. However, kissing on both cheeks when getting introduce to someone or if you are already friends this is the way you say hi! and goodbye each time you hang out.
I consider myself a hugger but kissing on both cheeks, especially with the guys that is something I need to get used to. Besos!
Food: The most unique food I've had so far is the Jamon, a salty thinly sliced piece of meat on bread like the croissant or bocadillo, special bread hard of the outside but soft of the inside like the Lee's sandwiches bread I am familiar with in Orange County, or the Jamon can be eaten by itself. The price of Jamon varies depending on the quality. The cheapest one is 1€ two slices of Jamon Serrano on a bocadillo or croissant. The most expensive I've seen is 139€ per kilo. I have not tasted that yet but I plan to treat myself before I leave. The Jamon before they are sliced are huge big legs hanging. It was definitely a new thing for me.
Here in Madrid they love their sweets. The few times I have eaten in a restaurant, I see a lot of people ordering coffee and poured with thick sweet cream. I tried the chocolate milk, it was too thick I thought I ordered chocolate mouse. I asked for hot water too dilute the drink or else I may end up using my spoon to drink the chocolate milk. I also know that they love their sweets because all the people in the restaurant have a dessert either a cake, tiramisu or flan. Even at McDonalds they have an extensive menu of coffee and desserts in a separate counter from where you order the regular food items. Their dessert menu include tiramisu, donut, muffin and cheesecake. As the McDonald slogan says " I'm lovin'it".
Fashion: It's winter time right now but tt has been sunny since I got here 3 days ago. During the early morning and at night the temperature can drop to 4 degrees Celcius (39 F) but during midday it can go up to 15 C (60 F). Because it'S chilly almost all the women are wearing knee high boots, skinny jeans, long shirt and wool jacket. The women are confident of themselves, some don't really care if they are more overweight but still dresses like the skinny gals. The older women are often have their makeuo on, well dressed and their long fur or wool coats. And some of these women are just walking on the park. Most men are also fashionable. I've seen them in suits especially the older men some and they are just walking on the park. I see most men wearing scarves of different colors and some not just plqin but stripes, checkered or another design. I do not see this too often in Los Angeles either because it is not cold enough or that the guys are not courageous enough to wear these scarves because they are scared people may think they are gay. But here in Madrid this is normal and I like it because real men wear colorful scarves when they are cold. I even saw men wearing sparkling gold and silver sneakers. Overall,their sense of style is really good here, or maybe it's a law that wearing low waist baggy pants, yoga/ workout outfit in public is a crime (hahaha)
Activities: Walking around town is a great way to see beautiful parks and architecture in Madrid especially in this great sunny weather that we've had. I have gone to 3 museums so far and all for gratis / free ! First, I went to Museo de la Ciudad -The City Museum (free entrance everyday) where they featured miniature buildings of the city, miniature layout of the city, miniature types of transportation and different pictures featuring the city. Second, I visited Museo de la Biblioteca Nacional - The National Library Museum (free entrance everyday) where I saw a wide range of books from different genre like cook books, religious books and comic books being preserve. They did not allow photographs to be taken. The third museum I have visited is Museo Nacional del Prado - The Prado Museum (Free entrance everyday between 6 pm to 8 pm Tues to Sat, 5 pm to 8 pm on Sundays). This is my favorite so far, it reminded me of The Getty Museum is Los Angeles. Many amazing paintings and sculpture in 4 floors. Besides museums, I get to do other activties here in Madrid. I went salsa dancing with Danielle, a couch surfer too but now works in Madrid teaching English to 4Th grader and other fellow couchsurfers. It was really fun, we got in for free using a special promo card plus a free drink. I got to taste Pina Colada from a bottle like those Coke bottles. It was good. The Spanish people can dance even the guys can shake their hips better than I can. In this club there people of different ages and there were no guys standing on the sideline because they were on the dance floor. It was a great night of dancing. Another new experience for me is watching "The King's Speech" American movie dubbed entirely in Spanish with no English subtitles for 8€. I probably understood 25% of what was said but because of the great acting I think I got it.
I am very grateful for my host couple, Chema and Karla who have been so nice and very accomodating to me.
I would recommend visiting Madrid :)
Gracias,
Kaye
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