**Not customs at the airport!  Not aduanas.

Hi!!!  I am so happy it’s Friday!  Actually, in general, I am just so happy.  This week was really, really, really, really, (really) good!  I think the rise in temps and sunshine has something to do with it.  And fresh produce…

I have been spending more time outside, feeling like I am actually doing interesting things at school, enjoying my time with my private students (WHAT?  I know…) and just generally happy.  It also helps that one of my teachers no longer wants me to take groups of her students off privately and instead has me stay in her class and do presentations or help her with the activities she has planned.  The day flies by so much faster for me.  She is so, so nice so we spend a lot of time chatting and I would rather give a presentation than try to encourage mute children to speak in English.  1000x over.  “That makes you a bad English teacher!”  I’m an assistant and tooooo bad.  This week, I gave presentations on the differences between the American and Spanish education systems, and a presentation on healthy eating.  Ahhhhh, brought me back to my nutrition days.  I loved doing that presentation and it made me realize I miss teaching people about nutrition.  Hmmm.

The days were long this week, but I feel like I did a lot of fun and relaxing things, as well, like running outside (in a t-shirt!), sitting in the park…

Getting drinks with my roommate, and dinner last night with Kristen and Annie…

I don’t have any major plans for the weekend!  Not sure what Friday will bring other than glorious time in the sun.  Saturday- not sure, and Sunday- possibly hiking?  We shall see and I will report back.  Wherever you are, and whatever you do, I hope you have a wonderful spring weekend!

This is totally random, but I’m eating watermelon as I type this!  Summer is coming!  Summer is cooooming!  It was only E.50 at the fruteria and besides the fact that I will probably get malaria from it, it’s good!

// 5 Differences in Cultural Customs Between Madrid and Philly //

*For all intensive purposes, I am going to say the U.S., but since I can’t vouch for the entire country, I really mean Philadelphia.

1 // The greeting.  In Madrid (and Spain), when you meet someone new or meet with a friend/ acquaintance / anyone, the proper greeting is a kiss on each cheek.  Children, adults, elderly- everyone does it.  When you are being introduced, it can be expected.  And when you meet with someone (like a friend), it is also expected.  People also do a kiss on each cheek as a farewell and if it’s a special occasion, like someone’s birthday.  I have been here almost 8 months and I still feel awkward with the double kiss.  It’s not that doing it is weird, it’s just I don’t know WHEN to do it.  Like…my students parents!  Some kiss me and others don’t.  (That sounds inappropriate haha)

The the U.S., the greeting when you meet someone for the first time is a handshake (especially for men).  If you don’t do the handshake, you might wave, give a huge, give a nod in their general direction, or ignore them all together.  All are common.

2 // Smoking.  People smoke cigarettes here.  A lot.  But they smoke a lot of hand-rolled cigarettes and it’s common to see people rolling them in public, like on the metro.

In the U.S., I think people smoke less.  And hand-rolled cigs are definitely a hipster thing to do.  Sometimes I wished I smoke so I could smoke out my window or sit at a cafe and look cool.  But then I remember that I like clean lungs, so, that won’t be happening.

3 // Dressing for the season, not for the weather.

Ok, it’s the beginning of April, temps are reaching 70* F, and Spaniards are stills BUNDLED up.  Coats!  Scarves!  Gloves!  Everything.  And I am in a light coat and sweating.  I have heard that Spaniards dress for the season, meaning since it’s early April, it is not appropriate to wear sundresses and sandals.  My observations say this is true.  Or they just really aren’t hot.  How?  It’s a mystery!

On the other hand, I know every American young girl (20s) is wearing sundresses and sandals and every young guy is in his shorts and polos.  Even if it’s not that warm.  You just dress for what you are wishing for (warmer temps), I guess.

I went to a concert last weekend with my roommates and it was fuuuuuulllll of Hispanic people (and SO MUCH FUN!), except for two girls that were in line ahead of us.  They were 1) loud 2) holding big cups of gin&tonic and 3) wearing sundresses in 63* F weather.  AMERICANS.

4 // Saying Hello and Goodbye in some way OFTEN.  You walk into your building and see the guy that works downstairs.  He says ‘hola’/ ‘buenas dias, tardes, noches’, and then you walk up the steps and he says ‘hasta luego!!’ even though he said ‘hola’ 5 seconds before.

I noticed this immediately when I came to Spain.  People always, always, always say hello (in stores, restaurants, etc.) and goodbye when they leave.

In the U.S., if you walk into a store, you might say hi to the girl working there if she says something to you, but not in the same way they do it here.

5 // Walking on the sidewalk.  This is an ad for a large department store here. This walking in a line on the sidewalk has been happening for over 75 years!  Haha.

This is a total generalization, but Spaniards walk on the sidewalk, block the entire thing, and walk SLOWLY.

In the U.S., people always have somewhere to be, even if they really have no where to be- they walk like they do.

*Any pictures on the bottom half of this post are c/o Google.