Haven’t posted much, but I have a few photos and interesting stories that I’ll hopefully be putting online soon. The last week has been a ton of fun, and as it’s winding down, I’m definitely ready to be home. It’s been great to hang out with my brother and his roommates, and it’s been a lot of fun to travel around Madrid and see the sites, but I’ve also been relaxing and playing video games, reading, and generally enjoying the slower pace of life. That’s one of the things I will definitely miss. When you order a meal, you can sit for hours enjoying the food, conversation, wine, whatever. Nobody comes to pressure you or give you the bill before you ask for it, you sit until you’re ready to go, no matter how long the line is out the door of the restaurant.
Of course, it’s a good thing the pace is slow, otherwise the service would be considered pretty poor by American standards. Other than the Chinese restaurant we just went to (which had the line of Chinese guys ready to hop to your table when you needed anything), and TGI Fridays last night, most waiters and waitresses are brusque to the point of rudeness and not particlarly snappy about responding to requests. Of course, that seems pretty common in most of the culture. Nobody really smiles on the street or holds doors or lets women take seats on the subway (though signs do incidate that you should allow pregnant women, old people, and those with crutches to sit before you — I only saw one guy with crutches and he did sit in an open seat, but there was no need for anybody to move for him). The general coldness is kinda wierd. Apparently the Spanish say they feel that the overt politeness that might be experienced other places is fake because how could you be nice to somebody you don’t even know?
Another major difference is that females seemed especially reserved. I’m pretty used to Colin getting checked out by girls when we’re out in public together (though to be fair, instead of being on the super cutting edge fashion, he’s only just ahead of the curve here — they’re pretty durn trendy), but here I saw that very few females would even make eye contact at all. Colin explained that it’s a direct result of Spanish males being so overly aggressive that no woman wants to send the wrong signal and get accosted. Girls in the same college program they’re in have apparently been approached and had men physically try to drag them into bars to have a drink before instead of leaving them alone after a simple no. Of course, it does make picking out other Europeans and Americans in the crowds easier, but it’s definitely an odd feeling over all.
There’s a lot to be said, but at this point, I’m looking forward to one more full day with a little bit of sight-seeing and then the hopefully shorter plane-ride home.