Graffiti, Rounded Shoulders, and the Old Women on the Metro

Other people probably noticed this the first day they were in Spain, but it takes a little while for me to absorb some things. Or at least post them on an internet blog. For those of you back home who don’t know much about Spain, let me be your eyes for a few moments as I give you my impression of things in Spain.

1.There is a lot of graffiti and tagging in Spain. Almost all public spaces, and it doesn’t matter if it is public or private. Even trees in parks are tagged. I haven’t decided if it’s artistic of if it’s simply vandalism.

2.On that note, people in Spain don’t seem to have much respect for property. In Toledo last weekend, I was walking along an alleyway, and the stones were covered with wads of chewing gum. Like looking under your chair in middle school has suddenly become the cool thing to do to a centuries-old wall. I found it disgusting; some people might think it communal art?

3.A lot of the people here have really, really big shoulders. This makes them look like old people before their time. I just want them to stand up straight, put their shoulders back, and have good posture. It makes me want to practice good posture, too.

4.Everyone here is nice, except for old ladies on public transportation. They will elbow you out of the way, and younger old ladies will very rudely ask you to give up your seat so they can sit there when it is very packed. They're unpleasant. Otherwise, if you need directions, someone will always be willing to help you. At work today, the one Spaniard we have in the office carried my lunch and the new intern's lunch in his bag from the supermarket, and the Venezuelan in our office always holds the door open for us lady-interns. Okay, this is a specific example, but today was a really good day for me.