08.05.07
Posted in Personal News, Trips at 6:17 am by divinity
Friday, August 3rd
– I miss my cats
– Topless photos are apparently normal for German newspapers
– T-shirts that are US centric are not uncommon over here
It’s weird walking into the condo, half expecting Bunki to be waiting just inside the door for me. It’s taking some getting used to. I’m lonely but more adventurous and interested in getting out and doing something. Spent a good portion of the day thinking about what I should do for the weekend.
The morning was a bit of a surprise when I noticed a German guy in the cafe/gas station reading a newspaper with a large picture of an attractive topless woman. I had noticed previously that they kept the Penthouse and Playboy mags out in the open, but I had no idea that European newspapers were as uncensored. Refreshing to see that other governments aren’t as ridiculous as ours when it comes to things like this.
Even though hardly anyone speaks English around here, they definitely have some US inspired fashion. On Friday I saw two different t-shirts, one with the state of Kentucky, another one for Oklahoma. And of course there’s all the brand names, Nike, Reebok, etc. I also saw a shirt on a guy that said “I want ur sex” (no joke). I’m curious as to where the European fashion is, as most people here dress pretty similar to the states.
Permalink
Posted in Personal News, Trips at 5:50 am by divinity
Thursday, August 2nd
– Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have an American to talk to
– There doesn’t seem to be anyone under 40 or over 18 here. This is apparently where you go to vacation if you’re old or have kids.
Thursday was a rough day for me. The jet lag was causing me to be grumpy and depressed. Combined with the overwhelming of both work and social interaction in a different language, I was in a not so good mood. Add on to that my poor diet as I couldn’t read most menus and didn’t know what may or may not have dairy in it and I was just miserable. I spent a lot of time just walking up and down the street in front of the beach, wandering past restaurants and people giving me odd looks.
From what I’ve seen, body piercing isn’t too uncommon, however nobody has stretched ears. I’m sure my tunnels are interesting to a few people, and I’ve caught quite a few kids staring. Or maybe it’s my mix of bleached and black hair that gets them. Who knows. One thing that I have noticed is that the mullet is in style over here. I kid you not. There are tons of high school/college age boys running around with mullets, even going so far as to shave the sides to further accentuate this stylish choice in hair. Granted the back is short, but it’s still a mullet. I’ve also spotted a few rat-tails. It’s hard not to stare.
Permalink
Posted in Personal News, Trips at 5:37 am by divinity
El Campello Sunrise
more pictures from August 1st
I woke up incredibly early (7am) and decided to spin some rope dart on the roof deck of my condo while watching the sun rise over El Campello. It was incredibly quiet, as the Spanish apparently are not morning people. After some spinning and some photo taking, I got dressed and ventured down the road for some food. There’s a gas station down the road from me that has a little cafe where they back bread and whatnot. Not having exchanged my US dollars for Euros, I attempted to purchase an orange juice via credit card and was promptly denied. Through the use of a few words and motions, I asked the woman behind the counter where the nearest atm was. She pointed down the road and rattled something off in Spanish, I assume it was something like “there’s a bank 4 blocks that way”. I nodded, understanding only the direction she was pointing and started walking. 15 minutes later, after asking another person via motions and single spanish words, I found the ATM. Money in hand, I ventured back to the gas station for coffee and pastries, slightly more confident.
After breakfast I headed to the office, getting in around 9:30 to find very few people there. Everyone is an afternoon person like me, so I figured things were going to be nice once my internal clock configured itself. A long day at work learning all sorts of new things left me exhausted at the end of the day. I went straight home to the condo and fell asleep, skipping dinner entirely.
Permalink
Posted in Personal News, Trips at 5:15 am by divinity
It’s Sunday, which marks my 6th day in Spain. It’s been an up and down week, but took a turn for good yesterday. I’ve been jotting down notes and observations on my sidekick (which has no service but functions as a good English-Spanish dictionary, clock, and notepad). I’m going to post each of these individually. Here’s my first day:
Tuesday, July 31st – First day in Spain
– arrived at the airport, everything is in Spanish, mild panic
– Ok, there are a few things in English here and there, including the driver’s sign for me, *sigh of relief*
– The country here feels a lot like southern California/Utah
– Lots of old completely abandoned buildings on the side of the road, crumbling and tagged with graffiti
– August is officially my “desert” month
– There is porn on the television. Not softcore, but hardcore porn. Three movies tiled on the screen. Channel 17.
Tuesday was a weird day. I was incredibly tired from all the travel and the 9hour jump ahead in time. Totally unprepared for attempting to steer my way through a society that didn’t speak English, I was happy to be dropped off at the office and have some people to talk to. A handful of people in the office speak fluent English and several others speak enough to get by. I got copies of keys to the condo, next door to the office, and after about 2hrs at work decided my brain was worthless and I needed sleep. I went up to the top-floor condo (2 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, with roofdeck!) and totally passed out around 4:30pm and woke up at 1:30am. Watched some television I had brought on my laptop, then back to bed at 4am, only to wake up at 7am.
Permalink
