Interesting/weird/random things I’ve noticed about Spain…

1.  They don’t believe in washcloths. 

                       So far every single hotel we’ve stayed in they have bath towels, hand towels, and even a bath mat but never a wash cloth.  As a strict user of the wash cloth I was quite disappointed in this.  Good thing I packed my own set of towels!!

2.  The toilets never flush with handles, but with small buttons either on the top of the toilet or even sometimes on the wall.

                        Not sure who thought of this idea, but it’s interesting.  It’s not something that bothers me, but I did have trouble figuring it out the first time I saw one. 

3.  If taking a tour bus or any other kind of bus that does long haul rides from one city to another, the bus driver has to take a 45 min break every 4 hours.

                        No joke!  When we went from Madrid to Sevilla our ISA directors informed us of this.  We had a 7 ½ hour bus ride from Madrid to Sevilla which meant a 45 min stop during our trip.  Apparently the buses here have little timers on them so the drivers know how long they have been driving and it also records your hours so it knows if they went over the 4 hour limit.  If you do it reports you somehow and just ends up being a big hassle.  I know in the states there is some law like this too, but this one just seemed really intense. 

4.  Spanish food has less fat than American food.

                        Even though everything here is cooked in some kind of oil, it’s actual olive oil and not some cheap stuff they use at a mcdonalds.  Not to mention that even if it was fattening you would probably burn off all those calories just by walking!  They walk everywhere.  (See fact 6 for more info.)

5.  It is impossible to find an actual meal for dinner.

                        They have really big lunches here and late ones too, around 2-3, which probably contributes to the not so big dinners.  They eat “tapas” which are like small plates with about as much food as an appetizer.  That’s all fine and dandy for them, but I always end up hungry again even after I eat dinner!!! So I’ve started to order more than one “tapa” for dinner and end up looking like a fat kid with all the food in front of me.  But then again since we know from reading fact 4 that Spanish food has less fat it’s also less filling and therefore, doesn’t stay in your stomach as long.  Hence the reason I’m always hungry. 

6.  They never stop walking.

                        Everything to them is “muy cerca, muy cerca”  (very close), but in reality it’s like a 40 min walk.  I like walking, but 40 min is not close.  Not for me.  Walking across ASU is a far walk and that’s only like 25 min! 

7.  Water is not free.

                        If you go to a restaurant and order a water they bring you a bottled water and charge like 1,40 euros.  They don’t give you water out of the tap.  It’s just not done.  Everyone drinks bottled water, and pays for it too.

8.  Milk is not refrigerated.

                        Yep…..gonna have to tell my host mom that I don’t really like it..it’s all warm and….bleh…hope she’s not offended!!

9.  There is no peanut butter here.

                        My host mom was telling me about this one student she had that brought her peanut butter and how it was the best thing ever.  I asked her if they had it out here and she said no!  Idk if my dad would be able to survive out here..no refrigerated milk and no peanut butter..

I’ll keep you all updated on the interesting things I find in Spain.  :)  I’m sure there will be more to come.