We didn’t make it to Zaragoza today. When we arrived at the Estacio
Sants (the main Barcelona train station), all the trains heading to
Barcelona were full. There’s some sort of water expo in Zaragoza this
week. Half the world is heading in that direction.
We booked tickets on a high speed train for tomorrow morning. Spain,
like the rest of Europe, is way ahead of the U.S. in public
transportation. That doesn’t mean everything runs well. America
practically invented air travel and we still get six-hour layovers
when the toilets in our planes still explode. Hopefully, the toilets
on Spanish trains do not interrupt their takeoff times.
We stuck around Barcelona today and soaked up the Catalonian
culture. I’d say “Spanish culture” but remains a sensitive subject
what with everyone still hung over from yesterday’s “Boy, Do We Hate
Spain Day.”
Personally, I’m cool with everything. I’m having fun. There are,
however, some noticeable differences between here and home that I
find…distracting? I don’t want to sound like an Ugly American
pointing them out. This is, of course, a reference to the penchant
Americans have while traveling abroad of lording ourselves over other
people. I don’t want to be one of those.
My wife and I argued when I suggested we try hard not to offend. She
said she can’t be an Ugly American because she’s Canadian. Thanks to
Canada’s inherent inoffensiveness, the worst she can be is “Slightly
Homely Canadian.” I said she’s actually a “Lovely Canadian.” It was a
wise foreign policy move.
Still, there are those differences between Spain and home. Here are
just a few:
ELECTRICITY: The electrical plugs here are round instead of flat.
It’s the whole 110 vs. 220 argument, which I believe was the true
basis for the Cold War. I thought we fixed that on this trip by
bringing a transformer. Unfortunately, we only brought one. So, if my
wife wants to use her curling iron, I can’t charge my cell phone or
my computer.
PERSONAL SPACE: Europe seems to be a lot more crowded than the U.S.
Maybe that’s why no one here thinks it at all odd to talk to you
while standing inside your shoes. There’s also no hesitation
whatsoever about cutting you off or knocking shoulders while walking
in a crowd. Our saunter up The Rambla yesterday was lovely but also a
bit of a beating.
PRICES: The Euro is stronger than the dollar. I got that. I’m even OK
with it. But I’m not OK with paying $9 U.S. for a Pepsi. We stopped
at an outdoor restaurant on the Rambla and ordered a small pepperoni
pizza (think Ragu spread on saltines) and two soft drinks. After
conversion, the bill was $49.60 U.S. not counting the tip (which my
Lovely Canadian wife refused to leave.
TELEVISION: Europe does a good job of converting U.S. sitcoms into
Spanish. We watched “Seinfeld” last night. George’s lips actually
seemed in synch with the Spanish words. It’s nothing like the old
Japanese monster movies where the character’s mouth keeps moving a
full minute after saying, “Godzilla is coming, sir.”
LANGUAGE: Speaking of lip synching, my Spanish seems to be improving.
I actually talked to a waiter yesterday and asked him for a glass of
water ($18.50 U.S.), and he didn’t reply, “Por favor, senor, but
there is no elephant in my wife’s pants.”
TIME: Still trying to get used to this. We’re awake when our bodies
are telling us we should be asleep. But since I have the same problem
at work back in the states, it almost feels like home.
Tomorrow – Zaragoza.