Tag Archives: USA

Not Just a Flyover

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Esta entrada va dirigida a aquellos españoles que siguen mi blog, y, por eso, escribo en castellano. Además, nunca viene mal escribir en el idioma que quieres perfeccionar.

Como he trabajado con muchas personas de todas las edades aquí en España, creo que puedo decir con confianaza que la mayoría de vosotros querría visitar los EEUU algún día. Pues me alegro de que lo estiméis un buen sitio para visitar. Pero la verdad es que no me alegro de que sólo queráis visitar Nueva York. Nueva York no tiene nada de malo, pero… quiero animaros a visitar otros sitios, otros estados, precisamente sitios que no se encuentren en las costas.

¿Por qué? Os lo voy a explicar.

Soy de Indiana y, si lees mi blog, pues, a lo mejor ya os habréis familiarizado con mi estado (lo conoceréis por el nombre y no porque hayáis estado. Sólo Mario habrá estado, supongo.) Pero cuando me presento a la gente, no suele saber ni dónde está. Tengo que decirles que cerca de Chicago. Y lo entiendo. No es Nueva York, no es California y no tenemos famosos ni el Empire State Building ni Times Square ni la Statue of Liberty. No somos tan interesantes y no nos consideramos tan interesantes.

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Mario piensa que somos interesantes, sin embargo

Pero EEUU es más que Nueva York. Es más que California. Somos un gran país, lleno de maravillas, naturaleza y gente maja. Tenemos de todo: playas, montañas, géiseres, grandes llanuras, atracciones turísticas estrafalarias (Wall Drug), la Ruta 66, el Gran Cañón del Colorado… y no he hecho mas que empezar.

Insisto en que el Midwest, como lo llamamos nosotros, no es una zona flyover (el término flyover se refiere a las regiones de EEUU entre la coste este y la costa oeste. Normalmente se usa en un sentido peyorativo, cuando uno quiere referirse a las regiones sobre las que se vuela en los vuelos transcontinentales.) Como he dicho, soy Hoosier (término que se refiere a la gente de Indiana). En mi estado no existen muchos sitios turísticios, pero, si alguien va a estudiar a una zona como Indiana, yo diría que qué bien, porque esa persona va a aprender cómo es la gente normal de EEUU, va a poder ver la vida diaria, va a conectar con la gente. De hecho, si va a cualquier estado del famoso Medio Oeste, también podría decir lo mismo.

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Disfrutando de Chicago

En fin, a lo mejor un día vas a Nueva York. Y lo disfrutarás, seguro. Pero si tienes una oportunidad para volver, vete a otro sitio. Vete a recorrer la Ruta 66, como hicieron mis (nuevos) primos este verano. Vete a ver Yellowstone y las preciosidades naturales que alberga. Vete a las montañas de Colorado o Tennessee. No te decepcionarán.

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A lo mejor podrás ver un mogollón de autobuses como Mario

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De Boda

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How was your September? Can you believe it’s already October?

We’ve been waiting for October 1st since March, when Mario got hired by a big-shot law firm and when we decided we were Madrid bound. I’m so proud of him, and I’m sure he will succeed in his new venture. I mean, he does get (to share) a secretary. I mean, if you have a secretary, you’re pretty important, right?

Anyway, I thought I’d share some photos with of our wedding-filled September:

Wedding 1: Family Friends

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A cute, simple outdoor wedding means no hair updo and no fancy dresses for me

Wedding 2: My baby brother (sob!) and my new sister, Colleen

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Bacheloretting it up

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Reading

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Cutest

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The groom’s cake was in the form of IU, of course

Wedding 3: Mario’s cousin

Unfortunately, I didn’t have my handy-dandy iPhone camera, so I don’t have any good pictures. But here are some anyway.

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My new cousins

Wedding 4: Mario’s friends

I went kind of Instagram crazy with this one, but hey! It’s all in good fun.

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So there you are, here’s to four weddings and September and no more (until next year, that is)!

What’s Cheaper in Spain

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Starting a new life in another country requires time and money. (But having a wedding means people give you presents, so that helps.) We have to acquire—in one way or another—all the necessities: appliances, kitchen equipment, linens, and on and on. Things can add up. And quickly.

A lot of things seem to be more expensive in Spain: makeup, toiletries, electronics, cell phone rates, books, cars. It can seem overwhelming when you’re trying to furnish a new apartment!

Luckily, not everything is expensive in Spain, especially if you can find some cheap flights! Here’s what I’ve found to be cheaper

  • Fruits and vegetables, but you have to know where to buy them. (Hint: It’s not Carrefour.)
  • Alcohol, but wine in particular. I can find one of my favorites, Elias Mora, for around €6.
  • Olive oil. I don’t get it, because we make olive oil here (in California, for example), but it’s not cheap. I’ll be honest and admit that my favorite olive oil is Carrefour-brand Arbequina.

  • Traveling to other countries, which—duh!—is due to shorter distances, but still. It’s cheaper!
  • Climate control. Okay, this is a cop out, because the reason it’s cheaper is because of a lack of a) heating in the south, or b) air conditioning in the northern regions. I have heard there are apartments in Madrid with some air conditioning, though. My environmentalist friend Kristin would remind me of all the good this is doing for the environment, however, and thus I try not to complain.
  • Eating out, but only if we’re talking about tapas-style eating out. There aren’t nearly as many chain restaurants or fast-food restaurants in Spain. (Thank goodness!) Thus, you can’t go grab Chipotle for $8 any time you want. But going out for tapas is cheap, fun, and filling. The idea of tapas is getting big in the US, but I honestly don’t think it’ll ever work out. There’s no culture of tapas, and the idea of going from place to place for dinner, which we eat way too early anyway, won’t likely catch on here anytime soon.
  • University tuition, but keep in mind it’s actually paid for by your taxes (85% of it, according to Público.es). So, you may only spend between 535 and 1,280 per academic year, according to Master’s Portal. (Mario came up with this one, and he wants to clarify that the trade-off may have to do with Spanish universities not exactly being world renowned.)

In the end, I realized the one thing that’s chaper in Spain is food. Good food, that is. Thank goodness. I love food!

What do you find cheaper (and/or better quality) in Spain? What do you find more expensive?

Two Threads

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The music is loud and it fills the room. All eyes are on us, and I can’t stop smiling. He grasps my hand, a bit harder than normal, and whispers, “Vamos.” So we enter the room, bright lights shining hotly on us, and I try to see everyone and everything, take it all in, remember everything about this moment. All these people, all this happiness, happened because we happened. We are the cause of these beaming faces, this raucous laughter, this clink of glasses. We are so loved. And we are so unbelievably lucky.

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Pretty close to where it all started

My life and Mario’s life have become intertwined, two threads of the same story, irrevocably twisted together. I didn’t mean for it to happen, didn’t head to Spain looking for love, let alone looking for him. But happen it did.

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Nevertheless, sometimes I feel a twinge of envy as I look at others’ lives. Perhaps I’m crazy, and feel free to say so, but I do sometimes envy those who aren’t headed to Spain, who aren’t married to foreigners like I am. I think of their lives, and I wonder what it’s like not to always yearn. I miss half of my world. Every day.

In the US, I miss Mario most of all, his contagious laughter, our bilingual jokes, how he tells me he loves me. I miss the sunshine and dry plains of Zamora. I miss speaking Spanish, feeling like I’m always learning and growing somehow. I miss our friends: R with his earnest attempts at English, J’s jokes, M who sees Mario much like I do. I cannot help but think of café con leche, chorizo, salchichón, and lentejas. I miss walking past the corner store that sells salt cod, sweet wine, and aguardiente. I reminisce about drinking sweet liqueurs out of frozen tiny beer steins after long lunches, the orujo staining our upper lips a milky brown. I think of paseando after dinner in the summer, when the streets are finally cool and sometimes smell of an afternoon downpour, the pharmacies’ thermometers blinking the temperature in red. I remember how to savor wine and food, linger over a meal,  and—because I must—speak deliberately, with a purpose.

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In Spain, I miss my family—my mother’s hugs “on both sides,” my father mowing the grass, chatting with my sister-in-law about the Hoosiers, the family get-togethers. I miss the green grass, the smell of fires in the fall, my backyard garden with its endless sweet green peppers and curious rabbits poking about. I miss the local Mexican restaurant, its colorful, joyful booths and waiters who already know our orders. I long for cookouts, pitch-ins, and barbecues; fireflies, dandelions, and open fields; barns, cornfields, and corner stores. I miss them all, but know they’re waiting on me to return, and I hope one day I will.

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I think that coming back and forth exacerbates it all. I read posts from former Conversation and Language Assistants who are reminded, every so often, of Spain, and they miss it. Understandably. I wonder if these feelings fade. I think they do, over time. They become less and less frequent, less and less painful. Is this good or bad, this lessening? Who’s to say? I just know that my feelings do not become less frequent; in fact, as I become more deeply entrenched in another culture, another country, another place altogether, I’m realizing that these feelings are more frequent, and often more gut-wrenching. I will never stop missing the other place. Never.

And so I face my future, knowing that something will always be missing, some hole will always be present. These holes I will fill when I return to that place; they, in turn, will be emptied when I must inevitably leave.

And please, don’t think I’m complaining—there’s no reason to complain about my life, fortunate and blessed as it is. But remember that your life, too, is fortunate. T-minus twenty-six days until I’m officially a madrileña.

Spanish Weddings vs. American Weddings—The Reception

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So, we’ve heard about the actual wedding ceremony. What about the reception?

A wedding party in Spain is, without a doubt, way more fun than in the US. Now, I love the US, but … seriously, just go to Spanish wedding and try not to have fun. Once you go Spanish, you can’t go back.

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I’m in it for life. With the godmother and godfather (L-R): María Jose (godmother), Mario, Alberto (godfather), me.

Photo by Mario’s talented cousin, José Antonio Fernández Sánchez.

  • Who’s invited? That depends on how much you want to spend, of course. In our case, we only had about 85 people, because most of my family wasn’t able to make it.
  • Who pays? As Erik explained on my Facebook page, “Typically the guests pay for it themselves. When you attend a Spanish wedding, you’re expected to bring an envelope with, at a bare minimum, 100€ per member of your party. We had just over a hundred guests for my Spanish wedding, and the bill (mainly for the exquisite meal) was about 10,000€. We broke even with the cash donations.” I remember my first Spanish wedding, and I was (naturally) surprised by our gift to the couple. I soon realized, however, that it’s the norm, and you’re paying for a great party, great food, dancing, and an all-you-can-drink bar. So, you’re getting a pretty good deal in the end.

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  • What do you eat? Everything. No, but there’s always a lot of food. In my experience, the eating has been as follows:
    • El cóctel (Hors d’oeuvre): After the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom generally go and take pictures. Thus, the guests are left waiting. Said guests are usually hungry. Thus, the Spanish people, great eaters that they are, invented what they refer to as the cóctel, the cocktail party before the reception. There are waiters carrying trays of drinks (beer, wine, soda, water) and all sorts of appetizers. I’ve been to weddings where they served freshly-sliced jamón ibérico.

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  • Entrante (Appetizer): After the bride and groom arrive, the guest are ushered into the dining room, after which the bride and groom will enter, with or without music. The drinks are served (white wine, red wine, and water), and the appetizer comes out. This dish can vary greatly. At one wedding I attended, the appetizer was merged with the fish dish, because no one really needs the appetizer anyway. But that’s besides the point.
  • El pescado (Fish): Next comes the fish, which can be any sort, from merluza (hake) to rodaballo (turbot), which we had at our wedding.
  • El sorbete (Sorbet): Time to cleanse your palate. Next comes the big dish, the meat! We had a mango-flavored sorbet at ours.
  • La carne (Meat): It all depends on where you are, but usually the restaurant has a specialty. In our case, the specialty was lechazo, basically lamb. In Castilla y León, they are known for their lechazo.
  • El postre (Dessert): Not many Spaniards have what we would think of as a wedding cake. In our case, it was a type of chocolate mousse (delicious, by the way). Nonetheless, we did have the pleasure of cutting a cake, though we did not eat it. And yes, we used a sword, which I found hilarious because Mario said such a thing was only done in the 1990s. He was surprised!

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The unification of two great countries. Juan is enjoying his mango sorbet in the corner.

Photo credit: José Antonio Fernández Sánchez

  • Are there toasts? Not officially. I suppose if someone wished to do a toast, he or she could do so. My father-in-law read a very special essay he wrote for us during the ceremony, which I felt was similar to a toast. (He made us all suspiciously teary-eyed.) We also had a wonderful wedding video made by someone who claimed to be anonymous, although information quickly leaked out, and we learned it had been Mario’s cousin and godmother, María José.
  • Can your clink your glass to get the couple to kiss? Well, no, but they have something better, shouting, “¡Que se besen! ¡Que se besen!”, meaning basically the same thing. Another fun thing they shout is, “¡Vivan los novios!”, which the others respond to with a hearty, “¡Vivan!”, meaning “Long live the bride and groom!” basically.

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Photo credit: José Antonio Fernández Sánchez

  • Is there a bouquet toss? Sometimes. Other times, like in my case, the bride can pick the person to whom she wants to give the bouquet, usually the next to marry. In my case, it was easy. My future sister(-in-law), Colleen, was there, and she’s getting married on September 15, so I presented her with it.

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  • What about the garter? Um, sometimes (like at the wedding I attended last June), but I chose not to do so. Not my thing.
  • What about the dancing? Oh, there’s dancing. Mario’s family is notorious for their dancing. They love it, and I’ve learned to love it nearly as much as they do. Usually the first dance is a waltz (much to my chagrin; I have two left feet), and we stuck with tradition. Almost all of the songs are very danceable, and meant for all ages. Thank God, there’s no such thing as the “Dollar Dance” or the “Cha Cha Slide.”

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My brother and Mario’s dad getting down on the dance floor. Mario’s dad is basically the best dancer ever. He gets the party started.

  • Open bar? Yes, always. There’s no such thing as a dry wedding, because “no one would go,” as Mario so delicately puts it.

Tell me your experiences with Spanish weddings. I’m sure they vary. Also, why are Spaniards so good at throwing parties?

Spanish Weddings vs. American Weddings

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I’ve never had an American wedding. But I have had a wedding. And I’m American. I just got married in Spain to a Spaniard, so I suppose I might know quite a bit more about Spanish weddings than American ones. Yet there are so many wedding-related movies, and I’ve been to my share of American weddings, that I think that I can point out some of the differences.

Whenever I tell my relatives about my wedding, they always want to know the same things—Did you have bridesmaids? Where was the rehearsal dinner? Why haven’t you changed your last name on Facebook yet?

So, after relistening to this old Notes in Spanish podcast (I used to listen a lot in college), Una Boda Multicultural, about a Spanish man who got married to an American woman in Sevilla, I thought I’d write about what I found different (and the same!).

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  • Engagement rings and lack thereof. I have an engagement ring, but it’s not the norm. My husband asked me to marry him back in November 2011, and he presented me with a precious ring that I still wear on my left hand. In Spain, the engagement isn’t quite so popular; in fact, none of the married Spanish women I know had one. Surely, some women do it, but it’s certainly not popular. Don’t even get me started on women thinking that the man has to spend a certain amount on a ring just to show you he loves you. Just … no. Ugh.
  • Las arras. Loosely translated as “unity coins,” las arras are coins that the bride and groom exchange to symbolize that what was now one’s own property is now communal. It’s a nice gesture to symbolize the unification of a couple’s financial goods (and therefore debts as well).
  • No rehearsal. There is no rehearsal! I know, are you scandalized yet? I understand that the rehearsal is pretty useful if you have a large bridal party and don’t want to look a fool, but in Spain there’s none of that. It made my dad pretty nervous, though, so we met up with the priest on the Thursday before the wedding to go over what was going to happen. Naturally, my dad had never been in nor seen a Spanish wedding, and now he was playing a central role, as el padrino.
  • El padrino y la madrina. In the US, the father walks the bride down the aisle; in Spain, the mother of the groom walks him down the aisle, and the father of the bride walks her down the aisle. Then they stay up there with the bride and groom, seated beside them for the whole ceremony.

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  • No bridal party. There are no bridesmaids or groomsmen, no best man or maid of honor. This actually means a lot less stress, because bridal parties are hard to coordinate!

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As a bridesmaid in my friend Hilary’s wedding, August 2010

  • Wedding bands. From what I (thought I) knew, a woman’s wedding band was a bit thinner, more “feminine” than a man’s. In Spain, I found they often showed us two of the same wedding bands. There were usually broader and more masculine than I was expecting. In Mario’s parents’ time, a lot of wedding bands were very flat, and the jewelers presented those types of bands to us as the “traditional.”
  • Ring finger. In most of Spain, you wear your wedding band on the third finger of your right hand, not your left. (However, in Cataluña, they wear it on the left.) Yes, believe it!
  • My last name. Women do not change their last names. Shocking? I don’t know why in this day and age, but it nonetheless seems to shock people. How do last names work in Spain? Here’s how:
    • Everyone has two last names. For example, María Pérez López. María got her first last name, Pérez, from her father. (For example, Marcos Pérez Medina.) María got her second last name from her mother. (For example, Laura López Castro.)
    • Traditionally, the father’s last name has to go first, and the mother’s last name has to go second. However, they’ve recently changed the law to be more egalitarian, allowing parents to decide whose last name to put first.
    • It seems confusing at first for many, but it actually makes a lot of sense, and is a lot more egalitarian than our patriarchal naming system.

Of course, there’s also the whole after-the-wedding party that’s really different, but that’s for another post, another day.

So You’re Dating a Spaniard—Kate

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Hello! By nature, I’m quite a nosy curious person, so whenever I read about/hear about a fellow American dating a Spaniard, my ears perk up. This time, though, I decided to take the initiative myself and ask to interview some of my fellow Americans who have ventured into a relationship with Spaniards (or those who have found cross-cultural love in Spain). I’d like to start the series with Kate, an American in León who is dating Jorge, her Spaniard.

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Please introduce yourself.

My name is Kate Brooks, I am twenty-three years old, and I am a language and conversation assistant in León, Spain. I studied in Valladolid for five months in 2009, returned to the US to graduate from college, and am now in my second year teaching in León.

How did you meet your significant other and how long have you been together?

Jorge and I have been together 7 months. We met each other last year through a mutual friend and would run into each other once in awhile while out with friends in León. However, we spent more time together at the beginning of the school year. Our mutual friend organized a barbeque outside of León and that day I talked to Jorge more and got to know him better. Then, in November we met while I was out celebrating my birthday and began to date shortly after. We now live together and things couldn’t be better!

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Do you feel that your significant other is a “typical” Spaniard? If not, why?

I think Jorge in some aspects is the “typical” Spaniard but in others no. Or, at least with me he is not as “typical.” It is difficult to pin point exactly why he is in some ways typical and some ways not. I am sure in the same way I am a typical American and in other ways not.

I feel the same … who’s to really say what’s “typical” anyway? Which language do you speak when you’re together? Why?

Majority of the time (about 90%) we speak in Spanish. Jorge studied English in high school but hasn’t studied any since. So, when we first started dating we could not speak English because we were both more comfortable using Spanish. However, sometimes I speak to him in English and he answers in Spanish. It is amazing how much his English has improved in the time we have been together. We say that even if we moved and lived in the US, we would probably still speak Spanish with one another because it is what we know, are used to, and are comfortable with.

How do you deal with the “in-law” issue? Have you met them? Do you get along?

I get along great with my “in-laws.” Jorge’s parents and sister are wonderful and have already welcomed me and adopted me into their family. They have not been overbearing or overwhelming, and respect our space and lives.

What is the best part about dating/being married to a foreigner (and especially a Spaniard)?

Even though we are from different cultures and speak natively different languages, I have never felt uncomfortable or unable to express myself with Jorge. I think that in reality there are not as many differences as people may think between our two distinct cultures and lifestyles. It is also great dating a Spaniard here in Spain when I don’t understand something, need help, or am feeling overwhelmed with living here etc., he is there to help me through it in any way he can.

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I totally agree! My Spaniard is always able to help me out in a pinch! What is the most difficult part?

The most difficult part of dating someone and living in another country is that you are not near your family and friends. Sometimes it is difficult being so far away from what you know and what is comfortable. You sacrifice a lot and compromise on many things, including missing out on holidays, special occasions, and daily life back home.

What advice would you give someone who is considering starting a relationship with a Spaniard?

I would tell them to take their time and enjoy it. If the relationship seems to be serious, be sure to talk and have open communication about what both of you want out of life and what you are both willing to sacrifice and compromise with in the future when it comes to more “real life” situations.

Do you plan on living in the US or in Spain long term? Why?

As of now we plan on living in Spain long term. Jorge has a good job as a music teacher and he would like to at least spend more time in Spain with his family and friends. We both talk that maybe one day we will move to the US for awhile but for now, it is easier for the both of us based on work and language levels to stay in Spain.

Do you plan on having children? If so, do you plan on raising them bilingual?

When the time comes, yes we want to have children and we will definitely raise them bilingual. I think it is crucial to do so because it gives so many more opportunities in the future and in order to communicate with both of our families they will have to speak English and Spanish.

If you could import something from the US to Spain (and vice versa), what would it be?

If I could import something from the US to Spain with would be my family and friends. Even if they didn’t live in Spain, I wish that Spain and the US were closer.

How has being in a relationship with a Spaniard changed you?

It has made me relax and be more patient. It has made me more self-confident and comfortable with myself. As well, it has made me appreciate different parts of my life that before I took advantage of.

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Thanks, Kate! If you’re dating a Spaniard (or just stalking one full time), please email me at kalhendr[at]gmail[dot]com to be featured!

Guest Post: Mario

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Please welcome my second-ever guest poster, the one and only Mario. You all know about him, so there’s no need to say that much about him. I’ll let him speak for himself for once!

Kaley asked me many weeks ago to write a guest post for her blog. I don’t usually procrastinate, but somehow many weeks passed and I still hadn’t been able to find a topic that would be interesting enough for those who read her blog. I knew for sure that my topic choice would be about the USA. But what could I say about it? I know that NYC or LA are a big thing for Spaniards (Europeans in general, I would say) who want to visit the States, and I’m pretty sure there are a bazillion blogs praising the magnificent skyscrapers in Chicago or how cool San Francisco can be or how intercultural NYC is.

Suddenly, as I was watching Billy Wilder’s A Foreign Affair, I had a light-bulb moment. In the movie, Colonel Rufus J. Plummer (Millard Mitchell) mentions he comes from Indiana. That reminded me that in North by Northwest the famous plane attack against Cary Grant is on a road between Chicago and Indianapolis (although it seems to be a movie mistake), and I started to remember all the movies and TV series in which Indiana is mentioned: one of the soldiers in Band of Brothers comes from Kokomo (Floyd Talbert); the Notre Dame football team is mentioned in The Simpsons. In another category would be films about Indiana, where Hoosiers ranks number one. The name Lew Wallace probably says little to you. Maybe the film Ben-Hur sounds more familiar. Before the film, there was a book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, whose author, Lew Wallace, wrote part of his famous work in Crawfordsville, which happens to be in … Indiana!

Let’s face it: a European is very unlikely to cross the pond to visit Indiana, unless you are a talent scout from a basketball team and you want to find some exceptionally good players in Indiana University (Florentino, Cody Zellermust be signed by Real as soon as he graduates). You would also visit Indiana if you were my father who has always wanted to see the vast fields of crops he has seen in documentaries.

You know what? It’s a pity a European would never visit Indiana. These are my five reasons why foreigners should visit Indiana:

1. People are very nice.Okay, my view might be a bit biased, since Kaley’s family is super nice to me. Helpful people will open their hearts to you. Whenever I’ve been there, Kaley’s parents have always scheduled all kind of activities so that I could have the best taste of Indiana: Spring Mill State Park, Indianapolis Zoo, a good rib-eye steak, tailgating …. Her dad, a great sports fan, has taken me to a Cubs’ game and Indiana University basketball and football games. I had never owned the Spanish national soccer team jersey, but when Spain won their first World Cup in 2010, they gave it to me, and I will proudly wear it this year to support Spain in the Euro Cup. He also got me a Miami Dolphins’ jersey!

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2. Nature. Not the scientific journal, but the green stuff. You can find it in two forms: wild and farmed. I love hiking and nature, and I think it’s a pity we don’t have more places where you can go hiking. In Indiana, in a two-hour drive you can be in a park. I have been to Brown County and Spring Mill State Parks (I was so excited to see a raccoon), but there are twenty-six more state parks remaining to be visited; there are fifteen state forests, one national forest, etc. Visit Indiana and you can enjoy them! (I sound like Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation). Indiana, with its large extensions of crops (mainly corn and soybeans), is located within the US Corn and Grain Belts. An interesting visit would be to drive in the countryside and stop to enjoy the traditional red-painted wooden barns. Last summer I visited the farm owned by the Kaley’s brother’s fiancée’s father. Man, it was huge!

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3. Good food.My brother and some friends recently returned from a trip to NYC. They all are on cloud nine but agree that the food could have been much better. American food tends to be tagged as “unhealthy” or simply “not good.” I disagree. My point is that it takes all sorts and that you have to find the right place and know what to order. When I was there and had lunch or dinner out, I only at fast food twice: once at Pizza Hut and once at Buffalo Wild Wings. I’ve been to many other restaurants, and the food has been good. I have to admit I like meat, and whenever I had the chance I ordered a burger. I was never disappointed, whereas in Spain if you order a burger, the outcome is unexpected. I can’t remember the name of that restaurant we stopped on our way back home on Black Friday, but I clearly remember telling the waiter that the burger was supreme. I still salivate thinking about the rib-eye steak at the Steak House in Covington. I have had good Mexican and Italian food. We went to a restaurant in the Amish area, and it was delicious. I have never had heartburn because of the food, and I didn’t gain weight (and—believe me—I eat a lot). Plus, in Kaley’s family there are great cooks, so when we had lunch or dinner at home, I could enjoy great meals. I was there for Thanksgiving, and I was happy because everything was delicious: the turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry sauce made from scratch. And, of course, the desserts—especially cookies. It’s true that you don’t usually find lentils or chickpeas in restaurants, but it’s not that they just have meat on the menu; they do have veggies, and they usually serve a salad as a side order.

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4. WYSIWYWIF: What You See Is What You Watch In Films.This particular reason applies to all states. People in films usually live in houses with a front and/or backyard; you find that here. Yellow school buses? Check. High schools with these amazing gyms that you can’t imagine in a Spanish high school? Check. Enormous SUVs and trucks? Check. Huge Wal-Mart with long aisles with thousands of different types of cereal? Cheeeeeeeeck. A farmer wearing dungarees and a John Deere hat? Check. Amish people riding in their buggies? Check. A huge green campus? Check. A bake sale? Check. Tailgating? Check.

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5. Basketball. Do you like basketball? If you are a fan of hoops, Indiana is a must—the basketball state par excellence. But forget the NBA. In the States there exists something better: college basketball. Some college kids do the required “one-and-done” to jump into the pro league. Indiana University’s philosophy is quite different: basketball players graduate, so along with their basketball experience they have a diploma, which comes handy in case you get injured and can’t keep playing basketball. Thanks to Tom Crean, the current coach, who is forging a very competitive Cream and Crimson team, Indiana basketball is back. This year they made it to The Sweet Sixteen. Next year? My bet is that they will be in the Final Four.

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Visit Indiana and remember: it’s Indiana!

Things in America Making Me Fat

22 Replies

A list:

  • My car.
  • Ketchup, the kind with high-fructose corn syrup.
  • Cable television.
  • Having to drive to work.
  • Ease of parking.
  • Central heating: it make me very warm inside and very cold outside; thus, I do not leave the house
  • Pretzels
  • Having to “cook” for myself a.k.a. making myself a bowl of cereal. And then refilling it twenty times.
  • Sitting all day long instead of standing and yelling at high school kids. I think the whole yelling thing burns at least ten calories per hour
  • I don’t pasear, especially in the winter.
  • Expensive produce–apples are $2.00 per pound, whereas in Spain they were like 50 céntimos per kilo.
  • Coffee creamer.

I just felt like saying that I hate it when people say all Americans are fat due to fast food. I never (okay, hardly ever) eat fast food, and America is still making me fat. How does s/he do it? It’s a conspiracy, I tell you.

Really.

Facts about Mario

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  • Mario’s initials are MAR, which in Spanish means “sea,” whereas in English it means “disfigure.” I prefer the former definition.
  • Mario has three degrees: translation, law, and business.
  • Mario is a bad ass. As translated by Google Translator, he is a “culo mal.” (I once looked at how Google translated my blog. I had said “you’re a bad ass.” Google translated that as “usted es un culo mal.”
  • Mario is not the typical Spaniard in that:
    • he drinks tea, not coffee.
    • he doesn’t siesta.
    • he speaks English really well. (Sorry if that’s offensive, but I’ve found the average Spaniard’s English skills to be not that high. Remember, I did work in a Spanish high school.)
    • he doesn’t like staying out late.
  • Mario is a fan of a good tonic water, with or without gin.
  • Mario’s least favorite thing he ate in the USA was a marshmallow.
  • Mario was very excited to see the following things in the States:
    • a yellow school bus
    • a mailbox
    • a raccoon
    • skyscrapers
  • As well as English and Spanish, Mario speaks German and French.
  • Mario’s mother and aunt are tied for the best cooks in Zamora. That’s just a fact.
  • IT’S HIS BIRTHDAY. He’s old. Wish him a happy birthday!

I hope you all enjoyed my #factsaboutMario. I realize this isn’t Twitter, but I say someone doing that for their friend’s birthday on Twitter, and I liked it. Unfortunately, Mario will never ever have Twitter, so I had to do it on my blog.