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| 7 1/2 hours of class today left me in a fragile state. This is how I deal with my problems |
So maybe I'll start posting more frequently? I really have no idea. All I know is that I'm REALLY looking forward to the next episode of How I Met Your Mother. Anyways, here's a collection of random anecdotes that have transpired over the course of my 1 month and 4 days in Sevilla. This will be a long post, but most of the space will be due to pictures. No big deal.
Día de San Valentín:
I'll start with a Valentine's Day theme, as apparently it is actually Valentine's Day... although I totally would NOT have noticed here. I asked Margarita (my host mom) if it's celebrated here, and she very enthusiastically said AW SHIT YEA (I might be exaggerating a little). But, I haven't seen a single "buy your significant other this and she'll/he'll love you again" commercial lately and I didn't notice anything different while walking around today. It's quite refreshing to not get blindsided by subversive advertising and an obscene amount of V-Day cards and other swag
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| Although I'd absolutely buy this one |
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| For the love of God, please be my Valentine. And wife |
Zapatos:
The Spaniards LOVE their shoes. There are shoes stores literally everywhere you walk. There are streets in Sevilla where I'm pretty sure there are nothing but Shoe stores. Same thing when I was in Madrid for the weekend several weeks back - Shoes. Shoes everywhere.
What am I getting at with all this? Well, I was hoping to buy a pair of shoes while in Madrid, as the past month has been the month of "Rebajas," or sales. I probably went to over 20 different Shoes stores in Madrid alone, and other clothing stores that also sold shoes. EVERY time, the conversation went more or less like this:
Me: "Hi, I'm looking for this pair of shoes *holds up pair* in size 47 (European sizes... weird)"
Clerk: *Eyes widen, looks at my feet, eyes widen even more* "Oh no, nobody has shoes in THAT size. You should try looking online"
Me: "Are you serious? My feet aren't that big in the United States. Is there really that much of a difference here?"
Clerk: *Appalled that I mentioned Amurrica, scoffs* "Well, I suppose so..." *walks away*
Size 13 US, not a terribly uncommon size. Paul Roberts can attest to that.
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| I am Disappoint |
The Pickpocket:
Since I briefly touched on Madrid, I may as well tell this little story. The first night in Madrid was great. Huge city, lots of people. lots of things to do. After exiting a bar with a couple amigos, I walk down the street for a bit and, upon turning the corner, I was accosted by a rather peculiar man (although admittedly he was probably around my age). I wasn't in the best state in the world, so I found the following to be rather entertaining. He grabbed my shoulders, shook me, then shouted at me, telling me to look at his feet as he attempted to do a Flamenco dance. As I was distracted, I noticed that one of his hands left my shoulder and started patting my left pocket. After the patting stopped, he stopped, then gave me the biggest troll face in the world
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| Yes. This face, he did it to me. |
At this point my friends were a ways ahead of me, so I ran around the corner to catch up, checking my pockets to make sure the silly man didn't take anything. By the time I got to my friends, however, I realized that the bastard took my phone. So, what did I do? Did I:
a) Announce this to my friends then run back as a group to get my phone back
b)Assume the dude had bolted upon snatching my phone and just keep going
c) Assume the dude was waiting with some sort of weapon so that when I returned he could threaten me and take more stuff
d) Throw caution to the wind and sprint back to the scene of the crime without telling anyone
If you guessed (a), you clearly have too much faith in my abilities (If you're reading this, Dylan Sedam, I'm NOT going to copy your Star Wars reference). The correct answer was of course (d). I sprinted back. The dude was still there. I didn't accost him back, but I did, very loudly, demand that he give my phone back. He laughed, then patted my shoulder saying how impressed he was with my boldness, then gave my phone back. In retrospect, that DEFINITELY could've ended a lot worse. But that night, that was quite a victory.
America: Eleventy-Billion-and-1 Spain: 0
Mc-Freaking-Donalds:
There's not one part of this story that I shouldn't be embarrassed about. Anyways, there's a McDonalds in the same building as my program center. Thus, I pass by it literally every day (Sorry Aaron Handsman, there are ZERO Wendy's in Spain. They just don't exist. BK and McDonalds are everywhere, but no Wendy's). Anyways, after a month in Spain I decided it was high time to get some American goodness for a snack. Moreover, it came to my attention that I had never had a Big Mac before. Ever. Challenge Accepted
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| Sweet, sweet victory |
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| The sudden realization that I lack PS on my laptop is appalling. |
Street Performers:
Every weekend I like to walk around a single plaza, Plaza Nueva, and its connecting street, Constitución. Why? There are hundreds of people and dozens of street performers. Check it!
This happened at a bar, but it's too funny to not post. Just wait for it...
(I have this cool video of a guy dressing up as a couple dancing, but the video won't upload. I'll try again later)
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| Ohhh lawd. I called them Street Performers |
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| Something about a potential law that could censor the internet. whatevs. |
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| HOW IS HE DOING THIS. |
That's all I've got, but I'll be sure to snap shots of more silly street performers that are worth my camera's attention.
So, sorry for the long post. I leave you with one more thing:
Happy Valentine's Day everyone:
Song of the Day: Your Song - Ellie Goulding. Very related to this post.
Good thing Groove is doing a recorder song! That man (and you) should jet over here to be in the show.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would also like to marry Ellie Goulding. And you. Is that legal there?
Awesomest pickpocket story ever, dude.
ReplyDeleteAlso, do they serve beer at Spanish McDonald's? I probably shouldn't be surprised -- I know at least German ones have beer, but still. Nice.
Good luck shoeing your obscenely large feet, sir.