on being back

Well, I flaked on my plan to document my final lap around Europe. Maybe I'll come back to it some day when I need to do some serious procrastinating, but for now I'll call it a lost cause.

it's the space needle

One thing I do want to write about however is my experience with reverse-culture shock. I've been back for a little over a month now and as an added shocking bonus, spent most of that time in the Big City (Seattle). 

Number one on my list of shocks is customer service and the friendliness of strangers. Customer service in restaurants of course, where they give you free ice water with a big smile and seem genuinely happy to see you. Maybe it comes from the fact that a big part of their salary comes from tips, but the same goes even for non-tipping situations. Like when I went down to the UW Spanish department to ask about the DELE in November and chatted with the woman there for half an hour about the test and Spain and Spanish. Or when I went to the bank to sort out transferring money from my la Caixa account to my American one and the employee was all smiles and help. Or making small talk with the other folks waiting for the bus, smiling at fellow cyclists and getting blessed/excused when sneezing in public. 

Not that Spanish people or Europeans in general are not friendly, just that Americans, in public interactions, seem to go out of their way to be kind and accommodating. They also seem to be more culturally aware/understanding, which goes hand in hand with being more ethnically diverse. 

the master of fruits and veggies guards his stall in pike place

Next on my list is schedules. Here jet lag was a big help and gave me a head start in getting back into the rhythm of being up before 8am and going to bed before midnight. Back in Spain I'm pretty sure I moaned and groaned about having to madrugar (literally, to dawn/to sunrise) and it still strikes me as strange that an adult might go to bed before 10pm. 

Food of course is another one--tomato sauce is just not the same as tomate frito! There is so much more variety here in the states, especially if you want to eat out ("Where do you want to go?" "Oh, I dunno." "Well, let's narrow it down and pick a continent.") but it is way, way more expensive. Gone are the days of pulpo, wine and pimientas for under ten euros. 


And a few other little odds and ends: 

• electric stoves (no fire involved!)
• saying thank you to bus drivers
• cars everwhere (and they go so fast!)
• confusing medical system
• never paying with cash and coins being almost worthless
• being expected to know how things work because I'm "from here"

I suppose that's it. Thanks for reading! If I ever go abroad again, expect more of the same.