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[hereticxxii]

I am going to Spain in about a week in a half. The 23rd I flyout of Phoenix for Madrid! I am very excited. It probably isnt helping that I bought a Lonely Planet book for Madrid and Andalucia and have been studying them intensively.

I am still trying to figure out what to do with that time between when the program ends (June 30th.) and when I

Comments

[jawawillis]

At least you are starting things off in Mad City, where people dont have such a thick accent. Andalucia, however, is a different story. I have been here for almost two years, and I'm still totally lost when I speak to people from small villages in Andalucia.
Words do no justice to how good the food and drink is here. Here is a small list of things that (IMHO)you should definitley try while here.: Olives (Huge variety- from tiny to plum size,stuffed with anchovi, with bluecheese, etc. I hated olives before I came here and now love them), Ham (Again, lots of variety, but the best is Jamón Iberico or Serrano),Paella, Tortilla Española, Caracoles (snails), Calamari, Fried fish, Schuarma, All pastries, Anything with olive oil, and of course, tapas.
Booze- All wine (usually a fairly good bottle is only 2euros), moscatel, sangria, absynth (absenta), and cuban rum (no trade embargo).

[hereticxxii]

isnt there a type of ham that they feed the pigs acorns before they butcher them?

[jawawillis]

Three things that Lonly Planet dosent tell you that you should know about Spain (hope this isn't too excessive...).
-The typical greeting between men and women, or women and women, is to kiss each other on the cheeks, first the right cheek then the left (in other words, your head goes to the left, then to the right.) I got this wrong the first couple of weeks and headbutted a lot of people.
-Often times bathrooms are only designated with an "s" and a "c". I kept thinking "Chicas y señores? Señoritas y chavales?". Its for Cabelleros and Señoras (the "c" is the men's room).
-Some things have different names in Madrid than they do in the rest of Spain. The important ones- Darsená (instead of "Anden", for a gate at a bus station or airport) and Aseo (instead of "Servicios", for the bathroom).

Dont worry too much about having a hard time with the language, If you are even trying to speak spanish, instead of just screaming in english, people are generally very patient. You are sure to have a blast.

[hereticxxii]

Aseo! WTF! where did that word come from! They are cheating!