Hey orb 28! I have a question for you. Have you ever been out of the country? If you have you know how overwhelmingly different the world can be. At the same time, it’s very similar as well.
Madrid has a lot of character. The streets in the evening are full of people. So much can be seen there. People pose as statues, which you may have seen in other cities. There are flamenco dancers, musicians of all kinds, magicians, shops, and so many people. You can buy something like a waffle cone dipped in chocolate with whipped cream while you wander the cobblestone streets.
One really cool event you can go to at night is flamenco at Las Tablas. For those that don’t know what flamenco is, it is a traditional Spanish dance that expresses a lot of emotion. The music is sort of like the Gypsy Kings, and the dancing involves a lot of foot and handwork. In some cases there are lots of moves involving the skirt too.
Meals (not desserts!) are a little hard to get used to. The breakfasts are light, the lunches are heavy, and the dinners are made up of tapas. Tapas are sort of like appetizers, and usually I’m used to dinner being the biggest meal of the day. Instead of bringing out chips and dip before a meal, waiters bring out olives, and sometimes tiny pickles too. When there is so much great food here, its odd to see McDonalds and Burger King among the restaurants.
Gay pride is a HUGE deal in Madrid. It took place just the other day. More than half the stores and restaurants have rainbow flags hanging by the door. Even McDonalds and Burger King give out rainbow fans. The whole deal is an enormous celebration, over one million attend the concerts and parade. Everyone seems very accepting here.
Another really neat thing about Madrid is that it is the greenest city in Europe. The cars, for one thing, are very small. Another thing is that tons of people ride the Metro underground. You can ride above the trees and see for yourself that it really is very green on cable cars, or what Madrileños call, telefericos.
Some fashions here are really neat, others seem to be a little out of style in the U.S. The main thing I see here that you really don’t find in the U.S is mullets, mullets, and MORE mullets! Tons of guys, and some girls have them. Another thing is that lots of people wear these puffy pants that look like a skirt at the top then at the end it splits and turns into pants at the ankles. I don’t really like them, but that’s just me. Most of the styles are really cool and need to come to the U.S!
Although the culture is very different in many things like fashion, foods, transportation, ect., Pop culture is similar. All over the city there are posters for Hannah Montana, and Spain’s version of High School Musical. The music artists are similar too. James Blunt, one of my favorites, is having a huge concert here tonight. But because the euro is so much higher in value than the dollar, it doesn’t look like I’m going to go.
Even thought the world is very different, you can always find things similar that you wouldn’t expect. Its neat to travel and experience how other people live, and what they do. If you ever get the chance, you should visit Madrid!
Adios!
Aida
