I am American

Today I taught English in a math class. I haven't been in a math class for about 5 years, and even though I was just going over English vocabulary, as soon as I saw those equations I went right back to that feeling I had in high school... that voice that always said to me, "What is the POINT?! When will I EVER need to know this shit?" They were doing algebraic stuff, like x(x-1)= blah blah blah in these huge long equations. As I was sitting there politely listening to the teacher go over a problem on the board, one of the girls leaned over and asked, "Ashley. Do you like math?" And I looked at her, made a face, and said, "No. I hate it." and she giggled and I grinned at her and said, "I am so sorry you have to do this." She nodded her head somberly and said, "Me too." I smiled. It's nice to know that some kids around the world feel the exact same way as I did, and still do, about this subject.

Today I also went to a teachers lunch after school, where I ate delicious Spanish food (still mostly potatoes, ham, cheese, mayonaise and bread ingredients), talked to the teachers in both languages, and was served probably a little too much alcohol to be teaching a class in an hour, but you know, when in Spain. My class actually ended up being just fine, so no worries about that! Every time I get done teaching I realize that I really enjoy it, and I hope that my students are actually learning something from me and that I'm helping them develop their skills and not just blabbing at them for an hour. I got a new student the other day and tomorrow I'm off to find her house for an hour of conversation practice. It should be interesting! Last week I showed my group of nine-year-old girls pictures from my life in Oregon: snow skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, the beach, my dads house, my family, prom, college... there were so excited to see these pictures, and exclaimed, "ARE YOU RICH?!" At first I tried to tell them that no, I'm not... just well-off in USA terms. But looking at those pictures, I changed my mind. I AM rich. Both my parents have nice houses in a beautiful location, every member of my family has their own car, we go snow skiing, my dad owns a boat so we can go to the lake every summer, we can drive to the beach, my dad and Laurie have 2 horses and a barn and a gazebo where they got married and I paid to go to a nice college with my own money... we have so much money and so many opportunities in the United States that we take for granted while at home, and it shocked me when I realized this here in Spain. I asked some of my students today where they have traveled, and only two out of ten students had even been outside of Spain... an area about as big as Oregon and Washington combined. I looked at them and said, "YOU'RE IN EUROPE! It's cheap to travel here!" And the looked at me and said, "No... it's not." It's cheap for ME to travel here. I also realized that cheap is a relative term.

Another thing... I've heard many people, including my mother, say, "We're from the United States. We don't have culture." Bullshit. When my mom said this, I suddenly went into teacher mode and gave her a nice long lecture. It must be because of my intercultural communication degree as well as having the opportunities to live in other countries... having the ability to look at the US from the outside in, and attempting to give lessons on American culture. And ever since then I have been jotting down notes about American culture in relation to Spain. Would you like to hear what I've discovered? Doesn't matter, you'll hear it anyways. So for those of you that think that the USA doesn't have culture, here's your answer:

YES IT DOES.

Let me back that up with some observations.

1. The most important thing you need to know about the United States is that almost everything we do is based on INDEPENDENCE. Big word. Important word. We are taught from elementary school to think on our own. We are encouraged to raise our hands and give our opinions, to talk, to discuss, to debate. To have our own ideas and to stand up for them. At 16 we all want our own car, our ticket to freedom. At 18 we are encouraged to move out of our parents homes and become independent (In Spain, people often live with their parents until they are married, and that could be sometime into their 30's). The American Dream is to have your own house, car, and live with your immediate family (living with extended family is a rarity).

2. It is considered extremely rude to stare, whistle, make noises or say crude things to women in public.

3. Children in the US have bedtimes, where the parents "tuck them in" and sometimes read the a story. (In Spain, there is no bedtime and children stay up as late as their parents)

4. Babysitters. Parents leave their children with (normally) a teenage girl who takes care of them while the parents go on a date or other social activity. (In Spain, there is no such thing as a babysitter because kids go with parents everywhere, even to bars.)

5. NO ONE under 21 is allowed inside US bars. (It is common to see children running around bars with their parents, drinking a soda or playing soccer outside.)

5. Neighborhoods are where the houses are, and town is where the stores are. The mixing of the two is not popular. (In Spain, many apartments are above the shops, so the towns are more compact. Ex: In Spain, I can walk across a town of 20,000 people in 30 minutes. In the US, it would be impossible to walk across my town of 4,500 people in the same amount of time.)

6. Americans greet each other by a wave, a nod, or a handshake when meeting for the first time. If it is between friends, its a handshake (between men) or a hug (between anyone really... the men make it more manly by slapping each other on the back), or perhaps one kiss on the cheek between close female friends/relatives. (In Spain, a handshake between men and two kisses on the cheek between men/women and women/women, whether its the first time you're meeting them or its your best friend. No hugs.)

7. Students call their teachers by their last name, with Mr, Mrs, or Miss as a prefix. (First names in Spain)

8. The most popular sport in the USA is AMERICAN FOOTBALL, and it's barely played or even known of anywhere else.

9. Americans are very impatient (this is a generalization, but I find it to be rather true). We hate to wait in lines for a long time, especially ones that aren't moving, even if we have nowhere we need to be afterwards. We can get nervous, antsy, or even sometimes upset. It's why we hate the DMV so much.

10. Just think of what we do for holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, the 4th of July... the food, the traditions, the customs. They are special.

11. It is thought to be unacceptable to begin drinking before 5:00 pm and sometimes people feel uncomfortable doing this. Hense the phrase, "It's 5:00 somewhere" as an excuse to break this norm. (Spain doesn't care.)

12. Cafes in the US ONLY have coffee, no alcohol, and normally close around 6:00pm. People go to cafes to relax and talk and even to do work or homework in a students case. (Cafes in Spain normally have coffee AND alcohol, so they are open later)

13. The work day is normally from 9:00-5:00 with a one hour break for lunch at 12:00. People either bring lunches to work/school or buy food. Dinner is the biggest and most important meal of the day, when the family sits down together around 5-7:00.(Lunch in Spain is the biggest and most important meal of the day, and is served after school and during siesta, around 3:00pm)

14. The US DOES NOT SHUT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, and has 24-hour grocery stores. (It is impossible to do anything between the hours of 3-6 in Spain, and everything closes at about 9:00, at least in my town)

15. Taco Bell.

16. Americans need about an arms length of space between whomever they're talking to to feel comfortable in conversations with acquaintances, less between closer friends. (This distance is less in Spain)

17. Aaaaaalllll the clapping games, jump rope songs, chants and other playground activities, as well as childrens songs and nursery rhymes.

18. It is impolite to start eating your food at a restaurant before everyone has their plates, unless the person without their food says it's okay that they begin.

19. Cups, pints, gallons, Farenheit, feet, inches, miles, ounces, pounds... that whole damn system.

20. Cuss words are STRONG in the US, and it is NOT OKAY for children to say them or for adults to say those words in the presence of children. (I hear kids here saying the equivilants of f***, s***, and bast*** all the time. They're just not a strong in Spain. ALSO, Spain has a much less puritan view of sex. There is no censoring of music.) The US is kind of prude-ish in some senses.

21. There are places to SIT and TALK in dance clubs.

22. Grocery stores (like Safeway) where you can find EVERYTHING you want in one place. I sound like a commercial.

23. The Flag. The Pledge of Allegiance. The Star-Spangled banner. Our short but very eventful history as a country.

Anyways, I'm sure I'll continue to think of more things to add to that list, and I know that some of you are also living abroad and have found things about American culture that you might want to add as well, and I would love to hear from you. I'm somehow weirdly interested in this subject. I also have a list of things that I'm excited about for when I get home, but that will have to wait for another blog. I go back and forth from being homesick and liking it here, and the more I travel, the more I teach, and the more people I meet, the happier I get. But it's when I sit around, bored in this small town, that I get homesick. And I know that when I get home I'll be right back to wanting to travel again, but I already know that it will be nice to sleep in my own bed, have faith in my electricity again, a warm house, and a dryer. A hairdryer is not meant to be used for heating my room, drying my clothes AND drying my hair ;) As for now I continue to plan trips even though I'm pretty sure I can't afford it (right now I'm being really stubborn and am refusing to withdraw money from my credit card... so I have 5 days until I get paid and 5 euros left. It's like a game. I'm going to win.) Next weekend Magda and I are taking a bus to Almeria, and then at the end of February we are flying to the Canary Islands for a few days. In March I am DETERMINED to get to Barcelona, and in April I get to spend 2 weeks with my wonderful mother and grandmother in Italy... I already have a countdown going, 10 weeks! And finally in May my very awesome friend Julie is coming to visit me and end my trip traveling around Spain and Portugal before we come back to Priego, pack my bags, and head home. Julie... brace yourself for enduring many goodbyes... SPANISH goodbyes, which may take a whole night/a couple days. BUT that is a long ways from now, and I have a lot to look forward to! And the first thing is going to my coordinators house this weekend to eat food, speak in Spanish, and meet his family along with my other co-workers family... and to basically have a wonderful day. I'm smiling :)

Oh also, one more thing. Thank you Grandma Mishler for sending me this WONDERFUL blanket that I'm using at this very moment, and for the Cheez-its. They were so beautiful and orange and salty. A perfect gift. And thank you also to Grandma Shenk, for the Christmas presents... most importantly, the DVD of Christmas and New Years. For a little while I felt like I was really there, just sitting and listening to my families normal conversations about work and people and telling stories, and watching them open presents and thank each other and hug. My favorite part though, was watching Brittany, Cassy, Crislyn, Caralyn, and Siera ROCK at that ridiculous wii Dance game, and laughing as Kellen, Gabe, Daniel and Josh attempted the same thing... ;) And at New Years, when almost everyone I loved in the world was squished into that one room with the bright orange carpet, counting down and kissing and hugging each other at the stroke of midnight... that was special, as well heartwrenching. I love you all. It looked like you brought in the new year with style, as always, and I miss you so much. I can't wait to get home and beat you at pinnacle... Just kidding! You know I suck. But I am excited to try next year ;)