Anyways, I've been meaning to write this post for almost two months (basically since I got to Madrid). There are so many differences between the US and Spain. Some big, some small. Having never been out of the United States before I came to study abroad in Spain, I expected to experience some sort of culture shock. That really hasn't happened but it has been fun noticing all the differences between the United States and Spain.
- In buildings, the ground floor is considered zero, the basement is negative one, and what would be the second floor in the US is considered the first floor.
- Street signs are located on the sides of buildings, not near the traffic lights.
- Everyone smokes. In Colorado, not that many people smoke. In Boston, a lot of people smoke. In Madrid, EVERYONE smokes
- Cars are much nicer to pedestrians and actually yield, unlike in Boston
- The Metro is really nice. It's clean, efficient, user friendly, and has good coverage of the city
- Old ladies wear big, long fur coats. Not just some old ladies, all old ladies.
- You must ask for the check at a restaurant otherwise they'll never bring it to you
- Another restaurant one: you tip, at the VERY MOST, 10 percent. Waiters are actually paid normal wages and don't live off tips like in the States
- Dog poop everywhere. It's like no one cleans up after their animals.
- You pay for water here. In the States, if you ask the waiter for water they'll bring you a free glass of tap water. In Spain, they'll bring you a bottle of water unless you specifically ask for tap water
- There are roadside gas stations. They are literally located on the sidewalk and cars pull up in the right lane of the street to fill up.
There really are so many more but I'm too exhausted from these past two nightmarish weeks to think of more. I'll post a part two with more differences in a few weeks.
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