I'm still here!

I know you may think have fallen off the plains in Spain but no I'm still chugging along in Madrid! The truth is I haven't felt like writing to much lately so I haven't. Instead I've been enjoying the nice weather in Madrid right now and doing things I haven't done in ages like going to the Rastro or the neighborhood La Latina on Sundays. But I haven't forgotten about you readers! And this weekend I'm going to Las Fallas in Valencia so I'll have lots to post about when I get back on Tuesday. Get excited!

Why Spain makes me more environmentally conscious

There are a lot of reasons as to why I enjoy living in Spain and one of them is that I feel like a more environmentally conscious person (sorry to sound pretentious). Here is why:

1. I use my reusable grocery bag

Here in Spain almost all grocery stores charge you a small fee for bags (usually between 3-5 cents). It seems like an inane expense but it annoys me so much that I have to pay for bags that I started to use my reusable shopping bag every time I go to the grocery store. Just by charging a some pennies for bags, Spain made me more environmentally friendly. Those Spaniards are so sneaky!

2. I walk or use public transportation everywhere

Since I have no car here and am terrified to drive in Madrid even if I did have one, I use public transportation or walk everywhere. Thankfully, Madrid has an excellent metro and bus system making it easy to get everywhere without much hassle. Also the amount of walking I do helps to keep off the kilos!

3. My piso is never fully heated

The apartments in Spain are made for combating the miserable summer heat, not warding off the cold. My apartment for example has no central heating making energy saving much easier. And my apartment the north pole. 

4. Bills, bills, bills

Energy and water bills in Spain are much higher than they are in the US so I am much more conscious about leaving lights on when I'm not in a room and taking shorter showers. Thinking a little more about the lights, heat, and water saves me more at the end of the month. 

Although they seem like little things, I never thought about making these changes while living in US. Have you become more environmentally friendly because of living in another country? Are you environmentally friendly even though living in the US?

Snowy Spain

Thanks to a Siberian cold wave my weekend of Basque pinchos hopping in Vitoria was turned into a winter wonderland. Although I was sad not to see even the Plaza Mayor in Vitoria, seeing the snow was a treat!

Ratoncito Perez

Last week I saw a play with all the infantil kids at school about the Spanish tooth fairy...who is a rat. Which got me to thinking: in the US when you lose a tooth a nice little princess fairy comes to leave you a quarter (or nowadays 5 bucks wtf? kids are so lucky). 

Awww what a nice little fairy

Well in Spain when you lose a tooth...a rat crawls into your bed to leave you some euros. His name is Ratoncito Perez and he looks something like this:

I think I'll stick with the Tooth Fairy. 

Milk was a bad choice

 Grocery stores are a great way to see cultural differences. Often when I go traveling, I love to wander through a local grocery store for a while just to see what products they have and the weird things that pop up in the aisles. 

Typical American grocery aisle

American grocery stores are generally really big. Even the "smaller" stores are huge by most European standards. There are lot of aisles, lots of options, and lots of products. Having so many options is one of the things I believe the American consumer has come to expect. 


In Europe and in Spain, neighborhood grocery stores are generally smaller with fewer options (minus their olive oil selection which has an entire aisle). And one of the most shocking things I remember from my first few visits to a supermercado was the milk. It was just sitting there on a normal air...at room temperature! I remember standing there for a couple minutes totally dumbfounded. Milk not refrigerated...was I in a third world country or something?

I quickly learned that most of Europe and 95% of Spain drinks UHT milk (for ultra high temperature milk). The milk is heated at a very high temperature for a short period of time allowing it to be stored at room temperature for long periods of time. Since Spain is a hot country and refrigerated transport is expensive, it makes since why it is normal to be able to keep milk at room temp.


But after drinking a glass a day of fresh pasteurized milk as a child and adult in the US, I'm still wary of the UHT. I usually only drink it mixed with something (like Cola Cao) or in cereal because the taste is a little off-putting. 


Expats or people who have tried UHT milk, do you notice a difference in the taste? Do you like UHT milk?

When Spanish gets complicated

Remember how I said having a Spanish novio helps you learn Spanish? Well check out what he got me for Christmas:

He tells me that my questions about the subjuctive, por vs. para and other Spanish grammar specifics have gotten to difficult. SPorque es asi he says, "Because that's the way it is". Well I need better answers! So he got me book. And now I have homework. Be careful what you wish for...

And a star was born

Yeah right. But after 2 months of funky dance class, I decided to show off my sweet moves to the public. For your amusement and my moment of Fama here's the video (look for the tall guiri in the back left corner):

Attention Beyonce: I'll be expecting a call when you're looking for back up dancers in your next video!