What I Love/Hate About Madrid

After nearly 20 days in Madrid, I have had plenty of time to observe this great city and its culture. There are of course numerous differences between the life here and that in America, some good and others bad. As a convenience to you, and I'm sure to the delight of many Madrilenos, I've formed a few opinions on the matter that I'd like to share. So here, my friends, is a list of the good, the bad, and the straight up European.

1) LOVE: I love that you can sit for hours on end at any cafe or restuarant, even long after you've finished eating, without pissing off the staff for taking up one of their tables. In fact its expected that you linger. This of course has a slight downside when I'm in a hurry but refuse to get up too soon in order to be ¨more euro¨.

2)HATE: I hate that no one eats breakfast, and when they do its only a croissant, churro, or other pastry- all neither healthy nor filling. Give me a big bowl of oatmeal or an omelete, please, because its been 12 hours since I last ate and I'm frickin STAHVING.

3)LOVE: The one good thing about breakfast is the coffee. I adore the coffee here: its small but delicious, nothing like the watery, caffeine infused shit in the US. I drink mine ¨solo¨ (without milk), and it is so good that I have to fight not to toss it back like a shot of soco and lime and instead enjoy it slowly for the treat it is.

4) HATE: As most people know, European working hours are far fewer than American. While this is great for the people who work here, its a pain in the ass for me. Before I started at the Complutense, I had to wait two hours outside the secretaries' office for them to return from their lunch break so I could hand in my forms. Two hours to hand some lady my papers, wait for her to stamp all 5 of them, and thats it. I get it, you need to eat, but I need to do a million other things that can't be done from the dirty linoleum floor of the university. Furthermore, everything is closed on Sundays or on Fiestas like today, and pharmacies proudly advertise that they are open 12 hours a day. I like America where if stores could actually be open for more than 24 hrs they would be.

5) LOVE: I love the metro. Its ridiculously simple and cheaper than New York's. Everything is clearly presented and labeled, there are maps everywhere, and its extremely efficient. Not that I thought highly of it before, but it truly puts Philly public transportation to shame.

6) HATE: Dog Shit. There is dog shit everywhere. They say its good luck to step in it, but I see nothing good about being the smelly girl on the bus because you have canine feces stuck on the bottom of your shoe. Not that this happened to me, of course.

7) LOVE: I freakin love futball. And even more, futball players. Even though I don't know much about the sport , and I can't understand a word the announcers are saying, I still stay glued to the screen. Never before have I seen a sport where such an overwhelming amount of players are so damn sexy. Christ, even the ugly ones could model for Abercrombie. Obviously I'm in no rush to have children, but I would gladly give up my education, my career, and possibly my soul to birth any one of Real Madrid's babies--especially yours, Cannavaro.

8) HATE: I hate that the electrical outlets are different and, therefore, incompatable with American plugs. All I want to do is use my computer and blow dry my hair, but apparently European electrical companies hate me. Its probably because I'm so damn sexy and going to marry a futballer.

9) LOVE: Finally, I love Spanish TV. Its hysterical. Not only can you watch ¨Friends¨ or ¨The Simpsons¨ with ridiculously animated voice-overs, but they also have their own versions of American programs such as ¨Matrimonio con Hijos¨ and ¨Quien Quire Ser un Millionarre¨. And you know the Ax Click commercial where Nick Lachey walks around recording how many girls check him out? Well here Ben Affleck stars in the same commercial. Although too important to sell out for US television, doing the same in Espana apparently doesn't compromise Ben's artistic integrity.


I'm sure I'll come across many more things I love and hate about Spain (hopefully, more "loves" than "hates"), and because I have like zero school work so far, I'll be sure to pass my opinion along. Until then you can find me in a cafe, drinking my cafe solo and watching my future husband's futball match long after I've paid my bill. Adios!