Day in Moron!

border into the town of Moron



Today was an interesting day. Well, I take that back. Everyday is interesting. Everyday we constantly talk about how different the culture is here and why people do the things they do. At 8:45am we arrived at the bus station to go to Moron (Amelia's hometown) for the day to visit her parents. However, we didn't know that the bus schedule would be different for the Corpus Cristi holiday today, so we had to hang around town until 11:30! We went to a cafeteria (cafe) for cafe con leche (espresso and steamed milk + sugar) One of the employees there really liked us for some reason and ended up bringing us out some Kinder chocolate on a little plate for free! Delicioso! What better way to a girl's heart? haha

Moron is only 45 min from Sevilla and Amelia met us at the bus stop to walk with us to the Peluqueria (hairdresser). Natalie thought she desperately needed her haircut so Amelia made her an appointment and helped us translate the technical words. Bangs= "flequillo" Layers= "trasquilados" ...interesting. There was also a girl working there who is originally from Maryland! What a coincidence! After the haircut is when we started thinking about how different social norms are. To us, it seems like the people here are very rude, but for them, its normal. Example: We were done at the hairdresser and were standing in front of the door to leave when suddenly, I was about knocked over by the door opening right on me! Instead of saying "omg, I'm so sorry! are you okay???," The girl who smashed into me looked at Natalie and said... so do you like your haircut?

Also, in the US, if it is obvious that someone needs to get by you or pass through a crowd, it is polite to yield to them or let them go ahead and get out of their way. Not in Spain. The most important path is their path. And either, I'm invisible, or people just don't care about knocking me over. When I am in someone's way, they don't say excuse me, they just push through. Which is fine, but then they run into you....... and KEEP GOING!!! =me falling over. There also doesn't seem to be any rules about butting in line in front of people. Some lady was trying to squeeze her way past Natalie onto the bus and might as well have been laying on top of her... Geez people! Just chill out! Everyone will get on the bus! You won't miss it! Also, I actually might be invisible because everyone is constantly forgetting my name here. Mercedes introduced me to her boyfriend and said, this is Natalie and this is....uhhh... oh, melissa, right. Today, Amelias mom forgot my name too but remembered natalie's! what is going on here?

Apparently, we are really annoying to everyone here. Maybe our language sounds really ugly or something. I wish I knew how English sounds to them as a foreign language. Either we are really loud or people just hate us for talking. Every five minutes we would get a glare or catch someone staring at us while we were just casually chatting on the bus. Idk what we are doing wrong, but we seem to be bothering people. It makes me sympathize with foreigners travelling in the US. Okay, these Spaniards can't understand us, but we are two people lost in a sea of millions of people who speak a language with an accent we can barely understand. It is really interesting to just step outside the box of the US. Since the US is such a melting pot of different cultures, it's not strange for me to see asians, africans, hispanics, etc everyday. The people here act like they've never seen anything like us. It is interesting to witness their intense national pride which is, always has been, always will be- Spanish. In America, just because you see someone of a different heritage, you can't assume that they are not American. Here, they know before you even open your mouth that you're not Spanish. And they make a point of staring at you without trying to hide it for however long you are in their presence. Awk-ward.......

Lately we have been getting made fun of more and more while walking around Seville. When they hear us speaking english they will yell "nah-nah-nah-nah" which is basically an insult apparently. Also, they will say with their Andalucian accents- "He-Lo, How- Ar-U? Which is even kind of worse because they are mocking us. Here, English is a compulsory subject until middle school. Good job spaniards.....after all that, all you can say is hello, how are you?

Amelia's house and neighbors! (the first white one)

Steps leading up to Amelia's deck!

A large rooster in the town square?

the town council

The town of Moron is so adorable. The houses are basically like town houses because they are all connected and pretty much the same layout. Due to the intense summer heat, all the houses are painted either white, or another very light color. Though they don't have screens on the windows, they do have bars on them?? What is the thinking here I wonder? Because bars on a 10-story apartment building couldn't just be for a saftey precaution. Anyway, here are some pics of this cute little town.

To my pleasant surpise, Amelia's wonderful mother made us PAELLA!!! I have been waiting and waiting and WAITING for paella, a traditional dish of Spain! She also made Gazpacho and Amelia's dad prepared arroz con leche (rice pudding). Everything was absolutely delicious!!!! We told her that it was our best meal ever since coming to Spain and she invited us to come back whenever we want! I was so glad to not see ANY ham on the table! For dessert after every meal we have fruit, so there was also fresh watermelon on the table and a couple hours later, she offered us Merienda (snack) of popsicles, cookies, and sugar donuts. Man, these people eat a LOT! Her mom kept saying "come mas, come mas!!" (Eat more!!) We never even finish what Mercedes makes for us but this was a true feast!!

Through every conversation we learn something new that is different here than in the US. For example, in Spain, when people get married they do not change their names. The name you are born with is the name you keep. They don't have middle names, but instead have a first name and two last names. The first surname is the surname of the father, and the second is of the mother. The father's surname is most important and will get passed on to the children.

Example..

Amelia Martinez Jimenez marries "Diego Francisco Lopez"

Childs name= "Juan Francisco Martinez"

However, there is still really no way to carry on a true lineage of one name, nor is it possible to distinguish who is in the same family and who lives together...

Again, we passed out after eating. And not just us, her mom too.We were just watching some tv and suddenly I couldn't keep my eyes open! I just cannot wrap my head around this whole "nap" thing... I was never a napper. But here, they either put some strong sedatives in their food or the combination of the heat, hot food, and afternoon just force you to fall asleep and you can't fight it! The Spanish aren't lazy, they literally can't help but take a siesta!

*****---okay, I officially confirmed my suspicions, thanks to Google. In pretty much every meal, the espanoles use Saffron which makes all the food yellow....... and doubles as a sedative!!! I knew I was being drugged......

After siesta, we walked around town and visited La plaza de Toros (bull ring!), a soccer field/sports area, and a park..... WITH ACTUAL GRASS!!!

toro toro toro!!La Plaza del toros

I really liked this town because it was so nice to take a little break from the busy city. Amelia and her parents are apparently amazed by the fact that I have a pool in my backyard. Along our walk, she pointed out every house that had a pool. There are like 3. Since people have barely any yard space, pools are pretty rare. Ironic, since it's so hot there, I thought everyone would have them. Anyway, this town was more like what I actually pictured Spain to be like.

Adios for now,

Buenas Noches!