17. 4. 2009

Other country, other manners

I am going to serve a few interesting or maybe different habits and things that I noticed in more than two months in Spain.
I could speak a lot about transport. There exist about a million of bus companies, each goes to other village. There doesn't exist any overall schedule not even a connection finder. Besides this fact, buses do not go everywhere so if you want to go hiking to the mountains (which are very nice and worthful to see in Andalusia) without car you are out. I will rather not talk about trains, the density of the railway network is very small. The buses stop for sign so it is to be on the lookout. I mentioned the mountain hiking. The guides and maps are done in similar way like the bus schedule. One interesting thing from the roads. In fact there are only on-way roads so if you turn to the wrong direction, you can't get back easilly. All transport on the roads isn't reined so the drivers go against red, especially pedestrians do not make difference between the colours.
Now something about restaurants. There are lots of pubs winehouses including where you are served just on the bar without any chairs (from the worst pubs to the smart restaurants). Sometimes it makes quite nice atmosphere. It is normal that people go to the pub to have a baguette with butter and salami. In most of the pubs the dried pig legs hang on the hooks. Normal dose of beer is 2dl.
Very good business in Spain must be tobacco. There could be about 90% of smokers here. Smoking is so common, that even at the official departments, shops and school classrooms are signs "don't smoke here, please", in front of the shops and other buildings are ashtrays of various types.
Spanish are crazy of clean pavements, they clean them many times a day in front of their houses, shops. But do not raise your head walking along the street or you step into the dogshit.
There are no names on the bells and postboxes, the post is pushed under the entrance door either of block of flats. There is no central distribution of gas so the streets are full of butan-bottles. Central heating is not a standard in the houses so we had to buy a small electric heater (this year was very cold winter with average temperature of 10C).
I do not know whether the betting of Spanish have something in common with the fact most of them are believers, but if I count the number of the lot-stalls and sellers of them in the streets, I think most of Spanish must be gamblers.
Siesta does really exist so do not go to shopping between 1 and 5 pm.
People are used to high temperatures so they go well dressed and they dress also the dogs even in temperature of 15C. The girls' trousers-fashion is awful (see the picture).
Spanish are quite small, about 165cm in average. The postcard stamps are self-adhesive so you do not have to lick them before using.
Finally one bonus. I do not know how do the ID cards of them look like, but instead of "cheese" they say "patata [potato]" while taking pictures.

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