Comments on: Accustomed vs Resigned

By: Juliet

Juliet — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:13:21 +0000

To me Spain is a bit of each, sometimes one is resigned to things, such as the authorities who run the show totally erratically, but you have a piece of paper missing when they show up and your in deep doodoo, but on the other hand I have become accustomed to the slower pace, the more relaxed way of doing things and I just love the cafe con leche (sin espuma – please do not go American on me!) Now that I am beginning to understand what is being said on the radio (thanks notesinspanish & intercambio Beatriz) I am loving the Spanish sense of humour. I have been here two and a half years and can see I still have a lot to learn. Love it!

By: Ben Curtis

Ben Curtis — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:06:53 +0000

Hi JoyceM, you are right about the joy of not being turfed off a table at lunchtime, it’s wonderful! I’m so glad you are enjoying the life here so much, and I’m not surprised after the description of your past schedule! And yes, no one is bothered by garlic-eating here, which is wonderful!

By: JoyceM

JoyceM — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:51:15 +0000

I’ve only been in Madrid a month and a half, and my motto has been, “When in Rome, do as the Romans.”

If they are going to enjoy 3 hour lunches, I am going to enjoy 3 hour lunches. If they are going to invite me out for a two hour coffee, I am going to go and enjoy the amazing flavors, the conversation and getting to know my new friends. By the way, I LOVE the fact that I never feel rushed in a restaurant. Contrast that with NYC and the pressure to “turn” the tables and as a customer, you will pick the Spanish way every time. Also, here you are able to get away with leaving “cheap” tips (the norm). Try that in NYC and see what kind of service you get.

I look at my new life as a total gift of divine intervention. There is a lesson for me here, about needing to learn how to relax — and I intend to learn it.

I left a life in the U.S. with a stressful job, back to back meetings every day, 100 emails a day to return, 877 contacts in my Outlook and many 18 hour work days. Now I am in Madrid trying to learn how to enjoy life. I am going to let the people of Spain teach me how to do this. I love the language, the food, the people, the architecture. This is not food or architecture that was designed by my anglo-germanic ancestors to be practical. This, by the way, was architecture to express passion. Those of us who are so concerned about a 15 minute delay should think about what the Spanish have to teach them.

When I returned home to the U.S. last month for a short visit, people asked me, “what is it like?” I said, “It’s like a WHOLE DIFFERENT COUNTRY. Different language, different customs and different culture.” So, I have set out to learn the language (thanks Ben and Marina!), the people and the culture. And, maybe, along the way, there will be something that someone will want to know from me and the way I used to to something “back home.” But, for now, this is my home.

BTW, my husband was joking with me about my new-found love: aoli oli. I told him that if he didn’t want me to eat foods that tasted of garlic, he brought me to the entirely wrong country! When everyone eats garlic, no one notices the smell!

By: Lee

Lee — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:42:33 +0000

This is what drives me 1)batshit crazy about Spain and 2)batswhit crazy about foreigners in Spain. Folks, it’s a country, not a theme park. And it’s drowning because, 35 years after the death of Franco, it’s still playing games of “Spain is different”. No one wants Spain to be London City or Wall Street, but after 20 years of living here, the lack of professionality has lost its charm. Who says you can’t have a relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle and a serious business culture at the same time?

By: Lee

Lee — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:38:32 +0000

Really. I’ve lived here, obviously I like it, but the sloppiness can’t be helping the business situation.

By: Colin

Colin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:52:12 +0000

Hi, Ben.

As I wrote in my blog today, I prefer the more neutral(?) term – ‘managing your expectations’. As has been so rightly said, a book or a couple of magazines is/are essential in this regard.

With these, it’s always possible to turn a lemon into lemonade. And with the short fuse I’ve got, bloody imperative if I want to avoid heart attack!

By: Rai

Rai — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:20:24 +0000

This reminds me of the old argument I think my parents have simply agreed to disagree about.
My Dad says you shouldn’t do the “right thing for the wrong reasons.” That if your heart isn’t in it, you won’t do it right. And, if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
However, my Mom always says you should just do the right thing, and get it done, and then you can worry about if you did it for the ‘right reasons’ or whether or not your heart was in it. At least you got it over with.

I think they’re both right; (which may explain the fact that I feel I’m going crazy sometimes.) I’m not sure I’m able to definitively say which are the things I’ve become accustomed to, and which I’ve merely resigned myself to, since moving to Spain.

By: Raquel

Raquel — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:22:23 +0000

Hola Ben,
Leyendo el The Times encontré esta noticia que puede inspirarte para un futuro post. Saludos y sigue así de bien, tus últimas entradas me han encantado.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7031371.ece

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:56:45 +0000

The GP doesnt seem to be there to actually see you when you are really ill, merely to monitor your progress in following the edicts of a nanny state and ration access to the real power in the system (the consultants) by jollying you along for a while.

I get on well with my GP, I tell her what the symptoms are, what I think might be wrong and suggest the medication I might like. By and large she signs off on it.

I have had knee trouble over the last few years and went to see my GP. I saw the man in the practice who sent me foe an Xray told me my knee had some wear and tear. I am in my 50s so he wes probably right, but as knees by and large come in pairs I wondered why the difference between the two… We bumbled on like this for a couple of months before I’d had enough and said the words “I want to be referred to a specialist”. He wasnt keen and slow timed me for weeks before I finally got an appointment. The Consultant took one look, poked and prodded and said I had all the five classic symptoms of having torn cartilage in my knee.

My point being that if the symptoms are classic – how come the GP missed them….

Its Disgnosis by algorthm – here is an example of the dagnostic procedure chart that they follow to the letter….

http://healthguides.mapofmedicine.com/choices/map/hypertension2.html

By: Parubin

Parubin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:49:56 +0000

Yes, great country and even better people. Natural born seducers most Argentinians very charming but I wouldn´t take them for the most punctual people on earth, really.

Are you sure the smart guy in a suit complaining for opening hours in Spanish shops was Argentinian?. Maybe he was Mexican, that’d be some killer anecdote .