Observations

Since I've gotten to things I've noticed things. It's kind of remarkable. Somehow my senses came with me on this trip. You tried your best, airport security. Anyway I do this in lieu of an actual update of things I've done because.... I'll get back to you on that.

-Spanish people speak really quickly. It's almost like they are fluent in the language or something. This came as a bit of a surprise, as I assumed they spoke more quickly in Latin America than here (which they still might) but it doesn't make the listening thing much easier, though it's vastly better from two weeks ago.

-Everything is magnified here, in a sensory sense. People speak louder. Smells smell smellier. Things feel stickier (maybe that's only Pamplona). Mainly the smell thing though.

-Many bathrooms are labelled WC, or water closet. Apparently this is a common thing to call a bathroom in the UK. I guess labeling them this makes it easier for the possibly more common English tourist but it seems like they would learn what an aseo is fairly quickly out of sheer survival. Also, this is weird because Spanish treats Ws as a more ostracized version of Q.

-I'm pretty sure the music you would here at an American club or party is identical to what you would hear at a Spanish one, though it's possible the places I've frequented have been highly American. Still it seems strange to not filter in some native music here and there. It's even true on TV. There's a maybe 3 second ad for Opel, the car company, that has the main guitar riff from Layla. I wonder 1. whether they had to pay for it and 2. if it was worth it for so short of a commercial. Maybe that's why it's so short. I also here the whistling portion of Home by Edward Sharpe every now and then.

-The term "Eurotrash" didn't really register with me until I arrived here. There are two separate classes and only one is unique here. There are your typical bros, which we have in America, with the popped collars, gelled hair, travelling in packs, etc. Then there is the Euro exclusive category which has many characteristics of the bro category except they have some sort of atrocious hair. The mullet is still a thing here. Rat tails are still a thing here. The thing I don't have a name for but is best described as the mullet-into-dreadlocks is a thing here. I know what the early 90s were like now.

Things I miss the most from the US (aside from people):
-Hamburgers because they aren't as common here and I don't really want to try hamburgers here until I'm really desperate, one time in Pamplona aside.
-Pets because I see people walking dogs everywhere and it makes me miss my dogs.

Things that are impossible/difficult to find here:
-Over the counter medicine. I just want to buy NyQuil without having to enter a pharmacy. Can't you sell it, nearby grocery store?
-Bars of soap. I do not know why.
-Normally sized washcloths. They only have hand towel sized ones. My roomate and I cut one in half to make less cumbersome and also because we are cheap.
-Good beer. Mahou is awful.
-Movies in English. Not terribly surprising but I wish Spain was a subtitle country rather than a dubbing country (wikipedia reveals that it is a heated debate)

Maybe I'm not looking hard enough for these things.