Hello friends...all who read this blog. All 4 of you. Haha. I'm hoping that more read this than who actually subscribe. Oh well. I'm thinking of combining the two into one...putting my spain posts into my other blog. Maybe that'd be easier. Anyway...this week was awful and good at the same time. I definitely struggled more with culture shock this week...missing home and loved ones considerably. And then I felt guilty for feeling that way. "C'mon, Hailey," I would think. "You've been dreaming about this trip forever! Why are you so bummed out? Get over it and make the most of it!" It's just culture/language shock...and the lack of familiar loved ones to help me bear it. It will pass...and in fact, has gotten better just this week. I've had full conversations this week...intelligent, older than five years old discussions. And I've sang this week. Those two things perked me up quite a bit.
Today we went out and ran some errands in Ferrol. It never ceases to amaze me how well dressed the people are here. Even the little old ladies have got it goin' on. Seriously. Actually, even the beggars look nice. We saw one lady on the street today...begging for money. But she was dressed very nicely and carried a lovely purse! That baffled me. In the states, people who beg look like they should be begging. If they looked nice, that'd be laughable. I asked Manoli about this later...and she said that because of the financial crisis, people are desperate for whatever they can get...but they will not compromise with their clothes. Even if they're destitute, they'd rather spend any money they have on nice clothes than anything else. That's unthinkable to me as an American...if I'm in a crisis, luxuries are the first thing to go. But in order for me to understand how the Spanish think, I need to get outside my own mindset and strive to comprehend why they do the things they do. Manoli said that the Spanish would rather be seen as having it all together. Even though everyone knows that everyone has problems, they don't like being perceieved like that. It's very important in Spanish culture, apparently, to look nice, clothing wise and in other areas. Appearances are valued...even more so than in American culture, it seems. It's a little different though. It's more about the clothes. Americans want the hair, makeup, body..and then clothes and accessories. Here it seems to be shoes and purse first, and then clothes...followed by hair. Hardly anyone seems to wear makeup here. I have not yet joined in that trend...maybe soon I'll get the nerve? :)
