So I´m halfway through my time here in Spain, its chucking it down outside (again) but I´m still having a cool time. Work isn´t all that bad and I´m getting used to the lifestyle here just about. Here are some observations about Spanish life which I hadn´t realised before I came to León which you might find intresting:
It appears that here in León, the ability to pour a good beer is virtually nonexistant. Or at least what the whole of the UK would call a good beer. What I thought it was basic knowledge that in order to reduce the amount of foam on a beer you have to tilt the glass seems to have slipped under the radar here. As a result, an unwelcome proportion of your glass is filled with suds. If you are given a beer of less than 20% head, count yourselves lucky. One night here, feeling in a daring mood, I decided to challenge the status quo and ask for 'menos espuma', and was presented with a distainful, reluctant glare. On a positive note, the bars in León are known throughout Spain for giving free tapas with every drink, something which you´d be very lucky to get in Madrid or Barcelona. This means for 5 euro or so you can fill yourself up on calamares and chorizo and enjoy some cheap lager at the same time.
Another point of contention is the quality of milk out here. There is literally nothing but U.H.T available - fresh milk is illegal, apparently due to health risks involved in drinking stuff which has gone off. In the same supermarkets as this substandard dross, however, you can buy a 1 litre carton of 55 cent Wine - disgustingly cheap and I wouldnt want to imagine exactly whats in it. Clearly milk is more of an health issue than alcohol here!
Jack
Monday, 26 April 2010
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Twelve days in...
I left the famliar surroundings of Leeds in the afternoon of 8th April. For the first time this year there was actually less than 80% cloud cover, and glorious sunshine and the smell of barbecues in Hyde Park didn´t make leaving any easier. Meeting up with some friends from Uni at the airport, we got on a simple, pre-volcano flight from Liverpool to Madrid. Following a fun night in the capital we got on a hot, expensive and refreshment free train bound for León. The gorgeous mountain views kept us entertained for the first hour or so, before the landscape changed into flattened, parched terrain, which only served to exacerbate our hangovers and hunger.
Upon arriving into León at 4pm I was greeted by my host family, before being escorted back to their lush apartment. My first meal was very much like all the others - very tasty, excessive and Spanish. Since leaving my diet has spiralled to abject levels, with the most elaborate meal attemped being pasta and tomato sauce. The family stay was only a temporary measure, and after five nights I moved into Emilio Hurtado halls of residence - it´s remarkably like my first year in Leeds at Bodington in the sense that it just about straddles the limits of the city. However, instead of being surrounded by green countryside, we are treated to views of cranes and wasteland from our windows. As far as i´ve worked out us Leeds lot are the only English people out of the 500 or so staying there, which feels pretty bizarre, but the abundance of Spaniards here makes up for the fact that all the students in the language school arn´t Spanish.
I have now just begun my second week of lectures, or school (as it so painfully often feels like). The timetable imposed upon us is harsh beyond belief for your average student layabout - 9.30 ´till 2 every day. This is an increase of almost threefold on my Leeds hours, and with the threat of failing if less than 80% of classes are attendanced, the holiday previously envisaged by us has turned out to be somewhat stifled by actual compulsory learning (the horror of it!).
León itself is small and lovely, very typical northern Spanish city, and a lot more provincial than I thought. The description given by Leeds of León being an a city unspoiled by tourism is pretty accurate - you could easily imagine the city being the same now as it was many years ago. Us Leeds lot stick out like a sore thumb - its impossible not to feel really English in these early days.
Off to Madrid tomorrow morning to (hopefully) watch Atletico Madrid against Liverpool, thanks four days off that we have due to local holidays either side of the weekend.
More to come when I have the time!
Jack
Upon arriving into León at 4pm I was greeted by my host family, before being escorted back to their lush apartment. My first meal was very much like all the others - very tasty, excessive and Spanish. Since leaving my diet has spiralled to abject levels, with the most elaborate meal attemped being pasta and tomato sauce. The family stay was only a temporary measure, and after five nights I moved into Emilio Hurtado halls of residence - it´s remarkably like my first year in Leeds at Bodington in the sense that it just about straddles the limits of the city. However, instead of being surrounded by green countryside, we are treated to views of cranes and wasteland from our windows. As far as i´ve worked out us Leeds lot are the only English people out of the 500 or so staying there, which feels pretty bizarre, but the abundance of Spaniards here makes up for the fact that all the students in the language school arn´t Spanish.
I have now just begun my second week of lectures, or school (as it so painfully often feels like). The timetable imposed upon us is harsh beyond belief for your average student layabout - 9.30 ´till 2 every day. This is an increase of almost threefold on my Leeds hours, and with the threat of failing if less than 80% of classes are attendanced, the holiday previously envisaged by us has turned out to be somewhat stifled by actual compulsory learning (the horror of it!).
León itself is small and lovely, very typical northern Spanish city, and a lot more provincial than I thought. The description given by Leeds of León being an a city unspoiled by tourism is pretty accurate - you could easily imagine the city being the same now as it was many years ago. Us Leeds lot stick out like a sore thumb - its impossible not to feel really English in these early days.
Off to Madrid tomorrow morning to (hopefully) watch Atletico Madrid against Liverpool, thanks four days off that we have due to local holidays either side of the weekend.
More to come when I have the time!
Jack
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