Luna de Miel Americana en Vilagarcía (An American Honeymoon in Vilagarcía)

     We’ve done it again! We’ve managed to be in the newspaper twice in a matter of two weeks.  Our teachers call us famous, but we assured them that we really do not do too many other interesting things, so we probably won’t be in the newspaper too frequently. Haha

 

The forecast this week looks like honeymoon weather to me!

 

     This time they decided to dedicate an entire page to sharing with the locals just what the two American couples think of Spain and its culture.  I think that Spanish people are just fascinated that Americans get married at such a young age.  Spaniards tend to get married in their later thirties.  The fact that there are not one but two young, married American couples in the small city of Vilagarcía is probably worth writing an entire page about here. 

     The beginning of the article begins like so (translated literally).  Keep in mind that translating from Spanish to English doesn’t have an exact translation equivalent, so it may sound a little strange.

     I am going to tell you all a story of love.  Or, better said, a story formed by many stories of love.  You can say that this is a typical American love story.  The two couples seem to have escaped from the TV. show How I Met Your Mother.  (Not sure how the reporter came to this conclusion!).  The article centers around our encounters with the Spanish culture.  Also, it discusses American stereotypes of the Spanish culture as well as common stereotypes that the Spaniards have of American culture. 

     Regarding Americans, children especially think everyone knows famous people and everyone is wealthy.  Many think we eat hamburgers almost daily and that American moms whip up hearty bacon and egg breakfasts every morning.  Furthermore, many Americans who have not had the opportunity to learn about Spanish culture may think of Spain as very similar to Central or South America.  In other words, Spain is Mexico.  Heck, I even pictured myself eating tacos and enchiladas before I arrived in Spain.  Sadly, however, the entire country of Spain probably has about 10% of the total amount of taco joints in Kenosha, Wisconsin.   

Funny quotes from the article (translated):

“I like octopus (the food).” – Robin

“We eat well.  We sleep well.  I feel my stress disappearing.” – Alyssa

In the grocery store, “you see the entire animal that you are going to eat.  In America, we often just see the nugget.” 

“I want to be a geography teacher, yet I have never left the United States.”

In response to the reporter’s question about the level of English of the average Spaniard…[their faces said it all].

What are you thankful for this year?