Around Town

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Traveling Around

During this trip, I have had to use the Metro. From my experiences at home, I was intimidated of the metro. Both metro systems I have used here have been easy to navigate. I agree completely with "Culture Smart", "The metro is the fastest and most effective way of moving around" (p. 130). I was not nervous after my initial experience, and it definitely made travel much simpler than getting a cab. I feel more confident with the metro, and am thankful I will be able to take that onto future travels.

Choking on the Smoke

I attended a bullfight here in Madrid. Part of the bullfighting culture for many Spaniards is to smoke while there. At one instance, a man near me lit a cigar and started smoking. I inhaled much of the smoke and began coughing uncontrollably. This man turned around, saw me coughing, realized it was from his cigar, but only smiled at me. This cultural norm here in Spain is completely different from that at home. Smoking is banned in most places, and the designated places for smoking are closed off to keep others from experiencing the smoke. I felt unprepared for the amount of smoking I would experience while here in Spain.

Ruling the Country

The government in Spain is different from the States. The country has gone through economic problems, such as recession and embezzlement by government officials. Spain suffers from "one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe" (Insights Spain, p. 68). Our tour guide informed us that the former king had to abdicate the throne to his son before the crown was overthrown. He told us about the elections that occur every four years, but only if there is no governmental corruption. It is hard to see beggars on the streets and know their poverty could be caused by the corrupt use of money by those in charge. The king and queen are more figureheads of the country, but their and other governmental worker's actions affect all citizens, even the ones I have come in contact with on this trip.

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Photos

Royal Gates
This is one of the many entrances to the Royal Palace for the Royal family here in Spain.

Smoking Everywhere
Smoking is so common here in Spain that they have cigarette vending machines.

Plaza de Toros
This is a famous bullfighting arena in Madrid. Smoking is extremely common at a bullfight.

Bullfighting
Another view inside the arena. It was packed. Even the king of Spain was in attendance!

Cigarettes
Even in fancy restaurants, they have cigarette vending machines.

China town in Barcelona
My friends and I used the metro in Barcelona to get to the location of a bike tour. From there we were able to experience many cool sites in Barcelona, including this cat in China town.

Congress
Even with a king, Spain still has other governmental bodies that deal with many local and international affairs for the country.

GOOAALLL!!
We were able to use the Metro to quickly get to the Spain versus Sweden soccer game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.