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Published: October 2nd 2008
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While I must admit that in general, the Spanish are an attractive bunch, there are a few peculiarities that still leave me puzzled. First of all, I have never been in a place where I feel large(this applies to both height and weight) The Spanish women are absolutely tiny, everything about them is minutature. For once, I can walk around and chances are, in any given crowd of Spanish people, I am nowhere near the shortest.(I even had to raise the bicycle seat in the gym the other day) And when I wear heels I'm an absolute giant. However, I also have more meat on my bones than spanish women, every women I see walking down the street looks like a size 00! I do not think I have seen any obese people here. Skinny jeans are the fashion, everyone wears them but my problem is the skinny jean look doesn't work with anyone with a butt. However, after much searching I have been able to find a black pair that works reasonably well. Anyway, back to a more important topic; spanish men. The men here definitely put a lot more time into their appearance than most American women; perfectly gelled
Example A
Not the best view, but i had to be inconspicuous taking these photos so I wouldn't look like a creep. hair and an accesorized outfit every time they leave the house. While it certainly is a nice change from the sloppier look back in the States, I can't help but see them and think either oh they must be gay, or they look guido (description of guido taken from urbandictionary.com: "an Italian American man usually residing in New York or New Jersey. He wears shirts that are too tight and unbuttoned 5 buttons too low to show off the chest that he spent hours and hours at the gym obtaining, he spends more time on his hair than his girlfriend, and continues to "hit the clubs" long into his mid to late 30's.") Also, people here wear way too much perfume, I can smell them from two blocks away. I guess I shouldn't complain about that though seeing as the alternative (not showering/not wearing deodorant) could be worse. Anyway, a cultural phenomenon here, the "guai" or cool thing to do among the teenagers (thankfully not people my age) is wear their hair in a mullet style, with a 2 inch piece of longer hair hanging down the back, almost like a rat tail. It's almost like some weird combination of
Example B
Bingo! Thank goodness for the zoom feature on my camera. This mullet is especially dirty looking. Guido and Redneck styles. But I guess thats Europe for you. Both men and women seem to find the facial piercing very attractive; lip and eyebrow piercings are the most popular, and can be found on anyone from the more goth looking crowd to well-off university students wearing collared shirts and expensive shoes.
And then there is the gym, an experience in itself. Similar to the United States, you have your typical men in the gym, staring at themselves in the mirror as they do their bicep curls and try and out lift all the other men. (You know, staring intently at your muscle while you lift actually makes you build muscle faster than just looking up like normal people.) However, instead of wearing standard workout clothes, these men have on tight wife beaters or other sleeveless attire on the top and tight spandex shorts, that are shorter than any shorts worn by the women in there and leave nothing to the imagination. Meanwhile, none of the women wear loose shorts or shorts in general; everyone wears spandex capris or pants. I understand that spandex is easy to workout in and that they are skinny enough to pull it off,
Typical Spanish Woman
Thin, Tan, and wearing skinny jeans with a scarf. I apologize but I was not able to take a suitable typical Spanish Man picture but check back soon for updates! but when its almost 90 degrees outside and the gym isn't that well air-conditioned, I don't know how they aren't dying of heat. Unless of course, its because they actually aren't doing any real physical activity. 15 minutes on level one of the stair master does not count as physical activity. Come to think of it, I've never actually seen a Spanish woman sweat in the gym. And so, in my loose shorts and t-shirts, surrounded by a sea of Spandex, I happily run on my treadmill, sweating like a pig, not really caring because most of the men are probably gay anyway (although in Europe you can never tell).
And the euro-style would not be complete with the infamous Moto. Scooter, Vespa, Motorized Bike, Moto; it goes by many different names in the different countries but has the same typical driver; young guys who speed around, weaving in and out of cars, being macho and manly. Thats not to say women or older people don't drive motos, but the motos I have seen driving crazy have all been driven by younger men. You notice that there are a disporportionatly high number of men walking around with broken arms in
Midget on a Float with a whip
Nothing to do with Spanish Fashion but it was part of the parade for the Volvo Ocean Race, a round the world sailing race that begins in Alicante October 10th. I just thought it was the weirdest thing I've ever seen casts; this is because so many of them, driving recklessly, run into cars or get into accidents and hurt themselves. However, as crazy as some of the moto drivers may seem, at least most of them wear helmets, and motos help cut down on gas consumption, due to both their small size and the fact that they are allowed to weave in and out of buses and cars, cutting over the different lanes, allowing them to spend less time idling with the engine turned on at a stoplight. And best of all; the moto drivers do not have entire body tatoos or scary leather jackets like the typical harley motorcycle riders in the U.S. I'm very supportive for bringing the scooter/moto concept to the United States; less gas, cheaper than a car, and they look like so much fun to ride.
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