Being surrounded by Americans in Europe is like watching TV. They seem so stereotypical you'd swear it was scripted.
But then, I'm self-aware enough to know that I'm kind of strange, no matter what situation I find myself in.
Tonight I took the bus into town, with a camera & some cash. I had two hours before the next bus back to base, and while I was there, I had a sum total of 3 beers, which are tiny here. At a bar, they serve you about 8 oz. as Un Cerveza. For the remaining 90 minutes, I just wandered around alone!
It was nice. I found it calming to be alone in a crowd. Three people spoke to me during my walks. I had no idea what 2 of them were saying, and the other wanted fuego for his cigarette. I handed him my Zippo, and he didn't know what to do with it, so I lit it for him and said, "De nada."
There were tons of people out. I'd been told that's how it is, but I was still surprised by it. Elderly people were out walking around at 9 & 10 at night! Most bars were closed, but I may have been out too early, and that wasn't the point anyway. All the shops were closed, too, almost without exception. People seemed like they had places to go, though. One of the shops I walked by was art supplies, and the window display had some of the usual posed wooden figures, and I almost missed what was behind them. My double-take caught a life-size poseable human skeleton! Friggin' sweet!
I've got to stop saying "s'il vous plait" instead of "por favor."
This isn't at all what I was going to rant about, but there you have it.
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