So, on to the fun stuff! I promised to talk about TV. I am going to try, but I fear that I will not be able to really convey the differences and that it will just be a bore to read. But here goes! Besides shows like "The Simpsons", which are dubbed over in Spanish and showed all the time, TV shows in Spain are very very different from what I'm used to in the US. Most of what I watch with Angelina are game shows, the "news", American movies dubbed in Spanish, or very bizarre pop culture talk shows.
The game shows are decent in format, but they are not very entertaining for me, as a main component of Spanish TV seems to be pointless talking. The shows are not as formulaic and formatted, and therefore there is a lot of rambling by contestants, hosts, etc. Maybe it has something to do with Europe being more laid back than us up-tight Americans, but I often find myself wondering why on Earth we are listening to this guy defend his choice of category for five minutes instead of just getting on with the game! Even on "Rueda de Suerte", or "Wheel of Fortune", the contestants gab on, and not just during their allotted 15 seconds to discuss their "beautiful wife" in the audience. They sometimes give a play-by-play of the previous puzzle, for example, "Oh! I didn't think it was going to say 'football', I was going to guess 'goofball'!". Really? How fascinating! Oh, and my other complaint with "Rueda" is that "Vanna White" doesn't wear super fancy gowns.
As far as the "news" programs we watch, they are interesting. There is a decent amount of world news, but I have yet to see a true local news broadcast. Usually we watch while I'm eating lunch, which is when many families are home for siesta. Maybe I'm just jaded from depressing American news broadcasts, but the news here seems to focus on broader events, and fewer horrific stories of kidnapping and fires. The main piece of news here has been the Costa Concordia cruise ship. I'm sure you guys have heard about it as well, and there was one Spanish man still missing, and his family today issued a public statement saying they were going to hold his funeral soon. Kinda a bummer.
So moving on: watching American movies in Spanish is a strange experience. I usually partially find myself trying to read the lips of the actors, and partially listening in Spanish. I've realized just how much of my ability to understand Spanish comes from watching people speak it. It is hard to understand people on the phone too, as I cannot see their mouths move or their facial expressions, which are both key when trying to decipher a word that I may not understand. Long story short, I prefer "Ella Enchanted" in English.
And finally, these awful pop culture shows. They are very difficult for me to watch. I find them confusing, boring, and rather pointless. Most of them seem to have between 4 and 8 hosts, who spend most of the show yelling over each other. Part of that is cultural, as it is not considered quite as rude here to interrupt or speak loudly. The movement around the set by the hosts does not seem scripted or purposeful. They wander about, and the camera follows at awkward angles when necessary. On my least favorite, called "Sálvame", or "Save Me", there are 9 "hosts". 8 of them are seated, split into two groups of 4 on either side of the set, and the main guy wanders around, never sitting on the stool I assume is dedicated for him. During the show, they start with a piece of pop-culture news and then just willy-nilly start yelling/crying/laughing/singing or reading tweets off their phones of someone that may know something about the incident. It's bizarre. And they repeat the same stories day after day, as I have come to find out when I am lucky enough to see it 3 days in a row.
But enough about that. I got to attend the filming of an evening talk show today! It's called "El Hormiguero", which means "the Anthill", and refers to two ant puppets who give funny commentary during the show. The show seemed entertaining, and the guest was fun to watch, even though the formatting of Spanish shows still seems odd to me. The guest for this particular episode (which just aired and I was on TV a bunch of times in the audience!) was Vincent Cassel, who is a French actor known for "Ocean's Twelve", "Ocean's Thirteen", and "Black Swan". He was charismatic and very handsome, and he spoke fairly decent Spanish, although at times he lapsed into French, at which point a woman translated live! After the interview, the show got strange and fell into what seemed to us Americans as rather disjointed segments. There was a moving art demonstration, a DJ demonstration, a science "trick", and a pendulum demonstration. I'm going to try to find a link online where you guys can watch the show, because even if you don't understand what they're saying, you will know what i mean about the awkward camera angles and the general description of Spanish shows having multiple personalities. The experience was very fun though, and we were glad we went!
Wow, this post is getting long. Apparently sending me to another continent can't keep me from talking too much! So onto the next topic: dogs in Spain. I will try to keep this short, but impress upon you the differences in cultural norms. First of all, most dogs here are incredibly well trained. I would estimate that 70% of them are not on leashes, just dutifully following their masters. It doesn't matter if it's in the middle of the city or at a park, these dogs never run up to strangers or out into the street, they are completely obedient. Which is pretty cool. The not so cool part is the waste disposal. Or lack thereof, as the case may be. Unless you are at a specified park, there is no grass in Madrid. And dogs have become accustomed to this. Which is just fine. But many of their owners have apparently not become accustomed to cleaning up after them. When you're in residential areas, you have to be very careful where you step, because there is probably some poop fairly close to you. It's not a pretty sight. I don't want you all to think that all the streets of Madrid are filled with poop, but it's definitely more than you see at home.
Next, and final, topic for today is Spanish PDA. This stands for Public Displays of Affection, just in case anyone is out of the loop. The Spanish are a very affectionate people in general. Everyone is greeted with kisses on the cheek, personal space is fairly nonexistent, and physical contact in casual conversation is quite normal. When a couple is dating, you can imagine that it gets taken to another level entirely. We Americans find ourselves rather uncomfortable when the two people standing next to us in the metro car are having a very graphic and icky make-out session as though they will never see each other again. I'm not exaggerating. In the middle of the street, in line to buy coffee, on escalators, and at an outdoor cafe are all places where excessive PDA occurs. I think I have sufficiently described the situation.
Well I hope you all enjoyed this long post! It will be my last until Sunday or Monday, after I get back from Paris, as I am not taking my computer with me. This will be my first hostel experience and I am very excited! For those of you that know my friends Stephen Daniels and Matt Joseph, they are currently in Madrid studying with another program and they will be in Paris as well, staying in another part of the city. But we intend to see the sights with them, especially because Stephen speaks French! So au revoir! I will check in with you guys soon!
P.S. I felt bad for all of the words words words with no pictures... so here's an unbelievably adorable lion cub! Toodles =)
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