Random thoughs

Fall has finally come to Madrid. I'm not kidding - the leaves are just starting to really turn yellow and fall down. That reminds me...there are a lot of trees in Madrid. More than I expected. It's a very green city. I would even dare to say that there are more trees in Madrid than in Boston and wayyy more than in the packed streets of Somerville or Medford.  

I also can't get over how it is sunny 90% of the time. I made up that statistic, but basically it's correct. How can you not have fun when you live somewhere so sunny? I love it. 

If you are bored sometime and you like surfing around on Amazon, then you should search for the Culture Smart guides to the USA or some travel guide like it for the US. You can read the first couple of pages of the book if you click on "search inside" and I just find it fascinating the kind of advice they give  international travelers when they come to the US. For example:  

"There's some surprise at how causally Americans dress. 'They never dress up. They have no style' says a Brazilian. 'They just wear jeans and sweat suits, and women don't wear heels.'  'They are very casual but clean.' says a Mexican. 'You can wear anything' said one visitor 'It's very easy to dress. ' "  (hahaha, yea. But thank god about the heels. European women are crazy. I've seen so many old women with horribly deformed and swollen ankles that are STILL wearing heels. Really? Is that necessary?)

"Nothing happens at night. Almost everything closes after 9 PM"

"Very often the friendliness is the first thing people notice. 'They smile to strangers and open the door'  'They are very polite'  'American people talk well to strangers' " (I couldn't find it to quote but one book said that often foreigners misunderstand the friendliness as either sexual advances or being mocked...whoops. )

A slightly more serious book reported that  people who move to the United States often have a very hard time adjusting. Especially if they move into a suburb or a rural area. They have to drive everywhere, stores and restaurants close early, people spend a lot of time at home, and everything is so spread out and large.

I think this sums it up: a Chinese man said "Bring a lot of tapes from home. It's so boring." 

You are correct sir.  It is boring, but that's part of the fun.