I waited at the meeting point Ana and I agreed on through WhatsApp. A lady with the blue and white striped dress that Ana had specified appeared but I assumed she wasn't my intercambio because she was middle-aged. But she called to me "Amy?" and then began my first meeting with my speaking partner.
Ana was older than me because she is working on her doctorate in informatics. She expressed much interest in Texas and in Las Vegas, which she thought was Texan. I decided not to react because It wouldn't be reasonable to expect her to know state geography in another hemisphere. Her comment about Las Vegas reminded me how far away from home I was. The fact that i briefly forgot Spain's distance from the US made me realize that I've begun to feel a little more routinely.
My intercambio bought me a decaf coffee. She talked about the Spanish alcohol rules versus those in the US. She commented that beer isn't considered an alcoholic beverage because it contains only 4% alcohol. Anything containing less than 10% alcohol is not an alcoholic beverage here. Cashiers and vendors don't check ID cards of alcohol buyers- fifteen-year-old girls can buy a bottle of sangria or rum from the supermarket any day, she told me. Even universities sell beer (that explains why the university-led paella-making class yesterday served 20+ college students sangria).
I'm becoming more tolerant of the relaxed alcohol regulations here, and even sipped some sangria yesterday. Initially, I only partially succeeded in resisting scorn for the wine enthusiasm here, but now it's becoming more acceptable to me.
My intercambio sent me off to the bus wishing me a happy Hogueras week and an offer to make paella with me.
Ana was older than me because she is working on her doctorate in informatics. She expressed much interest in Texas and in Las Vegas, which she thought was Texan. I decided not to react because It wouldn't be reasonable to expect her to know state geography in another hemisphere. Her comment about Las Vegas reminded me how far away from home I was. The fact that i briefly forgot Spain's distance from the US made me realize that I've begun to feel a little more routinely.
My intercambio bought me a decaf coffee. She talked about the Spanish alcohol rules versus those in the US. She commented that beer isn't considered an alcoholic beverage because it contains only 4% alcohol. Anything containing less than 10% alcohol is not an alcoholic beverage here. Cashiers and vendors don't check ID cards of alcohol buyers- fifteen-year-old girls can buy a bottle of sangria or rum from the supermarket any day, she told me. Even universities sell beer (that explains why the university-led paella-making class yesterday served 20+ college students sangria).
I'm becoming more tolerant of the relaxed alcohol regulations here, and even sipped some sangria yesterday. Initially, I only partially succeeded in resisting scorn for the wine enthusiasm here, but now it's becoming more acceptable to me.
My intercambio sent me off to the bus wishing me a happy Hogueras week and an offer to make paella with me.