Today was a good day, minus one moment of extreme awkwardness. I will start with that first, because it’s a good story, then go on to the good stuff.
I was walking through some of the little winding streets around the Cathedral today, by myself, just minding my own business, and this time not lost or staring at a map. As I was walking down the street, a man, in maybe his mid-thirties said hello (or, rather, “hola”) to me. I had already walked past him when I hear him speak, so just out of instinct, I turned my head back and said hola. I realized then he was still trying to engage me in conversation, so I turned around and walked a little closer t o hear what he was saying. Our conversation went a little something like this, except in Spanish.
Random Guy: Are you American?
Me, in my head: Dang it, am I that obvious? Now you’re going to try to sell me some stupid souvenir that I don’t want.
Me, out loud: Yes.
Random Guy: Are you going to the Cathedral?
Me, wanting to make it very clear that I was not a lost tourist and that I knew where I was going: No, no, I’m going to my school, I’m a student here.
Random Guy: Oh, are you here with a group?
Me: Yes, with el Centro Norteamericano.
Random Guy: Are you from New York, or Chicago?
Me: Haha, no, I’m from New Mexico. It’s in the southwest. The other side of the country.
Random Guy: But you are American, right.
Me: Yes, yes.
Random Guy: Well, you’re very beautiful.
Me, in my head, with the light turning on: Oh, right. Here, talking to men in the streets is basically a form of flirting with them. Dang it.
Me, out loud: Oh, um, thank you.
At this point, Random Guy said something that I didn’t quite understand, but I think it was something along these lines: Would you like to share a restaurant with me?
I, at this point, got smart, and rather than trying to verify whether or not he had actually just asked me out to dinner after a two minute conversation, put on a face of “Oh, I didn’t quite get what you just said, I don’t speak Spanish well,” and said I had to go back to school. The guy wasn’t pushy or anything, he just said “Hasta luego,” which means “see you later.” In my head I thought, no you most definitely will not see me later, and continued on my way to my school. I understand that within the culture of Spain, this wasn’t a creepy interchange. As I think I mentioned before, strangers here don’t really smile or interact very much, so often interaction between men and women who don’t know each other is a sign of romantic interest. European women know this, and therefore they know how to handle themselves; if they are not interested in someone, they say “no” and walk away; as I said, the guy wasn’t pushy when I said no. But to me, this seemed so odd and a little creepy. I have very little experience with dating, but it seems to me that in America people don’t generally ask people out after a two minute conversation in the street. I was proud of myself, though, that once I realized his intentions I knew how to handle myself and didn’t waver awkwardly in ways that, in Spanish culture, might imply a coquettish sort of pseudo-acceptance-but-desire-to-be-pursued-further.
So that was a weird moment. But the rest of the day was lovely. The sun was out today, and as my classes are currently scheduled, during the continuation period, I don’t have class until 5:10 in the evening on Thursdays, and that’s just my dance class. So this morning I wandered around, ran some errands, and enjoyed the sun.
This evening, Alicia and I went to an Indian restaurant. Carmen keeps serving us dishes that remind us of Indian food, but aren’t quite Indian food, and as consequence we have been craving curry. So we did some research, and we found a small little Indian restaurant by Plaza Nervión, the big shopping center in our barrio. It was really small, and there wasn’t a lot of people, but it was really good. We split some chicken curry, rice, and warm naan. It definitely wasn’t very spicy, but it was delicious.
So that’s the story of my good day. Not a particularly good story, but it was a very nice day. I need to tell you about my classes, and the children I’m tutoring in English, but I think for now I’m going to bed. ¡Buenas Noches!
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