Being called 'Woman'
The other day at the grocery store I couldn't quite reach an item on the top shelf (a not uncommon occurrence for me), so I asked a store employee for help. Our dialogue went like this:
The other day at the grocery store I couldn't quite reach an item on the top shelf (a not uncommon occurrence for me), so I asked a store employee for help. Our dialogue went like this:
Me: "Me puedes ayudar?" (Can you help me?)
Employee: "Claro. " (Of course.)
Me(pointing):: "No alcanzo." (I can't reach.)
Employee: hands me the item.
Me: "Gracias!"
Employee: "De nada, mujer." (You're welcome, woman. )
If a man I didn't know well called me 'woman' in the states, I would not be thrilled. It would feel a little disrespectful. But here it doesn't feel that way at all. It's not uncommon, and when used, it feels friendly and endearing.
Hand in hand with that is being called guapa "beautiful". This is super common and has nothing to do with your appearance. In fact, the mother of a friend of Felix repeatedly referred to me as guaba via a text conversation we had before she had ever met me. In Spain, everyone is beautiful.
How the term "No cutting" is completely unnecessary.
You know those machines that dole our little pieces of paper with sequential numbers on them, like the kind that Baskin Robbin used to have? You grab one when you begin your wait for some service, and when it is your turn you know because a number will flash on a digital screen that corresponds to the number on your piece of paper. Spain is a big fan of these. You find them in markets and government offices. They make it clear when it is your turn, and make it unnecessary for you to wait in a line, since you can go wherever you want in the room and keep an eye on when your number is next. You can even attempt to go do another errand if it looks like you have a long wait.
We don't use these much in the states- hence my 20 year-old Baskin Robbins reference to describe them. In the bank or post office, for example, as you wait for your turn to be helped, you need to physically stand in line behind the person whose turn is before you. The businesses aid this process by putting up poles with velvet covered ropes strung in between them to demarcate where you should stand. If you get out of line, you lose your turn. No errand running, no sitting down. You have to stand right there.
In Spain, when the number-doling machine isn't available to help determine when it is your turn, the people take it upon themselves to figure it out, with no physical waiting in line needed. So when it is time to wait in line at the bank, you don't go stand in line between ropes, but instead simply ask who the last person in line is. It might be a person close to the teller, or it might be someone relaxing in a chair on the other side of the room. It is then up to you to remember who is before you and be ready to go when they are done. Until then, you can go where you like, and you are not tethered to the spot directly behind the person whose turn is before yours. It seems like such a simple alternative to line waiting. And it only works because everyone participates and is aware of the rules. How does such a system come about?
Chocolate covered rice cakes.
Because guilt-free yum.
Employee: "Claro. " (Of course.)
Me(pointing):: "No alcanzo." (I can't reach.)
Employee: hands me the item.
Me: "Gracias!"
Employee: "De nada, mujer." (You're welcome, woman. )
If a man I didn't know well called me 'woman' in the states, I would not be thrilled. It would feel a little disrespectful. But here it doesn't feel that way at all. It's not uncommon, and when used, it feels friendly and endearing.
Hand in hand with that is being called guapa "beautiful". This is super common and has nothing to do with your appearance. In fact, the mother of a friend of Felix repeatedly referred to me as guaba via a text conversation we had before she had ever met me. In Spain, everyone is beautiful.
How the term "No cutting" is completely unnecessary.
You know those machines that dole our little pieces of paper with sequential numbers on them, like the kind that Baskin Robbin used to have? You grab one when you begin your wait for some service, and when it is your turn you know because a number will flash on a digital screen that corresponds to the number on your piece of paper. Spain is a big fan of these. You find them in markets and government offices. They make it clear when it is your turn, and make it unnecessary for you to wait in a line, since you can go wherever you want in the room and keep an eye on when your number is next. You can even attempt to go do another errand if it looks like you have a long wait.
We don't use these much in the states- hence my 20 year-old Baskin Robbins reference to describe them. In the bank or post office, for example, as you wait for your turn to be helped, you need to physically stand in line behind the person whose turn is before you. The businesses aid this process by putting up poles with velvet covered ropes strung in between them to demarcate where you should stand. If you get out of line, you lose your turn. No errand running, no sitting down. You have to stand right there.
In Spain, when the number-doling machine isn't available to help determine when it is your turn, the people take it upon themselves to figure it out, with no physical waiting in line needed. So when it is time to wait in line at the bank, you don't go stand in line between ropes, but instead simply ask who the last person in line is. It might be a person close to the teller, or it might be someone relaxing in a chair on the other side of the room. It is then up to you to remember who is before you and be ready to go when they are done. Until then, you can go where you like, and you are not tethered to the spot directly behind the person whose turn is before yours. It seems like such a simple alternative to line waiting. And it only works because everyone participates and is aware of the rules. How does such a system come about?
Chocolate covered rice cakes.
Because guilt-free yum.