SCHOOLS OUT FOR-EVER!

I know that all of my faithful readers have been in mourning due to my absence from the blogging scene (so what if my mom is the only one...)! Things have been incredibly busy, in a wonderful way! Classes ended in Alcala on Thursday the 15th of June with presentations and final exams. Thankfully, Aaron (my roommate) is incredibly studious, thus I was as well! I ended up making A's in both classes (YES!!!) and left Madrid in the distance, shrinking away with a sense of pride. Not necessarily for the grades achieved (although anyone at OU will tell you that an A in a Bolino course is fiesta material), but the journey that is the undergraduate degree is now finished.

I am in the Swiss Alps now and upon reaching one of the higher summits in the area yesterday, I had a time of pondering my time at the University of Oklahoma. One of lots of personal change, growth, learning, and lessons. Although this phase of life is over, its life lessons will without a doubt live on throughout my life.

My overall impression of the program in Alcala is excellant. I made wonderful friendships and developed more fertile relationships. I am quite thankful that I was able to take the courses in Spain and get to learn not only business, but cultural diversity as well!!

Okie?

I met a girl in Alcalá named Katy. She is a British national and a foreign exchange student here at the university. Aaron and I see her walking to the university on a daily basis. She is quite animated and a constant source of humor. When I was going to school from a lunch with the professors and administrators I ran into her and we had a brief, albeit hilarious conversation...

Katy (cool British accent): Hello! I haven't seen you around, where´ve you been?

Robby: We have been really busy with school stuff, we are done on Thursday!

Katy: Already? You just got here only days ago!

Robby: We got here in early May, it is only a one month program!

Katy (perplexed, but understanding) Oh, kindly remind me what state you are from

Robby: Oklahoma (blank stare). It is right in the middle above Texas.

Katy (smiling): Texas! I know exactly where that is. Oh, can I ask you a question?

Robby (laughing): I don't know...we still live in tee pees and ride horses...

Katy (softly, leaning in): So is being in a city hard for you then?

Robby: NO RESPONSE, forcing a smile and thinking ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!

Katy: Do they call you Okies?

Robby (laughing): Um, yeah...

Katy: Oh, I'm so sorry... Is that derogatory?

I think there is a market in Britain for new U.S. History textbooks. Can we update them so I still don't sleep on dirt.

The ROAD Trip

Not a big deal, we got an upgrade into the European Ultimate Driving Machine. The EUDM was a SEAT Ibiza, a gem of a little four door hatch-back thing. It "comfortably" fit the three of us and our luggage and consumed vary little gas during our trip. We drove over a thousand KM and only had to fill up twice.

All of the things you take for granted EVERDAY when driving in America: one way signs with a big arrow, parking spots, streets wide enough for vehicles, they have now gained my total appreciation and respect.

This is your typical highway signage. The 80 with the red around it is the speed limit, and all the stuff in Spanish is the exit and what highway is associated with that exit, not too bad, right? I actually would agree with that statement. The highways (besides the fact that I was going 140) were actually BETTER than those in the USA. People actually know how to drive on the highways here, it was brilliant! Drivers actually drive in the right lane, and, when wanting to pass someone, they speed up and do it in the left lane. Is that really so hard? There weren't any ignorant, road-hogging truckers or anything! Oh, yeah, that was 140 KM/HR, not miles per hour...

The city´s and parking garages are where the real challenged lied. First of all, there are no street signs. The streets are labled by tiny signs on the buildings on those streets, if there are any, and they are illegible unless you are right up on the street. This made driving/navigating a quite difficult task. To Aaron's credit (the navigator), we only got turned around a couple times. Twice in Madrid, once leaving and once coming back, and when we were coming into Malaga at 12:30 on Thursday night (or Friday morning, either way).

There is a rumor going around that I may have backed into another vehicle, this is completely false. When we were trying to get out of the parking garage at the train station, the butt of a car completely jumped from out of nowhere while I was backing up to get out of the way of a truck that didn't fit in this so called garage. The car that appeared out of thin air may have hit me, I really don't know. That is all I have to say about that (AVIS is on my side, they didn't charge me anything extra after I passed the eyeball check from the car return guy with flying colors).

Web of lies. Me and the EUDM bonded and were practically one on the road. Although he was a little upset with me when I practically broke the front passenger side axle when going down a one-way road the WRONG way. If the guy that was going the right way would have just moved there wouldn't have been a problem. Don't worry, me and EUDM made up and had a moment whenever I dropped him off.

Crazy Spanish Drivers.

Spain Revisited (TOP 5)

My time in España is quickly drawing to a close. By the end of the week I will have moved on from here to explore the rest of the European Union. Although I am quite excited to be moving on to see so many places that the world was built on, I am quite sad to see my time in Alcalá end.

I have been in Spain now for almost four weeks and have had many experiences that were life changing, life sustaining, and life re-structuring. Learning the cultural norms is something that takes time and laughs (see the BALE incident as reported in late May). This leads to...

Top 5 Things that I admire about the Spanish, but am annoyed by:

5. Family life. Living at home until you are 30, really?!! I can understand (and revere) the fact that families are very important and meals and time together are taken seriously, but you need to get that J-O-B and get out. Maybe get a little place with the old lady and decorate, maybe some new furniture? Come on people...

4. Driving. This was a tough one for me. I really enjoyed driving on Spanish highways. The countryside was brilliant and the drivers were actually competent, GREAT drivers, but the city. It was like when Godzilla was destroying Beijing: complete chaos. What´s worse, the streets were built like 6000 years ago (ok, I know it wasn't that long) and they didn't have cars then. Problem is, no one updated them. Really.

3. Walking. It is great that the Spanish walk everywhere and everyone is fit. They are seriously impressive (picture your grandma that is 82, now remember her when she was 60, that is what the 82 year old grandmas look like in Spain, only in better shape and talks louder). BUT, me walking thirty minutes to school everyday, not a fan. I am missing my ride, the porsche of the 4-door sedans, the Honda Accord.

2. Public Transportation. Again, it is great for the way the cities in Spain are set-up, very dense population in a little area, but me and the Accord are experiencing seperation anxiety. I need to be able to have the freedom of driving (walking in Spain) and the speed of driving (public transportation in Spain), all while jamming to my tunes or picking up 'Cane's chicken. Oh, I shouldn't have thought of that. I need some 'Cane's ASAP.

1. La Siesta. I love the concept of the siesta. "Hey, let's all go home and take a 3 hour nap and eat and hang out with amigos!" The problem with said naptime, EVERYTHING shuts down. It is a very large annoyance to want to get something and the place be closed until 5 or 6. Oh the siesta, great idea, but only in Spain.

So, being in Spain has taught me mucho when it comes to appreciating things at home.

Viva España, but I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!

Straight Beachin It, Custom is KING

Going to the beach and doing nothing was something that I needed at this point in the trip. After the stress of driving and not knowing what was going on (really, we made it, that is all that matters), it was nice to sleep in and head down to the BEAUTIFUL beach (check out pictures at my Picasa picture site, "SPAIN PICTURES" link on the left side at the top of the page).

The beach was outstanding, I cannot stress that enough. Although, we did learn a lesson in what my 11th grade history teacher called, "Custom is King!" Apparently, female beachgoers in Europe consider the top half of the bathing suit optional. This was an interesting site to run into on Friday morning when we walked down to the beach. It was met with us all looking at each other and exclaiming, "REALLY?!?!" Do not misinterpret the tone of this exlamation, this was not a quote from Jim Carrey in The Mask, this was a oh-my-word-is-this-really-happening-I-think-my-eyes-are-burning exclamation. I will put it to you in plain and simple english, the average age for this custom, 75. End of story.

We would usually get up around 11am and leave our hostal to head down to the beach. We would stop at a grocery store and pick up lunch (a couple big baguettes and some dip to enjoy it with, beverages, and some sort of dessert) and head down to get our chairs. We paid 4€ each for a chair and an umbrella, but this was no ordinary chair, this was a super padded chair that was incredibly comfortable to lounge on. Thank you Malaga.

Once there, we usually just relaxed and tried not to get too many weird looks while we were helping each other put on sun screen (yes mom, we did put it on our ears and nose). We then did one of the following: sleep, read, listen to music, play soccer by the Mediterranean, or...

So we had to be a little American...We have Customs too!

At least ours include clothing!

The Bloody Euro

I was VERY spoiled by my trip to China. The dollar was rocking the yuan at a 1:9.6 ratio. Meaning, of course, that I could spend almost 10 yuan and only $1 came out of my pocket. Awesome! This led to buying of lots of souvenirs and food and DVDs and, well, everything. So, when researching my trip to Europe, I was quite frustrated by the lacking of the USD, which is currently suffering from a 1:1.55 ratio against the EURO. This means, cursedly, that when I spend 1€, I am spending $1.55. Not a big deal? Consider this: when I buy a souvenir for my little brother that costs 40€, I am spending $62. Not good.

This phenomenon has been something that has taken the whole 3 1/2 weeks I have been here to get used to. I see something for a couple bucks and I think it is cheap and not a big deal, but, not so fast my friend, my internal calculator starts going and that train ticket for only 2.45€, is actually $3.80. Ouch. What´s worse is when I get to check my bank account. I withdrew 200€, but I check my balance and it reveals a little secret, you ACTUALLY withdrew $319.30!! $310 for the exchange rate and $9.30 for the 3% charge that Chase gets for having to painstakingly do the math for that exchange rate (I told the lady at the bank before I left that I would do all of my own conversions and she could pay me the 3%, she stared at me blankly. Nice.).

So, why did the EURO decide to dominate, we can argue politics and oil (wait, same thing) when I get back. Here is a brief history on the EURO (USD:EURO ratios)...

May 2002 (5 months after being introduced to the world): May 1: 1.11 May 31 1.06

May 2005: May 1: 0.77 May 31: 0.80

May 2008: May 1: 0.64 May 31: 0.64

So, as you can imagine, my spending habits here in Spain are much different then they were in China (or in America for that matter). I am having to budget this trip completely differently than I have anyother trip I have ever been on. It is not fun. It is really cramping my style. I hate OPEC.

The staple of America, The Big Mac. The Big Mac hates the EURO. You all know how I feel about Mickey-D's here in Spain, but I can assure you that The Big Mac hates the EURO. He doesn't like to charge his loyal patrons 6.10€ to indulge in his special sauce yummy-ness. That is $9.45 for a Big Mac. Sick.

Basically, what I am trying to say is I am ready to go on vacation to the European Union and not have to take out more student loans.

Don't get me started on the bloody pound...

The Excursion Begins

There are only 3 days of class left here in Spain: next Tues, Wed, & Thurs. This weekend (by that I mean NOW) we are doing something different from everyone in our class: Going on a ROAD TRIP.

We have free travel this weekend and people in our group are going everywhere from Dublin, IRE to Barcelona, with the largest number of them going to Ibiza (known as the party capital of the world). Aaron and I, along with another guy from Oklahoma that is doing a different study abroad program in Madrid, are renting a car and driving through Spain to the southern coast to a wonderful little beach town called Málaga. The weather forecast is high 80's and sunny. Perfect.

I am sure that there will be many a story from our little adventure (since none of us have ever driven in Europe) and am looking forward to reliving every moment (or at least the HILARIOUS ones) with you over the course of the weekend and early next week!

Good luck in StL Cassie, lsmp!!

Spanish Culture, According to Smart, Old People

It is a cool feeling to see something that you have been talking about in school. Whether it is as simple nature or as complex as human behavior, it is always awesome to be able to see something happen and know why, how, etc. In the international business class that I am taking, we are studying some of the great management theorists who categorize cultures, which includes Geert Hofstede, the most well-known and researched in the field (I know you all knew that, I was just saying it to sound smart and try to add some credibility to my writing). Of course, since we are in Spain, it has been (along with the US) a huge part of our discussions and subsequent lectures.Hofstede defines culture as "collective mental programming." Are we all really just products of generational norms after generational norms after generational norms (you get the point) that have created this mental code that we all inherently follow? Come on...but his results are actually dead on! That's what is scary.

He groups the Spanish as having "Large Power Distance and Strong Uncertainty avoidance," among other things, but I have experienced these first hand and have had that, "I know why you do that, I am smart, I can't believe I remembered that" awesome feeling and I want to share my stories...

When describing large power distance, Hofstede says that in these countries, "few people should be independent, most should be dependent." My good friend Jorge (I had classes with him at OU, he and I were partners for a group project, he picked me up from the airport when I landed in Spain) is a resident of Alcala, he was studying at OU last year. He is in college and still lives at home, along with ALL of his other friends. I asked him about it and he said that college students don't have apartments when they go to school. They go in the town they grew up in (or in a neighboring town) and live at home. He said that most don't move out until they are 30, or get married! WHAT!?! Yeah, my mom and dad are thanking the Lord that they are Americans!!

When talking about strong uncertainty avoidance he writes that, "more showing of emotion is preferred." So, I live with a Spanish family and if I had a nickel everytime MaMa or PaPa yelled at Sergio or each other (but it isn't yelling, it is that emotion showing thing), this whole trip would be paid for (even with the dollar being as HORRIBLE as it is). Here is a video that Aaron took on his phone of Sergio, the 3 year old that MaMa calls "El Diablo!"



If that isn´t showing emotion. What is? Sure he is a 3 year old, I get that, but this personifies all of the Spanish culture. They are loud talkers who talk with their hands and get in your face, it is hilarious. Just having a conversation here (or people watching, during a heated conversation) is a serious spectacle!

Spain is not for the faint of heart, but you definitely learn to love it!

John Legend

I am a HUGE John Legend fan. There is a John Legend song that really is INCREDIBLY appropriate for life here in Spain. Here is the first verse and the chorus to P.D.A (We Just Don´t Care):

U know I love it when u loving me
Sometimes it's better when it's publicly
I'm not ashamed I don't care who sees
Just hugging & kissing our love exhibition

Let's go to the park
I wanna kiss u underneath the stars
Maybe we'll go too far
We just don't care
We just don't care

Here in España, this is a national anthem, seriously. Except they edit the chorus to say:

Let's go to the park, plaza, street, store, bus, train, subway, school, anywhere but in private
I wanna kiss u underneath the stars or not if it is cloudy
WE WILL DEFINITELY go too far
We just don't care, neither does anyone else

We just don't care, neither does anyone else

I know you are all sitting there saying, "their mommy and daddy´s need to set a better example...", but it IS the mommy and daddy´s that are doing it! It isn´t just the hoodlem teenagers and pre-teens doing the grossly inappropriate THINGS! Understand that they are not grossly inappropriate by Spanish standards, just those conservative American standards AND liberal American standards. You Americans (American Liberals) don´t care what kids wear or how they do to their hair or even if they disrespect their parents because they are just "expressing themselves". But the minute they start kissing in front of you in a movie theater, you know every single one of you are kickin´the back of the chair in front of you!!

I know... It's me that you're kicking! I LOVE SPAIN!

(Don´t act like you're surprised, Mom. You and I both know that I come by this trait honestly...)

The Spanish Google (Sort of)

For one of our "business outings" whilst in Spain, we got to visit Santander, a global banking giant. To give you all an idea, here is a brief summary from the Wall Street Journal talking about banking in other countries...

The Santander Bank is Spain's most important private bank and its network of branches, stakes in other banks and take-overs extends well beyond the Spanish borders, to Portugal, Britain (see article about Banco Santander take-over of British bank Abbey National) and further afield to Latin America and the USA.

As you can tell, it is pretty incredible, but not for the financial reasons. The Banco Santander´s corporate culture is absolutely fascinating. In a very different, Google-esque style, the corporate culture at the bank has broken pretty much every Spanish norm when it comes to culture! The bank headquarters sits on a massive expanse of something like 150 acres where there is a bus stop, a metro stop, AND a train stop for those commuting not via their personal vehicle. It comes with the standard things you would think of in a corporate headquarters: full-service child care, gym (complete with pool, tennis courts, racquetball, etc), golf course and country club, art museum, shopping, andHUGE dining complex...

Although Spain is a very laid back and siesta-y culture, they are huge on tradition and their past. That being said, it was incredibly interesting to me that they were so liberal on these benefits that they give their employees! The campus itself is modeled after the technology firm out of Carolina, SAS, and they have taken that management approach that happy workers are good workers and good workers make customers happy! The corporate culture at Santander was completely different than anything I would have expected, especially after spending a few weeks in Spain. Things here seem to be quite hierarchial. Meaning, I think that there are definite differences between lower, middle, and upper class. Whereas at Santander, they take everyone from the secretaries to the upper-level executives and give them these incredible benefits! In the same light, looking at it from a national perspective, since it is based on an American business model, it seems like they would have to be very careful not to Americanize their employees. Not that Spain is a slum or anything, but their are definite differences in our national cultures! Going even further, I wonder if the employees at Banco Santander are your typical everyday Spaniards (thanks Dr. Bolino, I kinda stole your question...)? My humble opinion is that they still siesta like everyone else! Spain is all about time with family and belonging to the collective whole. I don´t think that working at a more "Americanized" corporation would change that. I think that Santander probably does more to instill those values of traditional Spain than most employers...

Welcome back to College, this is what we do, everday.

Management vs. Accounting

Whenever you spend a lot of time with someone, there are bound to be some pretty funny moments! Aaron and I have enjoyed many a walk and talk over the course of the last 2 1/2 weeks, and there have been MANY hilarious stories, serious times, and, frankly, some serious male bonding (don´t be gross, that is understood only by men who have experienced male bonding, if you are a woman and are laughing, stop it).

This is a conversation that we had when talking about what to do on our free travel weekend. It really made me laugh! (I am stealing this storytelling style from my incredibly talented sister...)
Look at the difference between my personality [management major] and his [accounting major].

Robby: SO, what are we going to do...

Aaron: I don´t know. It is going to be cold in Valencia and that would not be fun...

Robby: Yeah, I went to California one year over spring break and it was in the mid 70´s and it was WAY too cold to be on the beach. Everyone was in sweatshirts and jeans and we were in bathing suits. No bueno.

Aaron: Yeah, but it is REALLY cheap to get to Valencia and if we go to Malaga we are going to have to pay more for a hostel as well.

Robby: [being the decision maker that I am] Either way. I am thinking that cold beach is no good, but I hear you about the money thing! Let´s just do Malaga, it will be worth it!!

Aaron: [completely serious] Well... Let´s do a Cost/Benefit Analysis

Excursions into the Past

On our trip, we have gotten to go on various day trips, they have been a blast (and really, a blast into the past!). I have been posting all of my pictures on my picture site (I know that most of you know this, but if not: picasaweb.google.com/soonersinspain) and hope that you are all enjoying the taking the visual trip with me to the past!

It is quite fascinating to see Cathedrals and Castles that are from the 11th and 12th centuries, Roman ruins, or streets and buildings from before America was even a thought! One huge lesson that I am taking out of these trips (and something that I REALLY learned when I spent time in Asia) is that the World is not only HUGE, but it has an incredible history. With all of the talk in business about globalization and how the world gets smaller everyday, taking a trip to the other side of the world completely contradicts that! You see, hear, smell, taste, and touch things that have weathered more storms than you ever thought imaginable! It really puts my life into a whole new perspective...

When caught up in little things in my life (or even big things), I realize that all that really matters is the legacy that I leave. Not the car that I drive or where I live, but who I love and who loves me. I am a huge communication buff, the way humans communicate is quite interesting to me! Traveling is showing me more and more that relationships are everything in my life (and in yours!). Everything.

So, I hope all of you, like I am going to, can remember what is important, really important!!

The Ultimate Paradox

Yesterday, we decided to go into Madrid after class to go to Moore´s, an English pub off of the Plaza Mayor, to watch the USA vs. England soccer game. The game didn´t start until 9:00, so we decided that we wanted to travel to the Northern part of the city and see the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the stadium where Real Madrid plays. It was incredible.


I have played soccer for a long time and have actually played in front of some pretty big crowds for being in the midwest, but this was overwhelming! We got to go all over-the media room, the locker room, the tunnel where the players walk up, the nosebleeds, the benches, the "museum"-it was fascinating. The stadium is actually not that big compared to say Memorial Stadium in Norman, but the seats look like high chairs at a low budget restaurant. The literally squeeze as many people in half the space! The tour was excellant (because it was self-guided!) and we were all in agreement that it was totally worth the 15€ that we paid for it!

It was very sobering to experience first hand how much people love fútbol in other parts of the world. The place was packed. We are talking middle of the week, with the season over, and it felt like an OU vs. North Texas game. The tri-level souvenir store was congested and crowded, it was unbelievable.

We finally finished our experience with a little piece of soccer heaven and went to eat at Real Café, unfortunately, it was booked for the evening (and incredibly overpriced!). So we did what any red-blooded, NFL loving, Americans would do. We ate at TGI Friday´s.

European Fútbol, TGI Friday´s. What a day.


(I posted a bunch of Aaron´s pictures on my picture site: picasaweb.google.com/soonersinspain)

Shopping Anyone?

Welcome to the most insane shopping experience of my life. In the background of the picture above is El Corte Inglés, the Ultimate Shopping Experience (USE).

USE is the result of a massive Spanish affair between Dillard´s, Macy´s, JC Penney´s, Wal-Mart SuperCenter, Academy Sports, Pottery Barn, Border´s Books, and Target, with a little bit of Best Buy thrown in for good measure. Again, USE is the result of this debacle. I could go on for days about this place. There are two sides as seen in the picture above. First, there is Hipercor, which is basically like a Wal-Mart SuperCenter, but with very Target-y features. It has everything the Spanish MaMa could EVER need for taking care of the household (No, that was not a sexist comment. The MaMa takes care of the house here in España, promise). From groceries to cleaning supplies to medicine, esta perfecto!

I do not think that I am communicating to you the monstosity that is this place. Five stories of non-stop shopping action! Now, onto the OTHER side of the USE. This is the most hardcore department store, wow. Think of Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, OJ Simpson (the running back not the murderer), all pale in comparison to the Dillard´s on steroids. Oh, basically think of Barry Bonds. Now we´re cookin´with propane! Floors of Men´s clothing, Women´s clothing, under garments, accessories, shoes, sportswear, camping stuff, furniture, books, electronics, kid´s and baby apparel, EVERYTHING!!

Since I have mentioned both sides, I will not forget to leave out the middle. There is a full service bar, complete with tapas and hard alcohol for all those PaPa´s that don´t want to follow MaMa around with little screaming Sergio during their visit. Wow, this is a shopper´s Mecca.

So why don´t we see any of these in the States? I have a two guesses...

1. Steroids are illegal. Now I know that MLB is exempt from that rule, but the shopping industry is not and El Corte Inglés would definitely be taken before Congress. It´s not like we are engaged in a war right now, they have the free time.

2. This is a destination store. It literally has everything. I just don´t see that working in America. We pride ourselves on going all over town from specialty store to specialty store. How many of you like fighting mall traffic. Survey says: 0. Exacltly, I don´t think that those Americans that just need bread and milk will want to fight THAT lady in the Lexus that is going to get the new D&G bag (yeah, they have high end stuff. Sick.) while smoking her extra long Virginia Slim.

The reason this IS so appealing (in my opinion) here in Spain is because they CAN get everything in one stop. We had 12 people get off the bus with us at the USE stop. Since public transit is so huge-and costs money-why not make it where you can get everything in one spot? So if USE can make it, why not Wal-Mart? This is an excellant question that I do not think there is a simple answer to. I am sure if Wal-Mart explored the avenue of a joint-venture with someone that could create a USE atmosphere, they would be...

But really, who would ever think you could buy household products where the sell a 1000€ suit? Welcome to Spain!!

"¿Más CocaCola?" (Top Ten #2)

Visiting American restaurants in other countries is something that I REALLY enjoy doing. No matter where you go, there is the staple of our obese American society, McDonald´s. Since McDonald´s practically saved me when I was in China (after eating 10 days of only Chinese food, the Big Mac was fine dining), I figured that I would go check out the one here in Alcalá and see how much different it is to my favorite 3am spot in Norman!!

My initial reaction to the McDonald´s here was quite good. The inside is set-up to mimic a traditoinal Spanish plaza (unfortunately they were not keen on me taking pictures) with lots of seating and such. To my surprise, when I walked in there were two different tables of 5 or more older people sitting together like they would a coffee shop or a Waffle House here in the States ( stop laughing, I am having Waffle House withdrawls!!). When Aaron and I stepped up to the counter (speedy service is not something that you get in Spain) I ordered the usual, Big Mac and a Coke. Simple, easy. Aaron decides to be BMOC and gets the new, Spain Exclusive "American Burger" with potatoes and a ´te´. After he ordered, the young man behind the counter looked at him and went, in a way that is completely indescribable, "iced tea?", it was pretty much the best part of the day. He looked at us like stupid foreigners who didn´t even know how to pronounce english, much less Spanish. Awesome.

We got our food (Finally! It seriously felt like forever. They have seriously adapted the Spanish way in that sense!) and sat down and the negativity came rushing over me like the Red Sea on the Egyptians.

Top Ten Things Different About McDonald´s in Spain:

10. How many times have you EVER been to a Mickey D´s in the States and it not had its own building!? Seriously, everything from the giant happy meal to the train to the giant play place, always a stand alone building. Not so fast my friend, in España we don´t play by those rules. Since space is so tight and the ideal spot is in the traffic heavy plazas, we just throw them in there!

9. There is ONE positive thing that I think needs to be integrated to the American branches and that is the ability to choose your side item with combo meals. They offered the traditional (and so scrumptious) famous french fries, another type of potato that was kinda like the fries at Red Robin, and a, for the health conscious Spaniard, salad.

8. To enhance the "laid back and slow we are in Spain so get over it" attitude, all of the employees were in T-Shirts. Somewhere Ronald McDonald just rolled over. Who do these Spanish employees think they are? T-Shirts?!?

7. No Fancy Ketchup. So, this was not necessarily one of my complaints, but the blow back from everyone else in the group was that of an oversized and seriously irritated orca. Instead, here in the land of Mr. Columbus (that is the one who sailed the ocean blue in 1492, or something like that), they sport the Heinz ketchup, go figure.

6. "Is that for here or to-go?" When have you ever been to a fast food joint and you didn´t hear those words? It´s ok, it is a trick question, NEVER. Yet in Spain, we KNOW that you are going to enjoy it in our pseudo-fake courtyard thing because in Spain we ARE a family restaurant that only attracts the best and the brightest!

5. I don´t know about you, but didn´t the whole graffitti thing go out with Hammer Pants? Someone (probably MTV) forgot to tell the Spanish. Graffitti is everywhere, seriously. Shopowners have it all over the facade of their buildings, and, since they have already painted over it 62 times, they just leave it. So, why not extend that to the Golden Arches? There is, quite literally, graffitti on the walls, IN THE RESTAURANT! Yup, my man Ronald just rolled again.

4. So, you may remember my reference to ´fast food´in number 6, that was a lie. I should never have put Spanish Mickey D´s in the category of fast. Ever. There were only two, yes 2, workers. And, you know how, in America, you sometimes think that the guy or girl that is helping you is going to pass out right there and die from sprinting to the fryer and back to the fountain and back to the apple pie stand thingy and back to the register? Don´t worry, zero fatalities in the McDonald´s de Alcalá.

3. For those of you who are painfully trudging through this that live in Oklahoma, you are quite used to stopping at Midway on the Turner Turnpike and helping yourself to a bathroom break and a $.99 ice cream cone. A wonderful experience, no? Well, you would never, EVER, go into the bathroom or just relax in McDonald´s in Alcalá, it is the most dirty restaurant I have been in in a while. The bathroom, sick. I don´t want to even describe it right now, my stomach will not allow it. The floor was sticky and gross, the trash was overflowing, the tables were not wiped down, there was GRAFFITTI (oh yeah, already said that) on the walls. I can hear my cousin Whitney right now, "SICK." Wow, I think ole Ronny McD actually just flipped, is that possible?

2. THEY SERVE BEER.

1. At the end of our meal (and to Corporate´s credit, my Big Mac was Delic!), when we were done discussing all of the blahh-ness of the restaurant. I wanted to take the ultimate chance. I walked up to the register and handed my empty cup to the chico behind the counter. "¿Más CocaCola?", I asked. He looked at me, looked at the cup, back at me, at the cup, at me. THE INSANITY. He replied, "¿CocaCola?". I nodded. He threw the cup away and began to ring up another coke.

Ronald, I know man, where did you go wrong.

Dad...

There is a quaint little Irish Pub here in Alcala that Aaron and I have become quite fond of. We walk in and get a big hug from the owner and an enthusiastic "Hola!" from everyone present. It has quickly become a quarky combination of the coffee shop in Friends, the diner in Seinfeld, the clubhouse in Caddyshack, and the conference room from The Office (That's what she said...).

How did "The Medium Pint" become so near and dear to our hearts? The story begins with a soccer game...

On the way to Winner's, a local bar where the game was being shown, Aaron and I had high hopes and dreams of our evening. We were going to sit down and enjoy the biggest league game finale in the sport of soccer, the Champions League Final. To make things better and add a slight skip in our step, Manchester United and Chelsea were playing. Being the HUGE ManU fan the I am, there was obvious reasons for joy, but even better, Aaron is a Chelsea fan. Tonight I will have even more bragging rights than I imagined, I live with the enemy. The enemy will be crushed.

We arrived at Winner's and I actually felt a tear slip down my cheek, but not out of joy. It was bigger than a shoebox, but smaller than a boot box. Nay, it was smaller than THE hobbit hole. Oh yeah, and it was packed. We are talking sardines, this is no lie. After trying to be European and just sit at a table with two Spanish guys (they kindly, er, 'asked' us to leave) we stormed out and began hating the stupid english girl that speaks spanish (who is also one of our guides) that MADE us go THAT bar saying, "that EVERYONE goes here for the matches..." Wow, we didn't know that she was such a literal person, she should realize that we are Americans, we are sarcastic.

As we continued cursing her (lovingly) we were suddenly face to face with fear. The game is happening and we are alone in Spain and have to try and find a place to watch it. It was in that moment that we stumbled upon the pot of gold at the end of the perverbial rainbow, LA MEDIA PINTA. This paradise was equipped with adequate seating and even a back room with a projector. Viva Espana!!

This is the part of the story where the main characters again come into conflict. There was a group of Spanish guys sitting in the corner of said back room that were obviously mocking our enthusiasm of the game. I mean can you imagine going to Applebee's and seeing two foreign teenagers yelling at the television after a bad call in the Super Bowl? After ignoring them, it came to that point and I finally made eye contact. Like in any classic story, the ring-leader whom I challenged yelled, "FOR MANCHESTER?" Like a black bear in a honey store I ran over and embraced him in the international language of manhood, the high five!!

The game ended, we all cheered (Aaron jeered) and began singing the Spanish version of "We are the Champions!". On the way out the owner stopped us and invited us back every night to enjoy various festivities. He embraced us both as a father would his own children (and for once I was the older, more loved child because the owner, like in any classic story, was a ManU fan!) and wished us on our way, only to be stopped by more new amigos...

Being immersed in a culture is something that takes courage, fear, strength, and sometimes just dumb luck. Anyone that has lived or spent significant time abroad can attest to that and tell multiple stories to prove the point. I learned alot about life that night. I learned that becoming a man isn't about age, it is about having the courage to venture out and take a chance. Whether striking out or hitting a home run, you have to have the courage to step up to the plate and take the pitches.

When I got home that night, I thought alot about courage. I thought about my dad. My dad always used to push me to be the greatest, to "not be afraid to fail..." I always thought that he was wanting me to become a better center mid, point guard, quarterback, or short stop. I never knew he was teaching me things that would make me who I am today, the man I am today. See, he taught me to be a man, he taught me courage. Not just a jump shot in the driveway, a pass in the backyard, or how to stay cool when being harassed by an unruly fan or horrific referee, he was teaching me how to become a good man. He was teaching me to be able to fail and pull myself up and be better because of it. There is one thing you have to know about my dad, he is a good man, he is a courageous man. He is the Regional Manager...

Isn't it funny that sometimes we have to travel to the other side of the world to learn something that has been at home for so long?

Thanks dad, you are the man, and I finally get it.

¡Campeones!

Last night was one of the most fun and culturally exposing nights of the trip.

Manchester United won the Champions league last night, beating Chelsea in a shootout. You should know this if you have a pulse. Wait, you are Americans, you hate soccer, so this is probably worthless news that you now possess. You should feel enlightened.

I do not have computer access over the weekend, so don´t fall into massive (or manic) depression, things will continue on Monday with lots of exciting stories...

Oh, you want to know WHY it was so fun? Unfortunately, I am unable to tell the story due to time constraints...

(this way, you will check back after the weekend, I have to keep my audience captivated...)

Adjusting to My New Schedule

There has been lots of adjusting to my new schedule in Alcalá. Now that I have a routine, I figured it was time for a day in the life...

You think you know, but you have no idea. This is the story of Robby in Spain.

8:00- The alarm begins to whisper at me, barely waking me from the incredibly pleasant slumber that I was enjoying. This isn´t like at home when the alarm wakes up both my neighbors and the dog three buildings away, the ole Wal-Mart travel clock does just enough to wake me up with brutal annoyance! I proceed to drag my half asleep body to the bathroom to shower. Aaron is a better person than I am (as if that was in question) and gets up at 7:30 such that we can both shower. Everyone should be saying a blessing for Aaron right now.

8:22- MaMa makes us ¨coffee¨each morning with some muffins from the store. Why ¨coffee¨? I was spoiled as a child and my parents always made real coffee. This followed me to college where I make real coffee, my sister makes real coffee, and Starbucks makes real coffee. This ¨coffee¨is warm milk in a cup and a can of instant café on the table. If this taste doesn´t wake you up, literally nothing will, seriously.

8:31- Out the door on the way to the Universidad, these walks are a huge double edged sword. I really enjoy the morning walk and seeing everyone out, yet walking 25-30 minutes to class everyday is a definite adjustment. I drove to class at OU and walked maybe 3 minutes from the parking lot! This is, as previously discussed, a huge cultural difference and it has been a definite adjustment not being able to jump in the car!

9:02- Class starts. I really have enjoyed both classes, both are largely discussion based...

13:30- Classes end and we begin the trek back to the Apartment. Yes, this means that I am not eating until 2:00 in the afternoon. Talk about an adjustment, especially since I am a eating-all-the-time kind of person. A quick note on the cuisine: MaMa cooks three meals a day for us, and they all have been quite good. Everything from fish to pasta to soup, but it has all been good. I am extremely greatful. There are many students that are eating out alot, but thanks to MaMa, I am saving lots of money that I can spend on souvenirs for my mom (or something like that...).

14:40- Once again, beginning the treak back to school (yes, I am walking ALOT!) to appease all of my masses of fans with a new blog entry and to work on school work. Another huge adjustment for me has been not having 24-hour internet/television access. At home, checking email, weather, scores, er, everything is quite literally just a click away! Or better yet, no matter where I am the iPhone is a constant source of information. Having to walk the 25-30 minutes back to school to get on the computer, and having no access on the weekends has definitely been a difference!

17:00- Usually Aaron and I spend this time being Spanish and sit in the plaza and read, drink café, and people watch. Again, this is something that is totally different! At 6 or 7 in the evening, families in America are just finishing dinner and are sitting on their, um, bottoms, and watching television. It couldn´t be more different. Everyone is out walking or in the plaza playing, relaxing, talking. It is brilliant!


18:15- Time to head back to the Apartment for dinner! As you have figured out, we eat really late, and, as a result, everyone stays up later here. Can you imagine your parents, or there parents, staying up until 11 or 12 on a regular basis?? Exaclty.

The rest of the night depends. Most nights we have just gone and read for class the next morning. One night we went out and met a bunch of people from our group to hang out!

Isn´t life in Spain exciting!!


My desk and such in the Apartment...

My bed and nightstand. No that is not a standard OU issued XL twin, it is a Spanish XS twin!!

At the Supermarket

After my three hour long blogging session yesterday, Aaron and I decided to be very Spanish and go out to the Plaza and sit and enjoy the sun and a wonderful cup of cafè. It is amazing all the people you see out and about in Alcala, it is truly brilliant! Families, friends, old, young, the plaza doesn´t discriminate (Thankfully, because I was a serious tourist with my camera)!

After our time of relaxation and excellent conversation, we headed back to the Apartment for dinner. On the way back I had the brilliant idea of going to the ¨supermercado,¨a decision that would prove to slaughter my pride. I am talking Persians v. Greeks slaughter...

I needed a few things, so I walzted in like a saavy vet, picking up a few litres of water and some snacks. The food that MaMa serves is muy bien (that´s very good if you dont habla español), but sometimes at night I need a little comfort food. Obviously, Chips Ahoy was the cookie of choice (Truthfully, that was really the only thing that was recognizable to me. I do understand that the obvious choice are Gushers fruit snacks, but I had limited options). On the way to the register I remembered that I wanted to get some shampoo and body wash such that I didn´t have to waste my small, travel size packs. I am traveling for two weeks after I leave Madrid, I know, it makes sense now.

When arriving at the correct aisle (yes, I was a navagation machine in there, just call me Garmin--or TomTom...Like the plaza, I don´t discriminate!) I really felt pretty lost. All of the different choices. This was like deciding between suave, pert plus, and old spice, this was like deciding between I don´t know?, what is that?, and huh?. After seeing the Pantene Pro-V, I took it like a man and picked it up (Don´t worry, I am not wearing capris yet! Oh, and I did get the ultra-manly AXE body wash, ladies beware!). It was quite frustrating though, I was paying way too much for these "American Brands".

I finally made it to the register and turned to find Gilette on an end cap. ¨Yes,¨I thought, ¨My mom would kill me if I went 6 weeks without shaving!¨ But having already been suckered once by this place, I wasn´t going to pay the 7€ that the Gilette name demanded. So I looked up a shelf and found the perfect Spanish off brand. Robby-1 Supermarket-0 (the first two losses were just exhibition matches...)

We got home and I put all the stuff I bought on my bed and was beaming with pride! Language barrier, what?!?! I AM Rick Steve´s (I am copyrighting that phrase, marketing GENIUS!). So I put everything away and thought I would shower before dinner. Even better, I would surprise MaMa and shave. I got everything ready, went to the bathroom, razor in hand, pick up the shaving cream and--

DEODORANT??? WHAT!?! It has a shaving cream-esque picture and everything?!?!? How can this be true!!! Why was it in the shaving cream section with Gilette if it is aerosol deodorant!?!?

Aaron laughed, I wept.

Supermarket-1 Robby-0

USA vs. Spain, TOP 10!

We are introducing our soon-to-be craved top ten list today! Aaron and I have decided that one fun, albeit, HILARIOUS way to describe things are by doing a top ten list. I figure if Letterman can laugh and tell himself how funny he is after he does a top ten, I can say how funny it is before. I´m not in showbiz...

TOP TEN DIFFERENCES IN SPAIN:


10. Squeezing in at number ten is Paper. Paper? Yes, paper. Why (that is what you are thinking) paper? Ladies and gentleman someone forgot to send the 8 1/2 x 11 memo to these wonderful people across the pond. The copy paper here is a scoshe wider and like an inch and a half longer than NORMAL paper!! The insanity (imagine that being said by Marv Albert, if you don´t know who that is, er, Dick Vitale will suffice)!! Also, as Aaron so passionately says, there is no REGULAR, lined paper. It is all GRAPH PAPER!! Does it look like I want to take notes on little squares? No, I just broke into snob mode, I want regular COLLEGE RULED PAPER. Morale of this story, buy paper before you come to Madrid...

9. Cars, vehicles, autos, etc. I really hope you have a left foot and took your drivers test in a vehicle with a manual transmission. On my first night here, in the groggy, fog that was my state of mind, I was ¨communicating¨ with some local college students at a bar (don´t worry mom, bar here doesn´t have the same 'let´s get drunk' aura about it) and they couldn´t get enough of my automatic transmission tales from the US of A. Additionally, they are tiny, small, miniscule. 85% of the vehicles, nay 95% are little. Since 97.3% of statistics are made up, those exact numbers will do!

8. You don´t see backpacks, you see those one-shoulder thingies. I am serious, straight out of the JCPenney back to school catalog, they are huge here.

7. Kind of an extension from number 8, but slightly more awesome is the love of the pull-cart. Remember that kid in your highschool that used to ROLL his bag to school. Yes, the pull-cart is an invention sent down like manna from heaven. Since the locals walk everywhere (one guy said he drives 'maybe one in fifteen days') this is a wonderful thing for them. No shopping carts, no-sir-ee, we are sporting the brand new pull cart 2000, be jealous. Aaron and I carry our groceries, tear.

6. Mi Casa es su Casa, what a wonderful inviting phrase that we all learned in Spanish I in 6th grade. They lied. It should be Mi Apatemento es su Apartemento. Families live in Apartments. The apartment has definately been one of my favorite things in Espana, the family that occupies it is hilarious, but I will save those stories for later. When you walk around, you could almost mistake it for the slums or ghetto due to the immense number of apartment buildings, but do not judge, we love the apartment!!

5. No one is fat. They walk everywhere. (Don´t worry honey, I am slimming up JUST FOR YOU!)

4. Everyone in Europe is hip. Old, young, rich, poor, they all have a sense of serious fashion. Seriously, when walking around downtown Madrid, you could definitely tell the difference between the tourists and the locals, but not in the way that you think. Sure, there are the huge cameras and fanny packs-yes, the fanny pack is still a staple of the ignorant tourist-but they stick out because the locals are so well dressed! It is like they walked off the runway during Paris fashion week and just kept walking south. Brilliant!

3. Oh ya, if you haven´t noticed from my pulitzer prize winning journalism, they speak Spanish. I do hear all of my nay-sayers out there saying, ¨Robby, I am from Texas, that is normal!¨ That is a fallacy, you are from Texas, you are weird.

2. SIESTA! This has positive and negative implications. First, having a three hour naptime slash (I can´t find the slash on this crazy spanish keyboard) mealtime is amazing. We eat lunch with papa, mama, and sergio everyday at 2:00pm. It is great! Unfortunately, that means that every shop and restaurant owner is doing the same. So I really hope you don´t have any pressing engagement that requires a stop at the store!! On the bright side, almost everything is open until 10:00pm! So I got that going for me, which is nice...

1. When I wake up in the morning, I look outside and see what the weather is going to be like that day. If it is warm, ususally shorts and a t-shirt, if it is cool, jeans and a t-shirt. Here, the young, strapping men get up, look outside and say to themselves, ¨It really isn´t a shorts or jeans day, I am going to wear, er, um, BOTH!¨ This is true. Manpri´s dominate here. Is it bad that we wish we were cool enough to pull them off???

School Begins

Today is a school day. I know, you are all utterly confused! School? In the summer? The madness!?! Well, the only excuse I had to come to this wonderful place was to take some classes with the wonderful University of Oklahoma. Our classes, Business Strategy and Policy and International Business, are taught by two of our most esteemed faculty, Mark and Ana Bolino. The classes are taught in english (not like I would not have understood the español, hablar muchos, or something like that) and are two hours each day, Monday thru Thursday. Classes begin at 9:00 and end at 1:30 with a 30 minute break. Today was mainly intro and the second hour got into lecture, but I am confident that both classes will be exceptional! They are largely discussion based and have already proven to be quite interesting.

Ana and Mark both have extensive international backgrounds (Ana is a native of Romania and Mrak studied abroad in Madrd ¨back in the day¨ and has his Ph.d. in a related international business field) so teaching these courses are well within their comfort zones!

One note about the class room... If there were no windows, I think it would pass as a holding cell. Low ceilings with the industrial, centruy old woodwork overhead, it makes me appreciate our facilities at OU. Don´t get me wrong, nothing about it is uncomfortable, but it is nothing compared to our stadium seating, WI-FI, dual projector, DVD-CD classrooms in Norman!

Boomer Sooner!! (shameless plug, but you knew it was coming eventually!!)

Seasoned Vets

[Written Sunday, May 18]

Well, I think the term that Webster uses for feelings like these is ¨wow.¨

My fellow pond-hopper and roommate is named Aaron, he is exceptional. We met playing soccer and I talked him into the trip to Espana with me. As some of you may know, we are dominating life in the Apartment (more on that later, promise!).

As many of you know, I had the opportunity to live in China for a while during my senior year of high school. If you want to learn how to travel, go to Asia. I continue to use my well-learned travel skills (I NEVER got lost in Asia, ok, maybe I did, but my mom is reading this and their is no reason to alarm her!) today and Aaron and I decided to go on an excursion...

Aaron and I decided that since we had the day off on Sunday that we would be adventurous and figure out how to get to Madrid. Since neither of us were at orientation, this proved that it would be a challenge, but hey, we have pseudo college degrees and wear sunglasses so what is the big deal?

We left our Apartment and headed for the train station and made a ground-breaking discovery: the automatic ticket machines have an English option! After a short celebration we looked at a map (which was in Spanish, I said a celebration, not a party) and figured out that we needed to get off a Atocha. Tickets, check. Seats, check. Correct stop, check. Wow, we are really, really smart. Una problema, we were in a train station that was attached to the Metro station (that is a subway if you don´t habla español). Never fear, we were told by MaMa that we needed to get to ¨Sol¨, which is the center of downtown Madrid. So, with DaVinci Code-like grace, we deciphered the map and rode the subway to Sol. Check, check.

The city was brilliant. It was fascinating how the old architecture (we are talking 1600-1800) was mixed with the modern, one of our many observations [top ten list of differences is drafted and on the way...]. After many pictures and endless adventrues down alleys and tunnels, we made our way back to Sol.

We plan on revisiting Madrid multiple times before our tenure is up, why waste our truly amazing discovery of the Train (renfe) and the Subway (metro).

To Dance or not to Dance...

[Written Saturday, May 17th]

¨bale, bale, bale...¨ Just in case you were wondering, that is pronounced ¨BAH-lae¨, and is used probably used four or five times a sentence. No, that is not a joke or an exaggeration. Bale is simply used as ¨OK¨, but, you have no idea how confusing that was in the beginning. As professed by my encounter with ¨mama¨ the first evening:

I kept hearing everyone say it at the airport and I didn´t think anything of it, that is, until my host mother would not stop with the infamous BALE every other word. Then, to make things worse, she would end a sentence with ¿Bale? in the form of a question and just look at me. Finally, I was tired of the utter confusion and busted out the handy spanish to english dictionary [gracisas Rick Steves], my new best friend. I was a bit liberated, but still utterlty confused when I found BALIR, meaning to dance? Wait, that can´t be right... So like any red-blooded American I did a little jig that even Shakira would be proud of and exclaimed proudly, though nervously, BALIR!! ¨NO, NO,¨ said mama, ¨bale, umm [silence fell over the kitchen], OK?? Ah, bale simply means OK!!

My renaissance man status continues to rise...

Hola from Madrid!!

Well, I made it! After a seemingly boring 30 hours of traveling, I am in Espana! I am currently in an internet cafe in Madrid. As many of you know, I am living with a host family in Alcala de Heneres, which is about 40 minutes to the center of Madrid via the train and the Metro.

Where to start on life in Spain...

Since I am here in Madrid and still quite anxious to get out my camera and not read my map to roam about the city, I am going to keep this post short and keep everyone of the edge of their seats (since reading this is the most exciting thing that you are doing the next four weeks)!

It's a Waiting Game

Today everything is becoming more real.  Anyone who has ever traveled/studied abroad will tell you that with each new day, comes a bigger and bigger sensation that it is real- you are leaving the country.  Today is one of those days.  I am spending spring break in Colorado and spent this morning planning my time after the course at Alcala de Henares ends and I am incredibly excited.