Cultural Differences and a Treasure Hunt

Studying in a class full of international students certainly provides for some interesting conversations, especially when discussing our cultural differences. Two of my classmates even wear the Hijab in their patria of Tunisia in Northern Africa. We discovered that certain things are the same everywhere such as arguing to pay for the bill at a restaurant and bringing a bottle of wine to a dinner. We also discussed superstitions, and it appears that black cats, walking under a ladder, and breaking a mirror are universally considered bad omens... also universally-executed and proven false. In Tunisia, being crapped on by a bird is a sign of good luck. In most places, ravens mean death, expect for England where the people solute crows because they are a symbol of the monarchy. I hope they don't expect me to do this because there is no way will I solute those dirty winged-rats...

In Spain, manners and politeness are absolutely superfluous. In part, this is because the language has internalized many polite forms of speech and partly because they are just considered unnecessary. This catches many visitors off guard. Even forewarned, I was taken aback. When ordering food, waiters stride right up to your table and say dime or "tell me" without inquiring about your evening or listing the house specials. If you are not ready, do not expect him to ever come back. And when you are done, be sure to ask for the bill or you will sit there for an hour wondering how to pay, as I may or may not have experienced. My roommate Zach revealed in class that it bothered him that no one said "buenos dias" to him in the morning. Maria's reply was something to the tune of: "Ay, do you walk around saying "buenos dias" to everyone in the morning??? They must think you're crazy!" All the "pleases" and "thank yous" that we throw around just leave the Spanish wondering why we pollute conversation with unnecessary clutter. My mother must have taught me good manners, as I am finding it exceedingly difficult to shed these niceties in everyday interaction. Our house-mom Reme revealed that the Spanish aren't being rude so much as more sincere, and I actually find this straightforwardness refreshing.

Yesterday, a group of us went on a little adventure to find the lighthouse in Gijon. I already liked the idea of finding a lighthouse, but it turned out we were finding the lighthouse because it was a Geo cash. As usual, it turned out to be quite the adventure involving a wild bison/beast viewing and a wrong turn that landed us in a coal mine. The rest of the group decided to head back, but Shannon and Amy and I kept on, climbing a big hill and following the path out to the lighthouse. It was quite the tourist spot with a museum and some Roman ruins, but none of this seemed important compared to the treasure hunt.

For those of you who don't know, Geo cashes are special sites hidden all over the world with objects inside that people trade and take to the next site, which is really a beautiful idea that makes the world seem a lot smaller. Some of these objects are called 'travel bugs' meaning they have a website with all the places they have been and where they are trying to end up. Shannon had a piece of a bike she found in Portland that was trying to get to Italy. I was surprised how the thrill of the hunt affected us because even Amy and I were getting really into it and searching between all the rocks. It felt like quite the victory when we pulled away some rocks around the wall and found a Tupperware container full of random objects that people have left. Geocashes are VERY hard to find since they normally just have coordinates, so the victory was doubled.