Oct 9, 2011
Vermouth in Madrid
My fave vermouth bar in madrid, in chueca district
Mar 13, 2011
Back in "Espain"
Aaaah you have to love the Southern European culture. Loud conversations so that everyone else can hear one another and compete for the loudest voice, a disorganization that somehow flows and works because everyone expects it, coffees are recognized as higher priority than anything else (thank god for that)...
Being in London was fun, although I felt reminiscent of my own culture and yet somehow felt as though I am half Spanish now...somehow I am in both cultures and I'm not sure how to rectify that. Or if it should be rectified. In any case, I'm now home in Madrid and the sun is out / it almost seems as though spring is here! I'm happy to be back home where beer and food isn't expensive, where the weather is pleasant, and the people are curious about your wellbeing!
Being in London was fun, although I felt reminiscent of my own culture and yet somehow felt as though I am half Spanish now...somehow I am in both cultures and I'm not sure how to rectify that. Or if it should be rectified. In any case, I'm now home in Madrid and the sun is out / it almost seems as though spring is here! I'm happy to be back home where beer and food isn't expensive, where the weather is pleasant, and the people are curious about your wellbeing!
Mar 5, 2011
UK train v Spain train experience
My first few minutes at Heathrow airport and I'm already in culture shock...
1. Silence in a full room! Odd!
Nobody yelling? In fact the Spaniards and Italians stick out like a sore thumb due to their bountiful voices
2. The guy on the intercom was so nice as to announce someone lost their ticket
3. Sitting down on the train, everyone sits by the window so as to allow others to sit by them
(In Spain since everyone prefers the aisle, they always sit down at the aisle and make everyone else jimmy into a window seat. I've even noticed this at the movie theaters)
--- Sara June
Mar 1, 2011
Smoker's section
Nice adhoc way of putting together a "legal" smoking section right outside the restaurant.
A sign that Spain is dealing with the new law, slowly but surely!
Feb 5, 2011
Middle Names
So my work email address automatically included my middle name, since legally that is my name. No choice there.
Fortunately all of the Spaniards find it "cute" and now I have quite a few people calling me "Sara Chuun". My boss in particular tells all of our partners that I'm so advanced I'm "Sara July". I'm now calling him "agosto". He is more advanced than me, after all...
Oct 20, 2010
Resisting "the man"
The artwork says "Tomorrow I won't work... And what then?"
Art with an attitude.
Sara Lindgren
Social Products Marketing
Vodafone Spain S.A.U.
+34 610510993
Oct 14, 2010
Hasta Luego!
Hasta luego, hasta luogo, hasta logo (sometimes the pronunciation sounds like that)...you hear it allll the time here.
Getting off an elevator - hasta logo
Leaving a waiting room - hasta logo
Leaving the bathroom!!!
And when you get off the bus, you don't say "gracias" to him...noooo! You say....HASTA LOGO!!!!
Sara Lindgren
Social Products Marketing
Vodafone Spain S.A.U.
+34 610510993
Getting off an elevator - hasta logo
Leaving a waiting room - hasta logo
Leaving the bathroom!!!
And when you get off the bus, you don't say "gracias" to him...noooo! You say....HASTA LOGO!!!!
Sara Lindgren
Social Products Marketing
Vodafone Spain S.A.U.
+34 610510993
Jul 24, 2010
Summers and Siestas
I now understand why siestas exist. It´s because Summer is so damn hot that your body literally needs to recharge. The heat in Madrid is insane. I leave my house around 7.45am and while waiting for the train, I realize I´m already sweating!
Fortunately we have a reduced work schedule during the summer months whereby we leave work by 3:30pm to go home and have lunch.
UNfortunately, I have no air conditioning at home! It would be better to eat lunch at work with air conditioning than to be in my hellish hot oven of a house! But you eat a bit of food and lay down on the sofa and VOILA! Siesta! OLÉ!!!
Fortunately we have a reduced work schedule during the summer months whereby we leave work by 3:30pm to go home and have lunch.
UNfortunately, I have no air conditioning at home! It would be better to eat lunch at work with air conditioning than to be in my hellish hot oven of a house! But you eat a bit of food and lay down on the sofa and VOILA! Siesta! OLÉ!!!
Feb 15, 2010
You know you've lived in Europe too long...
When you order a donut and eat it with a fork and knife. Sigh. Guilty!
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Jan 10, 2010
White Winter in Madrid
The three wise men came on January 6th and brought Madrid colder weather, and along with it came the rain and then snooow!!! It seems that this year we are getting more snow this winter than we did last year. But then again, I'm a wuss; it's completely possible that I have a post-traumatic-stress disorder by which I have purposefully forgotten the trauma (the cold weather) I felt last year...
After the holiday season (Christmas, NYE, and the Wise Men), the biggest sales are on. So yesterday my friend and I courageously braved the cold to go and conquer as many sales racks as possible. 6 hours later, our feet were frozen, we no longer could see our bags (nor our feet) beyond all the clothing we were covering our face with. I even had bought a scarf - on sale of course - and took it out of the bag so I could wear it! Either way, these mid-year sales are worth it.
For those of you who live in the US - it may be difficul to fathom that a country only has sales twice per year. It's the truth, I swear. In the US, there are sales almost every weekend. On the one hand this is great, as a consumer you can find great deals all year long. On the other hand, it teaches many consumers to just go on the weekends or wait for the next sale. Poor companies. Poor capitalism...
After the holiday season (Christmas, NYE, and the Wise Men), the biggest sales are on. So yesterday my friend and I courageously braved the cold to go and conquer as many sales racks as possible. 6 hours later, our feet were frozen, we no longer could see our bags (nor our feet) beyond all the clothing we were covering our face with. I even had bought a scarf - on sale of course - and took it out of the bag so I could wear it! Either way, these mid-year sales are worth it.
For those of you who live in the US - it may be difficul to fathom that a country only has sales twice per year. It's the truth, I swear. In the US, there are sales almost every weekend. On the one hand this is great, as a consumer you can find great deals all year long. On the other hand, it teaches many consumers to just go on the weekends or wait for the next sale. Poor companies. Poor capitalism...
Dec 21, 2009
Holy snow batman!!!
I woke up this morning, left my house without even opening up the blinds, and damn it there was snow all around!
Walked to the metro station like I always do, made it to my train- all good so far. Then I get out of the train station, which is in the north of Madrid, only to find out that the shuttle bus that normally picks me up from the train station COULDNT get there because the streets were all blocked off.
So following a line of people, we walked to the nearest public bus station and waited for the bus...in the rain and snow. By the time I got to work, 2 hours had passed by, I could no longer feel my feet and almost fell down three times on the slippery ice. FUNNNN
Walked to the metro station like I always do, made it to my train- all good so far. Then I get out of the train station, which is in the north of Madrid, only to find out that the shuttle bus that normally picks me up from the train station COULDNT get there because the streets were all blocked off.
So following a line of people, we walked to the nearest public bus station and waited for the bus...in the rain and snow. By the time I got to work, 2 hours had passed by, I could no longer feel my feet and almost fell down three times on the slippery ice. FUNNNN
Nov 29, 2009
Christ was 33!
So I have read my share of the Bible, but I sure as heck didn't know that he was 33 when he died. How did I find out?
Because my coworkers asked me how old I was this last birthday, and when I told them they smiled and said, "Oh just like Christ". It was so odd to hear them react this way...first associating my birthday with Christ, not to mention that it was specific to the age he died (a bit morbid I thought). Apparently it's a nice thing and people like to recognize it.
Because my coworkers asked me how old I was this last birthday, and when I told them they smiled and said, "Oh just like Christ". It was so odd to hear them react this way...first associating my birthday with Christ, not to mention that it was specific to the age he died (a bit morbid I thought). Apparently it's a nice thing and people like to recognize it.
Nov 11, 2009
No more smoky bars!?
So apparently there might be a new law introduced (for the second time in fact) that bans smoking in public places, such as bars and restaurants. HALLELUJIAHHHH!!!!! This will be amazing if it actually works! No more airing out your clothes once you get home so that in two days they no longer smell like smoke.
Note---The first time apparently the Spaniards rebelled until the law was deemed a "flexible suggestion", which now means all the tapas bars remain smoky as hell.
Read more about the new non-smoking laws
To give you a perspective, today I went out for lunch with three coworkers, one of which is 6 weeks pregnant. After the three-course meal (yes, this is on a workday), two of the gals got out their cigs and began smoking. Being a California, I practically wither away at second-hand smoke, but I was really surprised that nobody seemed to care that they were smoking in front of our pregnant coworker...
Note---The first time apparently the Spaniards rebelled until the law was deemed a "flexible suggestion", which now means all the tapas bars remain smoky as hell.
Read more about the new non-smoking laws
To give you a perspective, today I went out for lunch with three coworkers, one of which is 6 weeks pregnant. After the three-course meal (yes, this is on a workday), two of the gals got out their cigs and began smoking. Being a California, I practically wither away at second-hand smoke, but I was really surprised that nobody seemed to care that they were smoking in front of our pregnant coworker...
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