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...
Feb 5, 2011
Middle Names
So my work email address automatically included my middle name, since legally that is my name. No choice there.
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!
---
---
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...
Oct 18, 2009
La cucaracha, La cucaracha...
So if my last post was about how cool it is to live downtown, I can now share with you a downside that I really had never even contemplated. Cockroaches. Those little bastards procreate faster than you can blink. Either that or my vision is going.
Since I'm living in an old house (one of my friends calls it "The Museum"), there is always a possibility that these little creatures crawl up through the old cracked wood structures until they find interesting places to hang out. Apparently my apartment is a somewhat popular hangout spot. People have told me that if I were living on the third or fourth floor, that I probably wouldn't have this issue. I guess cockroaches get tired of climbing that far.
Now it's not that I have thousands of cockroaches crawling all over the walls or anything like that. But it is true that once in a while I find a damn cockroach walking around in the kitchen, or on the floor. Now it is just second nature to kill them on the spot. But the point is, just KNOWING that I have cockroaches makes me feel like I'm not keeping my house clean enough. And I tend to consider myself a relatively clean person.
So now it's war!
I have repackaged any opened foods that are in the kitchen cabinets. For example, I have stored rice, pasta, etc in perfectly sealed plastic containers. It gives a nice OCD look to the kitchen.
I have cleaned out the fridge, just in case there was some remnant of a smell that is attracting them.
And then...the best part. I sprayed the whole house and almost intoxicated myself in the meantime. Closed all windows, sprayed every little nook and cranny...and then got the hell outta my house. Two days later I came back to the house to find approximately 20 dead cockroaches. It was like the Indian Trail of Tears...you could tell that they were dying in the kitchen and trying to escape the poison by going to the livingroom. Little did they know that Sarita had sprayed there too! Muah ah ah ah ah!!!
Much to my dismay, after all of this effort, I still see a cockroach every once in a while. I would say I see (and kill of course) 1 to 2 cockroaches per day. It's driving me insane. I don't know where they are coming from...and I swear I'm a clean person. I don't want to have people over at my house and all of a sudden see a freaking cockroach walking around!
So as I'm now losing my mind about this whole thing, I decided yesterday to re-caulk the entire kitchen and bathroom. Just in case there were cracks there. I know, stupid. But when you are desperate, you are desperate. I have also asked a friend of mine to bring me bay leaves from her little pueblo, since I have read that they hate the smell. I'm going to have bay leave potpourri in every corner possible...until the little damn cucaracha no puede caminar!!!!
Since I'm living in an old house (one of my friends calls it "The Museum"), there is always a possibility that these little creatures crawl up through the old cracked wood structures until they find interesting places to hang out. Apparently my apartment is a somewhat popular hangout spot. People have told me that if I were living on the third or fourth floor, that I probably wouldn't have this issue. I guess cockroaches get tired of climbing that far.
Now it's not that I have thousands of cockroaches crawling all over the walls or anything like that. But it is true that once in a while I find a damn cockroach walking around in the kitchen, or on the floor. Now it is just second nature to kill them on the spot. But the point is, just KNOWING that I have cockroaches makes me feel like I'm not keeping my house clean enough. And I tend to consider myself a relatively clean person.
So now it's war!
I have repackaged any opened foods that are in the kitchen cabinets. For example, I have stored rice, pasta, etc in perfectly sealed plastic containers. It gives a nice OCD look to the kitchen.
I have cleaned out the fridge, just in case there was some remnant of a smell that is attracting them.
And then...the best part. I sprayed the whole house and almost intoxicated myself in the meantime. Closed all windows, sprayed every little nook and cranny...and then got the hell outta my house. Two days later I came back to the house to find approximately 20 dead cockroaches. It was like the Indian Trail of Tears...you could tell that they were dying in the kitchen and trying to escape the poison by going to the livingroom. Little did they know that Sarita had sprayed there too! Muah ah ah ah ah!!!
Much to my dismay, after all of this effort, I still see a cockroach every once in a while. I would say I see (and kill of course) 1 to 2 cockroaches per day. It's driving me insane. I don't know where they are coming from...and I swear I'm a clean person. I don't want to have people over at my house and all of a sudden see a freaking cockroach walking around!
So as I'm now losing my mind about this whole thing, I decided yesterday to re-caulk the entire kitchen and bathroom. Just in case there were cracks there. I know, stupid. But when you are desperate, you are desperate. I have also asked a friend of mine to bring me bay leaves from her little pueblo, since I have read that they hate the smell. I'm going to have bay leave potpourri in every corner possible...until the little damn cucaracha no puede caminar!!!!
Sep 27, 2009
Downtown Girl
Living in downtown Madrid is amazing. Everything is in walking distance: good restaurants/tapas bars, museums, stores, and even more important, my close friends. Calling up a friend to go out for a quick bite to eat or chat over some wine is no longer a huge investment of time.
I'm living right in the heart of downtown Madrid. If I leave the door to my house, to the right I have Plaza Mayor, just one block away. To my left, you can reach the posh Plaza Santa Ana where everyone is dining in the outside terraces, perhaps about 3 blocks away. I enjoy my brief walk to the metro, which is my transportation mode to work. To give you an idea of what I see every morning on my way to work, here is a picture of Metro Sol with the famous Tio Pepe billboard behind it. Of course, this picture is taken at night, but it gives you an idea.
I'm living right in the heart of downtown Madrid. If I leave the door to my house, to the right I have Plaza Mayor, just one block away. To my left, you can reach the posh Plaza Santa Ana where everyone is dining in the outside terraces, perhaps about 3 blocks away. I enjoy my brief walk to the metro, which is my transportation mode to work. To give you an idea of what I see every morning on my way to work, here is a picture of Metro Sol with the famous Tio Pepe billboard behind it. Of course, this picture is taken at night, but it gives you an idea.
Aug 11, 2009
Cobblestone and buzz downtown
Downtown Madrid is so beautiful. Tiny, cobblestone streets with funky angles, people and tourists buzzing around at any hour, and above all -- tapas bars all over the place. It´s great to see old houses with their original architecture right next to small stores, both modern and ancient...wood framed windows and doorways and balconies all over the place. Sometimes it is good to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us every day.
May 24, 2009
How much does an American cost?
Apparently 50 euros!!!!
An "americana", in this case is not an American girl. It refers to a blazer.
What you are seeing is an ad for H&M fashion stores, and the "americana" has nothing to do with this girl's long legs, but rather the blazer that the guy is sporting.
Weird Translation
It's a good thing I can understand Spanish, because this sign is totally confusing in English.
It should say something like:
Every Wednesday after 4pm, excluding holidays or the eves of holidays, admission will be free for European Union citizens.
Apr 19, 2009
Semana Santa in Sevilla!
Manuel surprised me with a quick trip to Sevilla for semana santa (holy week). Sevilla is known for its semana santa celebrations, and I'm still in awe of the experience. The whole city seems to breathe and live for this week. I will have to post some more about it, but for now I wanted to share with you two videos (from my camera) of some processions that we saw there. Click on each one to watch them:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)