Upon our arrival, we felt a great desire to weave our way into the fabric of the city and culture of San Sebastian. Idealistic? Perhaps. We had researched the Basque region, culture and were feeling excited about practicing our Spanish and living here for 6 weeks. We promptly realized, however, that we were funny looking. People definitely noticed us. Not in a good or bad way, but just noticed.
And then we started to notice them too. To start, tight pants – really tight pants. Next, jewelry, the bigger the better. Color is good, in clothing and hair. And if you want to really be hip, your hair should short and jagged somewhere. Bangs are the minimum, but if you can do the whole head of hair that’s better. Or just go for a mullet, that’s really popular with the guys. If you’re sporty, you have a short mullet but pull it back in a small ponytail. And you wear spandex, that’s a must.
We realized that traveling is like re-living a bit of your adolescence. You want, in every way possible, to just fit in. And even though we hadn’t anticipated fitting in entirely, we thought we might fall between the classic American tourist and a die hard local. Turns out, we’re just different. Or Spaniards are different. But truth be told, we’re all different. And that’s why we’re here. We still feel a little cool when they don’t know if we need a French or English menu, but when push comes to shove we realize it’s just best to be us.
2 comments:
I remember Matty with a mullet...
Hi AMber and Matt. WE love your blog. Jean is here with me gardening- planting petunias for my birthday. The relay for lifers were just here. My peopnies narrowly ezcaped death by weeding. But the gossip was good. There was much drama on the 7th grade team. Amber- It reminded me of your middle school days. It's wonderful to be able to share your travel adventures on the blog. Eat some croissant and bread for me - but only from the best bakery.
Much love Lisa
Post a Comment