Culture Clash

I wasn't planning on writing this often, but I already have so much to share. After my first tiring day walking through Madrid, I decided to take a siesta. I was sound asleep in my temporary room, when a large Spanish man and his wife walked in, shocked to find a little Chinese boy in the bed (think Goldilocks without the locks). Turns out he is my landlord, Francisco, and I was staying in a room that was supposed to be unoccupied and locked. Oops.

I moved all my belongings to another open room and attempted to converse with Francisco and his very Spanish wife. The first thing he says to me is: "So you are Chinese American." I said, "No, I'm actually half Japanese."

Cue culture clash #1

Francisco: "Oh, is there a difference between Chinese and Japanese?"

How do I respond to this? 'Um...yea...we are from different countries...'?

I had never faced a question like this in the U.S., so it was a bit awkward, but I managed to explain that you can often decipher someone's ethnicity by their last name--Japanese usually have multi-syllabic surnames like Umemoto, unlike shorter Chinese names like Kim, Chow, Tan, Ng, etc.

Later, after recovering from my traumatic awakening, I prepared to go out to the largest night club in Madrid, known as El Kapital. It is a majestic old, seven-floor theater that was converted into a dance club, complete with a different theme and music for each floor. I went with J.P., our Italian roommate, Walter, and Walter's two friends. We approached Walter's friends outside the metro station, and I quickly asked J.P., "What side do I go to first for the introductory cheek kisses?" Before he had time to answer, there were faces coming at me.

Cue culture clash #2

Naturally, I panicked. Which way to turn? Is right right? Or is left more European? I went left. The guy went right. Oh no! I jerked right to avoid the impending nasal collision, but he did the same. I jerked back left. He jerked back right. The situation was beyond reparable. Just when I thought things couldn't get more embarrassing, he exclaims "Easy now!"

I just about died. I'm sure that was the first of many future games of face tag. I'm not sure whether it's better to go in with confidence and risk the full-on make-out, or to go in hesitantly and risk the "easy now" embarrassment.

Although the night was off to a rusty start, it definitely improved by the minute. I managed to check my typical awkwardness and befriend Walter's buddies. They even invited me to join them on their daily runs! I may have lied and told them I can run fine for an hour straight...kind of like I lied about my ability to solve the Rubik's Cube in under 2 minutes when I registered for the world championships. I'll have to practice on both fronts.

My confidence speaking Spanish also improved drastically as the night progressed--and as my B.A.C. progressed. I was quite pleased with the libations, not to mention the churros y chocolate that we ate after leaving El Kapital. Let's just say I plan to frequent that chocolateria, wearing my sweatpants, at least once a day. Note to self: buy sweatpants.

The only thing I did not enjoy eating was the tic-tac offered by Walter's friend. He tried to convince me that it was ecstasy. Those of you who know me know just how gullible I am. Needless to say, I made everyone else try one before I did. It was definitely a melon tic-tac...or crappy ecstasy.

All in all, it was a great Saturday night. I woke up around 4pm on Sunday with either strep throat or a sinus infection. I am currently medicated and in bed.

Saludos,

Sachi

JP and me before heading out. Can you tell which is which?