I guess the first thing I HAVE to mention is the weather. Now I was told by (many) people who'd studied here before about the rain in Santiago, but a little part of me always hoped that they were just exaggerating. When we arrived it was so warm and sunny, so all these people just had to be making it up (not like they'd spent time here themselves or anything...) A couple of weeks in it did start to rain, but it soon went and left us with some glorious sunshine; it was almost like we were, dare I say it, in the south!
HOWEVER. This is almost 5 weeks later and I have to say rain, you play a tough game. I surrender!! *waves white flag*. It seems you're here to stay for a while so there's nothing else for me to do except put on my 'mac-in-a-sac' (not attractive in the slightest but oh so useful), pull on my welly boots and brace myself for the monsoons which so conveniently decide to start just as I leave the house. Oh, and buy myself another umbrella, since you so very kindly decided that I didn't one this morning and so broke my other one clean in two. Rain 1-0 Carys.
An aspect of Santiago which I find appealing is that it's not like 'normal' Spain in the slightest. Think Spain and you think flamenco, bulls or 'sun sea & sangria', but you'll find none of those here (well, maybe sangria .. quite a lot of it actually). I find Galicia to be very similar to Wales - not just because of the rain, but many other things actually:
- The landscape - Santiago is very green; although there are a lot of buildings/shops/flats, there are also a lot of parks which are lovely, and were perfect to spend time in during those first few weeks when we had nice weather ('Alameda' is especially beautiful). Even though Santiago is a city, sometimes I really do feel as if I'm living in the countryside, as if I were at home. Surrounded by plenty of nature and greenery .. Although sadly, no sheep.
- The sense of identity - Here, the Galician language, 'Gallego', is especially prominent; like Welsh, you'll find it on road signs, in shops/restaurants and will often hear it spoken on the street. At first, it took some adjusting to and whenever I didn't understand something someone was saying I always put it down to "must have been speaking in Galician". But now, it's a lot easier to recognise and I thiiiiink I might even understand it a little bit! (As a linguist this makes me very happy - I live a sad life, I know). A lot of bars/restaurants also play live Galician music, which makes for a great night out as you can really get involved by dancing, or even singing too if you're brave enough! Galicia has a completely different culture to 'normal Spain', which I definitely think is reflected in everyday life here.
- The Galician's like to talk. A lot. I don't know if it's just the people I've met but everybody here seems so chatty! Whether it's in lectures, on the bus or in the supermarket, people here like a good old natter. I always thought that being able to strike up a conversation with anybody, anywhere was always just a Welsh thing but it looks like we have some competition!
As for the food ... Well, it's just out of this world. Ok, so there are several things from home which they don't have here - BUT SO freakin' WHAT. Don't get me wrong, I could list a lot of things which, yeah ok would be nice now and again - roast dinner, cawl, dairy milk - but then I just think that there's also plenty of things here that we don't have at home, which I just HAVE to make the most of while I'm here. Like churros for example; churros, taken straight from the churros maker, dipped into a cup of some thick hot chocolate ... Absolute heaven on earth. Also tetilla (or 'tit cheese', as I will call it from now on), which is lush when served with honey or 'membrillo' (I think the English translation for this is 'quince'?) Ooh and Carrefour's chocolate muesli ... that's some pretty tasty cereal right there.
Legendary 'Valor' churros
Ok so I think I've babbled enough ... Apologies for the lengthy post!
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