Reasons to miss the UK

Now I have been here just over two weeks, I would say I am starting to leave the "honeymoon period" behind.  Although I am still finding it very exciting to be living in Spain and I am discovering new things everyday, I am also realising there are some things I can only find in the UK.

1. Tea - For those of you who know me even a little, you will know that I LOVE tea! Preferably Tetley or Twinings English Breakfast, milk, no sugar. In Spain, even a kettle is hard to come by, so I can at least count myself lucky that we have one in our kitchen! However, this is where my luck ends.  Unless I spend about 4€ on 3 teabags of PG Tips or go and milk a cow so I don't have to use long life milk, I will have to do without for a while.

2. Tesco - The food in general is still something I cannot get my head around.  At first glance, my local supermarket looks just like the ones I am used to at home, but upon closer inspection, I find myself disappointed.  For example, as mentioned above, fresh milk can only be found in a tiny corner of the yoghurt section, and even then it is only sold in large bottles - not ideal for a single tea drinker. There are entire aisles dedicated to a mysterious substance called tomate frito, something to which I have not yet found the attraction, and there is not a Dolmio or Lloyd Grossman sauce in sight.  They don't sell even basic medication such as paracetamol, you have to go to a pharmacy. The fruit and vegetables are all loose and must be weighed and then labelled...apart from the potatoes.  You can only buy them in big bags, but I thought "it's ok because I can make mash." No. The Spanish culinary gods are laughing at me once again, for I have been unable to find a masher anywhere, apart from in El Corte Ingles (equivalent Debenhams or House of Fraser), which cost about 20€ and I refused to pay that.  So for now I'll have to make do with a big bag of spuds and a little fork.

3. TV - I could dedicate an entire post to Spanish telly and its weirdness, and I probably will, but that's for another day...It's entertaining enough, but at times, like nothing I've ever seen before.  There are a number of dubbed programs which I would normally watch in England, ie., Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Scrubs, Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, but it appears there are only 3 people working for 'the dubbing company', a man (to do ALL male voices in ALL shows), a woman (to do the same, for the female characters and also for the children) and the Indian man who does the voice of Raj in Big Bang Theory.  This past week has been the running of the bulls in San Fermin, so instead of watching the news on a morning, it has been 'San Fermin: Live' - a TV program which provides commentary on the events to come later in the morning, plus an update on the number of injuries sustained by the crazy people trying to outrun a load of angry bulls. I miss the BBC.

4. Hot Water - One of the main reasons for my writing this post.  The flat has not had hot water for a few days, since the boiler (la caldera - at least I am learning new words) is broken.  We had to wait until today (Monday morning) to call out the boiler fixer men, obviously, since we are in Spain and nothing happens on a Sunday or Saturday afternoon (see next point).  However, when I returned home today from the swimming pool in the 30oC heat, I was met with another very common word: the boiler will be fixed mañana. Of course.  At least I now have a very special relationship with the sink and the kettle.

5.  Sunday Shutdown - If you go out on a Sunday afternoon, the only place you will find people is the Plaza Mayor (as mentioned in a previous post).  Elsewhere, the streets, which are normally rammed, are deserted, all shops are closed and shuttered up.  Popping out to get some bread (or anything at all) is not an option - I think I see more people on a Saturday morning at 5am after a night out than on a Sunday.  Although I shouldn't complain, it gives me an excuse not to do anything all day!


I'm still enjoying myself, promise! There are also a lot of aspects to the Spanish way of life I am preferring, and I plan to tell you all about those too, eventually...