20 - Storytelling: generation Y.

"A Millennial is the name given to the generation born between 1982 and 2004. The Millennial generation follows Generation X in order of demographic cohorts. This generation is often associated with technology and social media. Also known as Generation Y."

Millennial Definition by Investopedia

I´m only 31-I was born in 1985- but let me take on grandma´s role and recall some stories.

One of my friends was born in India but he left his country after his undergrad studies, looking for a better and independent life. He succeeded and settled in Western Europe years ago. Publishing, editing, surfing and listening to house music is all what he needs to be happy in his new home country. You cannot guess where he is from by his features and everytime he travels to India he is hardly recognised by the local people. Let alone, he doesn´t master the local languages! A paradox: feeling like a stranger in your country and feeling like at home in a strange land.

My example number two is originally from Spain, but she has lived in North America for many years. She was a nice girl, but everytime I chatted with her I came to the same conclussion: she was depressed most of the times, neither happy with her studies nor with her personal life. I felt bad for her, but there was not much I could do, to be honest. After nearly 10 years living in yankiland I can assure that America is the right fit for her. Despite the lack of many values, Americans are positive by nature and lovers of second chances. No, she doesn´t have any plan to stop leaving her personal American dream, and I wish her the best.

He was born in Mumbai, and he moved to Europe years ago to take a Master's Program that helped him to find his current job in a very important bank. He is very much supported and loved in India where his relatives and childhood friends praise his professional success, but there is no way he would move back to India for good. He still loves cricket and basmati rice, but he doesn´t plan to marry an Indian woman nor to leave aside the land that taught him how to drink beer like a pro - unless the Brexit takes its toll.

Those lives are not exhilarating, not even stimulating models to follow. It was not my intention to entertain you like motivational speakers/writers do. I just wanted to present some ordinary lives of millennial expats that live happily in this ordinary, globalised world of ours. Because to me, the extraordinary is that we survive to the ordinary. 

19 - London pride.

My love for London cannot be hidden -although I can easily hide myself in London-. However, I know that for most people it is a love/hate relationship. Foreign people has it as a favourite short-term holiday destination, being considered a vibrant place, full of life and culture and beauty. On the other hand, I feel that many British have a sense of anti-londonism because their capital turns out to be anything but British. Quite a paradox.

The city of the anonymity, home of Jack the Ripper, afterwork pub culture, markets, tattoes and piercings, Erasmus parties, high heels and tight dresses, double decker buses, free entry museums and, of course, the mist and the rain.

In August I had the chance to visit the Museum of London with my Spanish friends and, at times, by myself walking at my own pace. I could then experience and carefully "taste" the reproductions, drawings, audios, videos and stories that the museum offers to the attentive visitor. 
I certainly have my own thoughts and favourite quotes about London. However, I feel the urge to remember and to write down what different people have previously said about the city, which was exhibited in the museum. 

Here are the top ones:

She swarns with people of all ages, natures, sexes callings... She seems to be a glutton, for she desires always to be full. (Donald Lupton, London and the country Carbonadoed, 1632)

London never stands still. Buildings rise and fall. Its character evolves. The choices Londoners made in the past affect us all today - just as our choices will help shape London´s future. (Panel from museum of London)

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. (Samuel Johnson, 1777)

I still think the parade of peoples and colours and tongues just about the best thing in London. (Glynn Roberts, 1933)

'(...) That I love London so
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner
That I think of her wherever I go
I get a funny feeling inside of me
When walking up and down (...)
(Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, Hubert Gregg, 1947)

(...) I love dis great polluted place
Where pop stars come to live their dreams
Here ravers come for drum and bass
And politicians plan their schemes (...)
(The London Breed 1988. Benjamin Zephaniah)

18 - Keep calm, you are British.

The British have always fascinated me. Why, I don't know, because there is nothing really special about them. Maybe because they are backed up by a very long and exciting history and tradition or because their culture was the first I discovered in depth in my life. (By the way, the Americans don´t have as much to offer with regards to history, but they are second on my podium of liking).

For many years, I have been thrilled to read books and essays about the British culture and educated myself about their way of living, behaving and speaking. I´m currently reading "The English. A field guide", written by Matt Rudd. He presents the different scenarios of the life of a British person and it turns out to be entertaining and informative , but it´s not exactly my cup of tea. A similar book I enjoyed from beginning to end was "Watching the English. The hidden rules of British behaviour", Kate Fox, which I found hilarious and very useful for my general knowledge. Other books I´d suggest for further reading are "English Hours", a classic from one of my favourite writers, Henry James, and "Notes from a small island". The latter is worth a read! It was written by Bill Bryson, an American author who lived in Great Britain for twelve years and narrates his cultural shock when he first set foot there.

This is me in Playa Las Canteras, LPG.

However, there is no better way to know the British than doing what they do and enjoying what they like. Like the famous proverb states: "when in Rome, do as the Romans do". And so I did.

Sharing household and driving along the same motorway (my heavens, we are driving left!), making my way along the dodgy streets of Hackney Wick as well as the solitary roads of Newton-le-Willows, enjoying exclusive English tea in Fortnum & Mason and mulled wine in Shropshire, playing hockey and wagering money on horse races, complaining about anything and everything and praising the sun if i was lucky to see it in action, watching Dragon´s Den and turning on the option of subtitles for American movies. All those experiences helped me to understand the British. Wait, no!! To adjust to them, because there are certain things that are beyond my Spanish mind.

Carpeting the bathroom is something really out of the question.
Stripping off when they see the slightest bit of sun is kind of drastic.
Saying sorry so many times that it is no longer an apologizing gesture, but a national tic, is very sad.
Being so famous for beer drinking, but being unable to come up with the brilliant idea of serving smaller glass sizes at the pub.
Saying something and meaning a completely different thing, messing around with the foreigner. "You alright?", but they don´t give a damn about you. "Goodbye darling", but they didn´t, don´t or won´t ever love you. "It´s fine. Quite good. It´s nice", but they mean it couldn´t be worse.

Oh well, it is not easy to make your way in the world of the British, but I still love them. And I will continue learning from them and sometimes... making fun of them.

Despite all our differences, they have always treated me well in their own country, during my University years, my business travels and my crazy adventures. So I should do the same in this little island I´m settled in now, where very frequently, English speakers try to find their way to communicate with the Spanish local.

Cheers! (Thanks for reading!)

* I am very aware that Britain, or Great Britain is not equal to England, but I hope you do not get hurt if I use the term British and Britain to refer to the English and England

17 - Madrid, I miss you too.

A friend sent this to me when I was packing, ready to move far away from Madrid. Great idea if you want your friend to shed tears around the room. 

All capital cities put a spell on us, including Madrid. 

I have always loved to explore off-the-beaten-track areas. The dirty and tiny bars, the green spots to lay and get a sun tan, the narrow streets in the city centre, the parks, the viewpoints to admire the city skyline at dawn... How many times have I taken my “guiri” friends or strangers to all those hidden gems and shared with them my tips and secrets about this city that has adopted me for thirteen years? So many. And I will always be grateful to heart to Madrid and its dwellers (despite what is said about the Madrileños, that they often look down on people).

With this idea in mind, I started thinking about the perception that I keep of the city from my perspective as a Spanish person not born in the capital, and also about the impression that people from other nationalities who have lived here have.

It is very interesting to give voice to those who have no previous deep knowledge on a certain culture and local customs, and ask them to share their impressions after a few months.

Therefore, I chose a small group of young Americans I met in Madrid some years ago while they were doing an exchange program and coming to the city for their very first time. 

I asked them to share with me some negative and positive features that they would highlight about their experience in Madrid -first thing that would come to their minds withouth over thinking. 

Therefore, four American college students are given the opportunity to travel to Madrid during a semester to get to know the culture, the language, the people, etc. Nowadays, they are immersed in the American culture again.

The automatic thought that brough them back to their time in Madrid had the following results/reviews.

1) Positive- amazing city, friendly people, so much to explore/see/do. Awesome nightlife, great food, and fantastic public transportation both in the city and to outer areas.

Negative- Madrid is expensive! Also, based on my time there, there were a lot of demonstrations/strikes.

2) Positive- how clean and easy the metro was to use around the city.

Negative-  how difficult it was for me to find peanut butter.

3) Positive- I loved going to intercambios to practice my Spanish. This was one of my favorite experiences, and it helped me to meet many friends.

Negative- I’m not a party-scene person, so it was difficult adjusting to the late-night start of the bars/discos. I prefer going out for a drink and going home by 11 at night, which is when a lot of the parties begin.

4) Positive- I loved how easy it was to get around the city. Exploring every neighbourhood, getting lost on the way but discovering places, food, bars was the best part of my time in Madrid.

Negative- I had a hard time finding food I really loved. Mostly because I love spice and Spanish food is much more mild than what I'm used to.

16 - Hot topic: religion and culture.

Everyone knows how the railway system works in England; delays, works, cancellations...

Recently, I got a ticket from Paddington station to Canterbury and 'surprisingly' my train was delayed, and delayed... again and again for about an hour. Fortunately, those 3600 seconds allowed me to analyse the other commuters that were also expecting the right departure time to show up. All of a sudden I was surrounded by burqas, niqabs, hijabs, kippahs, tallits, saffron clothes, and probably many hidden crosses.

I am aware that nowadays religion is a hot topic like politics and age; avoided in general. However, I realized at that time how much it is closely related to the topic of culture, and how it actually helps to understand it deeper. Knowledge on religion is also important regardless of whether we personally think it has played a positive or negative role. Religion takes place in history, shapes minds and even has an effect on how people approach each other. Even though God´s effect on human´s lives and minds has been pushed aside when it comes to understanding countries and individuals, we indeed need to keep in mind the roots and religious beliefs. Whether you like it or not, it is necessary to measure and understand today's culture by doing research on the history and faith that certain groups have professed, and the impact that those values have on our daily lives. Morality, Ethics, Philosophy, Law, Religion, etc.

In such a diverse society and global world where one doesn´t have to travel to Rome to find a Catholic church or travel to Jerusalem to come across a synagogue, it is essential to understand and be informed about religion and its traditions.

By ignoring religious education, the new generations will be unable to understand the motives behind Gandhi´s actions, nor analyse in depth the “Pietá” of Michelangelo, appreciate the magnificence of Notre Dame in Paris neither understand the importance of the Parthenon for the Greeks and the spiritual impact of the Egyptian pyramids. Of course, they will not understand a thing about the “Divine comedy” of Dante, nor Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol”.

15 - Knowledge and experience.

Two images. Two meanings.
Two words working together or separately.

Pay attention and draw your own conclusions.

And then, maybe, take action.

14 - Me and the metro.

Soon I will be moving to a place with no underground system whatsoever. There will be many other differences I will notice there but, to be honest, I will profoundly miss the metro. I love this sticky, crowded, smelly, noisy means of transport. Are you looking for an adventure? Do you need a storyline to write about? Do you feel lonely? Do you want to laugh out loud? Are you a trend hunter? Travel by metro and the ride will cover all your needs.

Actually, OMG, the initial idea of the blog came to me and has been written during my daily metro trips to and from work, which means that I will need to find new ways of inspiration in the new city...

When I turned 18 I moved to the big city: Madrid. After unpacking all my stuff during a terribly hot day in July I decided to spend my first day following a self tailor- made route as if I were on a hop-on, hop-off tour of the city. I was excited to use such an accessible transport and be able to discover so many diverse parts of the capital of Spain. I had an incredible day exploring on my own every corner from the eyes of a local and a 'foreigner’ at the same time – until I got a fine because I had purchased the wrong ticket…
Since then, during my rides I have watched improv shows, concerts of all genres and make up live sessions. I have witnessed love-hate dramas, booze episodes, thefts, family rows, compliments, jokes, embarrassment. I think all of us could write a whole book with what our eyes of commuters have seen and our ears have heard.

The metro in Madrid has witnessed my graduation at university, my becoming a woman, my first steps of my career. My fears, my loves and my tears. Thirteen years full of adventure. I will miss you, my travel buddy.

Since my very first contact with the metro in Madrid, I have got to know many cities and its people by its means of transportation.
I was told that Budapest has the first electric underground line in Europe, and I indeed suffered from this old system when my foot was caught by the automatic doors.
Vienna has a clean and sophisticated underground, a reflection of the valuable architecture that this city has to offer to the traveler.
Being such a crowded and extensive city, Paris has a tangled mess system of lines where no printed metro maps are provided for free, despite the high rate for a single ride.
My expectations on the subway in New York were high, being so present in the movies and being such an important part of the American pop culture! I felt happy inside the yellow wagons as if I were J. Lo from the Bronx. Old but authentic as it is. I was disappointed not to find a vending machine outside every station. How am I supposed to legally enter the station if the machine is located inside the barrier? I also noticed that if you take the subway towards the wrong direction, it is impossible in some stations to cross to the other side without going out and paying again. Besides that, I love to have that experience on me.

Considering how small the city of Lisbon is, I was quite happy with the wide platforms. Very neat, cheap and easy to find your way around even if you don´t speak the language.
I don´t remember using the underground in Amsterdam where cycling seems to be the fastest and most eco-friendly means of transport, but I do have the Berlin metro sound stuck in my mind. The same sound effect that the techno music producer Paul Kalkbrenner used in one of his well known albums.
Regardless how many times I have been in different parts of Italy, I must admit that I lack the knowledge of its underground culture. I guess I always went for the tram, so I could admire the beautiful architecture of this country.

However, there is one and only underground in the world with a proper name: the London Tube, partially closed down during weekends and terribly crowded at rush hours. An insane maze of lines that can coincide within the same platform. My advice: mind the gap and watch the screens carefully. Drastically small, annoyingly touristy but full of history and stories. It should be the eighth wonder of the World.

Last but not least, I invite you to watch one of my fav videos from Sesame Street to finish this short story about my perception on the metro system.

I hope you enjoy it!

13 - Esta es la vida del sueño errante: living in a foreign land

A perspective on cross cultural relationships.

 It is a complex situation that, unlike our parents and grandparents, we have to face. Living in a globalised world where travelling is accessible to anyone, affordable to virtually any pocket and study abroad programs are so popular, people are more and more used to have cross cultural relationships of any type.
I guess, dear reader, that you have also attended one of those language courses in another country (let's say England, for instance) where people from all over the world gather together to improve their English skills. It can be indeed the most enriching and the funniest experience of your entire life. It is like personalizing one of those jokes: 'A Spanish, a French and an Italian enter a British pub... ' and you can easily guess that one of those cultural misundarstandings will happen next.

Among international groups slip-ups are expected on a regular basis, but cultural differences must be accepted. Nobody gets hurt or rather everyone becomes more understanding when in an strange land for everyone (let's say London, for instance) Americans use their hands to eat chicken, the Spanish speak loud on the bus, the Indians cook funny scented meals, the Japanese sniffle in public instead of blowing their noses… In such a melting pot where international people live together facing the same cultural shock but from their own perspective, cross cultural differences are better understood as a matter of social justice.

 The major problem arises as soon as a narrow- minded native joins the international- cultural exchange, unaware and even intolerant towards everything differing from his own language and beliefs. Needless to say, I have many native American and British good friends. We only communicate in English and they are understanding if I make a cultural or grammar mistake, since it's me making a big effort for the sake of our friendship. But this has not always been the case for everyone.

 I wish, dear dominant native figure laying on your comfortable sofa at home, that you would experience how it feels to live in a foreign country, how it sounds to have feelings but never be able to find the right words to express them, how it feels to wake up every morning looking at an unfamiliar sky, how it sounds to be asked for legal identification wherever you go, how it feels to be in real need of friends because many people speak but not so many are eager to listen, how it sounds to notice you cannot follow the jokes and people have no time to explain them to you so there is no laughter in your life anymore…

I wish you put on the shoes of the immigrant in your country, walk a mile, or a thousand, and then, kindly, open your door widely.

12 - Happy Fourth of July!

I wish I were in New York City right now… or in Boston, like my sister.

Globalization grants us permission to celebrate this big day in any country outside the United States of America. Even though the differences are remarkable, indeed, many will head to the store Taste of America to purchase the ingredients to prepare an “Independence Day recipe”, to inspire the patriotic spirit. Others, myself included, will participate in one of those events in which the red, blue and white will mark the appearance of the participants. The biggest event on the American calendar cannot be forgotten by the lovely Spaniards, who give shelter to hundreds of Yankees (colloquial term used in Spain to define someone from the Northern part of the US) every year.

Who wouldn’t resist living the American dream for one day with a Spanish twist?

Having praised the American super big holiday I must add that Spaniards have fourteen days off per year, in addition to the government-stipulated holiday period of twenty-two days. Nobody knows how to celebrate our traditions like we do. One will definitely find less flags, very few red and yellow t-shirts and no Spanish National anthem in the streets. However, the visitor won´t be disappointed by our folk music, sangria and tapas, beautiful traditional costumes, popular games, delicious pastry, etc...

I would like to mention the event held on my birthday, 24th June, at midnight: the bonfires of Saint John (Hogueras de San Juan). It is a popular festival that takes place during the shortest night (23rd) and continues during the longest day of the year (24th) to welcome the Summer´s solstice. During St John´s eve fireworks illuminate the sky and bonfires the earth. The experience gets even more intense when the clock strikes twelve, just before the music resonates in our ears, the brave young people gather together to jump over the bonfires. Such an heroic deed has a purifying symbolism, burning the problems away, although I have always done it for the thrill of my birthday party. 

We Spaniards make a big deal of all our celebrations, being a core element of our culture. Make sure, then, not to miss them if you come along to my country! At any time of the year there will always be something going on!

11 - Ode to America

America, I love and hate you. What are you really like? Certain loves are
poisonous, yet one cannot or is not able to give them up. I can't make up my
mind about you as I have fallen for you.

My youth was spent learning about your not very long historical past and
present, your motivations, your geographical lines, your heroes, your humour, your body language. I dedicated you my career by sending you the greatest treasure of my homeland, our children, so that you might fill any gaps in their make up by encouraging and fostering
enthusiasm in their upbringing. Like a protective mother I hid your flaws
whenever foreign lands attacked you. I cried myriads of tears over your
honour, showered you with kisses like a lover, and put all my trust in this
long distance friendship.

I am aware of your jealousy due to the fact that I paid too much attention
to my neighbour Britain. Yes, that constant big whinger. I cannot
deny that it really captured my heart with those grey skies, brick
buildings, inspirational stories, acres and acres of green land, polite
manners and precise, clear accents. Being close by, London was always there
when I needed it. After all I could only contact you on my sleepless nights
since the moon closed your eyes when I mostly needed to talk to you. Does
distance make the heart grow fonder? None of us can say for certain that to
be true but you cannot hold a grudge against me since my love for you was
always real and ever present in my mind although at times I couldn't find
the appropriate words to express it. How have you repaid me for those years
of unselfish fidelity and support? I wonder... I know I have found in your
people the respect, love, support, encouragement and honesty, possibly
rooted in your own diversity, that I might never have found in my country,
and I shall always be profoundly grateful for that. Yet you were mean to me!
You never told me that there existed extreme people running for the thrill,
walking in a dream, one day the sun is shining, next day it thunders. You
have most certainly given shelter to a bunch of paranoids hiding under a
mask of sanity. Had I known that all those years ago...

I always admired how you feed your crew with a large dose of optimism,
friendliness, high self-esteem, hunger for adventure, target driven,
acceptance of other people, ability to start all over again after a failure,
etc. The land where there is space for anyone and everyone, the obese, the
obsessed, the paranoid, the alcoholic, the immoral, the suicidal, the
wanderer, the broken family. The non expected child and the single mother.
The brainwashed and the scholar, the blind believer and the nihilist. The
black and the white. The suits and the tank tops. All are welcome and
equally accepted in the gang. Your life is your own business, you have the
freedom to walk on the wrong path, to be the architect of your own life, you
overuse 'I' and 'me'.
You are granted an enormous freedom, a strong sense of individualism, a
bunch of emotional and mental issues, a free license to carry guns. There
you go. You have created individuals who live a life like parallel lines.
As for Europe, my sweetheart, the picture is different. Spain is different,
I am different. Therefore do not try to judge me in the same way you judge
your compatriots.

I know we always walked on an unequal path since it was me who adapted to
your language, tamed your tantrums, put up with your materialistic nature...
and still sent you my love. Yet you are too far away. It has been two years
since I last looked at your deep brown eyes. And I'm just tired out when I
have the evidence these days that you cannot even get over yourself!

Christian Bale portrayed your attitude perfectly in ' America Psycho', ' I
know my behaviour can be ... erratic sometimes...

PS. (I beg your pardon, dear Americans, but do not feel offended by my words that have a meaning that I am only able to understand)