Do as the Spaniards Do
I recently returned from a three-week trip around the country of Spain. The culture, food and lifestyles are very different from those of the United States.
As we walked through the streets of Spain, we noticed that Spaniards all had one thing in common: they were fit and lean. They were like this because their diet is very different from ours. Some of the common dishes were paella, pasta and jamon. Paella is made of rice with saffron, lima beans, green beans, red bell peppers, chicken and seafood. The taste at first is a little spicy then after a few bites it is quite good. The pasta was the same everywhere we ate and the only difference was the amount of sauce they put on it; some was less than others. The pasta was noodles and the taste of the tomato sauce was like ravioli sauce. The food was foreign to me at first, but after awhile I got used to it. The Spaniards have three meals a day but at dinner, they have a three-course meal. The first course usually consists of either paella, pasta or soup. The second course can be some kind of meat or fish served with french fries. The third course, dessert, was often a small dish of ice cream. Served on the side of every meal was water and a piece of very hard bread that can almost knock someone’s teeth out.
In America, we have a different way of life compared to Spain. Texas is considered one of the fattest states in the United States, and San Antonio is one of the nation’s fattest cities. Here in the States, everything is cooked with oil or lard. When you order a burger here in the States, the grease just drips from your hands as you take a bite. It’s just a heart attack waiting to happen. In Spain, when you order a burger you get bread with a thin pieces of meat that is not even beef, but rather veal and with lettuce and tomato. Diet is a primary factor of the cause of obesity and diabetes here in the United States.
One of the guys in the group met a girl from Japan named Mami, who was very thin. When she was introduced to us, her first reaction was “Whoa, you are all very voluptuous people.” Mami told us that she was considered a fat person in Japan. She was a size large there. We were all shocked at that because she was quite small. In America, she would be considered either a size small or an extra small.
Here in the States, mostly everyone has a car. People drive wherever they need to go. They never walk. In Spain, everyone walks everywhere. I talked to several people while in Spain. I asked Luciano, a guy I met on the subway, about getting a car and a driver’s license. He said, “I don’t have one; I never really needed to get one and besides it would be almost 1000 euros to get one.” Therefore, they usually just walk or use public transportation like the metro, costs one euro. In Spain, there are many stairs. If you are going to take the metro, be prepared to take a lot of stairs going down and up, which is much harder. The metro is not the only place that has stairs. Restaurants and malls have them, as do some of the parks.
Another one of the causes for obesity in the U.S is the TV and the lack of things to do. The sun sets here at about 6 or 7 in the evening. In Spain, the sun sets at about 10 or 10:30 in the evening. At around 2 p.m., there is a thing called siesta. At this time, all the little shops close down for lunch and take about a three-hour break. The people in Spain are very active. At all hours, they go to parks to walk or run and at night, to bars or clubs. While I was in Spain, we never ever touched the TV. If we were in the States, we would be sitting on the couch eating and watching TV. I asked several people about what kind of shows they watched. They did not know because there was really no need to turn the TV with all the things there are to do.
Spain has the healthiest lifestyle I have ever seen. It seems that it would be very good for us to do as the Spaniards do. If we would follow their lifestyles, the U.S. especially San Antonio would benefit. The rate of obese children and adults would decrease as well as the incidence of diabetes. Two very huge health concerns here.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
6/15/07 Bilbao and San Sebatian
Today we are in Bilboa and about to take off to San Sebastian.
We are going over chapters 6-8 in our Story of Spain book.
Madrid was founded by the Moors in the 9th century. Madrid did not become the capital of Spain til 1561 under Felipe II a member of the House of Hapsburg. The Hapsburgs were the most important royal dynasty in Europe. Felipe II was the key figure in the family. Felipe's reign began with a sigh of relief throughout Europe at the breakup of the awesome Hapsburg domains, and there was peace for several years. The last century had witnessed the decline of powerful city states such as Venice. The Bourbons later took control of Spain in 1713 through the war of the Spanish succession.
In Madrid we went to visit the famous museum The Prado. In this museum there were alot of 16th and 17th century painting by many famous artists like, Goya, Gaudi, Vasquez and many more. The main painting we focused on was the painting by Fransisco Goya the Second of May. His works inspired many of other artists. This painting shows a scene from the Spanish War. His work is very life like it has a sense of like you are looking at a picture. In the painting you can see suffering and anguish in the peoples faces. Goya shows much detail with the blood and the scared people in the back ground. even though this painting is very gory it is a great painting.
We are going over chapters 6-8 in our Story of Spain book.
Madrid was founded by the Moors in the 9th century. Madrid did not become the capital of Spain til 1561 under Felipe II a member of the House of Hapsburg. The Hapsburgs were the most important royal dynasty in Europe. Felipe II was the key figure in the family. Felipe's reign began with a sigh of relief throughout Europe at the breakup of the awesome Hapsburg domains, and there was peace for several years. The last century had witnessed the decline of powerful city states such as Venice. The Bourbons later took control of Spain in 1713 through the war of the Spanish succession.
In Madrid we went to visit the famous museum The Prado. In this museum there were alot of 16th and 17th century painting by many famous artists like, Goya, Gaudi, Vasquez and many more. The main painting we focused on was the painting by Fransisco Goya the Second of May. His works inspired many of other artists. This painting shows a scene from the Spanish War. His work is very life like it has a sense of like you are looking at a picture. In the painting you can see suffering and anguish in the peoples faces. Goya shows much detail with the blood and the scared people in the back ground. even though this painting is very gory it is a great painting.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
7/8/07 Back in San Antonio Tx
We have finally returned from our amazing trip to the country of Spain. I had just gotten used to the lifestyle in Spain, and now I have to adjust back to American living.
Today is exactly 6 days after we returned from the country of Spain. We arrived at 11:30 pm on July 2. We were separated into two groups a group of four left at 11:30 am from Madrid and the rest left at 1:15pm.
The class experience is very different from that of being in a room at PAC.
I thought that learning from experience is the best way to learn because you take in everything. It is very hard from me to learn history but with this experience, learning it first hand, in person was just so easy. The teaching went on while on the bus on our way to a new destination. It was somewhat hard to concentrate on the professors teaching because we were in a different country that was just breathtaking. The windows were to tempting to look out to see what was happening on the outside. Apart from the distraction of the beautiful countryside, the other thing that made it hard for me to concentrate was that I get carsick really easy. While on the road, we often had to read or recap by looking back at the book and well, I could not because the moving looking up and down on the book made me very nauseous.
Personally, I think that this experience has taught me a lot. While in Spain, we were allowed to be on our own when there was opportunity. We were given the opportunity to experience things on our own to explore and to learn. In Spain, I felt such freedom that I have never felt before I did not feel suffocated by problems or drama. I have learned to appreciate my life more. The way of life is very different in Spain it is healthier being there gave me the strength to try to be a healthier person now and to exercise more. I learned so much of myself that I did not know I feel like a more independent person, as if I can do anything and everything on my own.
My view of the world had changed a bit I really did not know much about the goings on no further than my hometown. This trip opened up a door to another world to me. Seeing and experiencing Spain was just like a very wonderful dream. I hope one day to return.
Today is exactly 6 days after we returned from the country of Spain. We arrived at 11:30 pm on July 2. We were separated into two groups a group of four left at 11:30 am from Madrid and the rest left at 1:15pm.
The class experience is very different from that of being in a room at PAC.
I thought that learning from experience is the best way to learn because you take in everything. It is very hard from me to learn history but with this experience, learning it first hand, in person was just so easy. The teaching went on while on the bus on our way to a new destination. It was somewhat hard to concentrate on the professors teaching because we were in a different country that was just breathtaking. The windows were to tempting to look out to see what was happening on the outside. Apart from the distraction of the beautiful countryside, the other thing that made it hard for me to concentrate was that I get carsick really easy. While on the road, we often had to read or recap by looking back at the book and well, I could not because the moving looking up and down on the book made me very nauseous.
Personally, I think that this experience has taught me a lot. While in Spain, we were allowed to be on our own when there was opportunity. We were given the opportunity to experience things on our own to explore and to learn. In Spain, I felt such freedom that I have never felt before I did not feel suffocated by problems or drama. I have learned to appreciate my life more. The way of life is very different in Spain it is healthier being there gave me the strength to try to be a healthier person now and to exercise more. I learned so much of myself that I did not know I feel like a more independent person, as if I can do anything and everything on my own.
My view of the world had changed a bit I really did not know much about the goings on no further than my hometown. This trip opened up a door to another world to me. Seeing and experiencing Spain was just like a very wonderful dream. I hope one day to return.
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