10. There is very, very little English spoken here. Many times the answer to my question "Habla Usted ingles? is a very quick shake of the head.
9. There is a only reasonable amount of Spanish here. Everyone speaks Catalan! This is some weird combination of Spanish, Italian and French. This means, that even when I manage to pull off a perfect Spanish statement, that sometimes the person still may not understand!
8. The sands of the Mediterranean are not nearly as granular (fine) as our beaches. It's darker, and has small rock-like substances in it. It may not sound great, but I really like it, because you can just (quickly) brush it (completely) off you and your stuff. It's very strange being able to do that!
7. Everyone smokes here.
6. It's true: businesses just randomly shut down in the middle of the day for siesta. Some around noon, and some later in the afternoon. And they don't have those little US signs with a clock on it, with a note that says "Be back at". Nope. Just closed. Come back later. Or don't. We don't really care.
5. The word in Catalan for fan is "ventilador", and yes if you ask around enough, you can buy one. I did.
4. On the beaches, there are SCADS of roaming vendors selling beer, water, coke and fanta, and there is a constant slow monotonic but melodic chant as you hear all around "Cervetha, agua, fanta....". They also have roaming Chinese massage ladies who are VERY persistent, and sort of annoying.
3. I played in a poker tournament yesterday at the casino by the beach....and when a dealer needs a pit boss or a pit boss needs a waiter, or whatever, they make a really loud SMOOCH-SMOOCH sounds with their lips (imagine making the loudest quickest kiss sound you can). It works, but it's strange. (Also, nobody speaks a LICK of English in the casino.)
2,1. (I figured it would be best to present this one as a pair. You'll see.) Even in the beaches in the city, and the ones most family-friendly, 30-40% of the ladies are topless. Can't wait to visit the remote beaches! Oh, also--and this goes against my US training--but they hate it when you give them a dollar bill.
In many countries formerly ruled by the Brits they shut down for "high tea".
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