Welcome to edition one of "Why Can't We Have This in the U.S.A.?"
I love my country, I really do. And there are things I miss (shopping on Sundays, peanut butter, coffee creamer, people understanding me when I try to speak their language). But like all good things, there is always room for improvement. Here are a few Spanish things I really wish the U.S. would adopt.
One: Rolling Shutters
If you have lived or traveled in Europe, chances are, you've dealt with rolling shutters. In Germany, they are called rolladens.
Rolling shades are on the outside of the window (outside the screens---if you are lucky enough to have them, since they aren't standard in Spanish homes). You can keep them all the way open, half way down, or roll them to the bottom. They keep the house cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and dark when the sun doesn't go down until 10 pm (or later).
They work for security, as well. That being said---I have American friends who say that it would bother them to live in houses with so many bars. I could be wrong, but at least where we live, the bars are less about keeping people out of your homes and more about keeping your children and pets from falling out of the windows (that no-screens thing again).
Two: Scary pictures on cigarette packages
Forget warnings from the Surgeon General---Spain takes it up a notch or two:
Wish I could say it deters people from smoking in public---but it doesn't. It's always interesting to see the pictures on packs sitting around in outdoor cafés---and almost all outdoors dining means you have to deal with smokers.
Three: bidets
Unlike screens, bidets are pretty much standard in a house.
Want to heat or cool just one room and don't feel like closing all the vents or running the central air/heat? Split packs are awesome. They can heat or cool a room in no time (and we use them at work), and the best thing is they are cheaper to run than a centralized system. We have them in every bedroom, the dining room, office, and basement. Each one runs on an individual thermostat. A few minutes before dinner, we turn on the heat in the dining room and it's nice and toasty. It's amazing how fast they work.
I love my country, I really do. And there are things I miss (shopping on Sundays, peanut butter, coffee creamer, people understanding me when I try to speak their language). But like all good things, there is always room for improvement. Here are a few Spanish things I really wish the U.S. would adopt.
One: Rolling Shutters
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| It's nice to put down the shades partially down and keep the windows open on a breezy day. |
Rolling shades are on the outside of the window (outside the screens---if you are lucky enough to have them, since they aren't standard in Spanish homes). You can keep them all the way open, half way down, or roll them to the bottom. They keep the house cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and dark when the sun doesn't go down until 10 pm (or later).
They work for security, as well. That being said---I have American friends who say that it would bother them to live in houses with so many bars. I could be wrong, but at least where we live, the bars are less about keeping people out of your homes and more about keeping your children and pets from falling out of the windows (that no-screens thing again).
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| typical Spanish house in my 'hood----neighbors house w/the shades down. |
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| Hello darkness, my old friend----you can leave them partially open or completely closed to blacken your room during the day---- perfect for siesta time! |
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| My messy desk/my classroom |
Forget warnings from the Surgeon General---Spain takes it up a notch or two:
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| You have a baby----in a bar---smoking a Camel. |
Three: bidets
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| want to wash the bottom of your feet or just your bottom? Use a bidet! |
(Yes, I had to Google how to use this bad boy. Seriously).
Four: split packs
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Using them has required me to learn to convert to centigrade. Much like the metric system, centigrade/Celsius was something I learned for a science test, rarely used, and promptly forgot. Between using centigrade for cooking and heating/cooling the house, I'm getting a little better at conversions.
Most of our Spanish neighbors have 1-2 split packs and open their windows at night. Again, there's that need for rolling shades---it's all interrelated.
I'm not sure what this machine is selling. . . hmm? Maybe coffee? Or cocktails? Or sex?
(And in case you are wondering---we can get peanut butter and coffee creamer at the Commissary on base. This requires an extra trip in a car, unfortunately. It's more a convenience thing than anything else).
Five: this stuff
So I don't speak German so I have no idea what this is called in English---but we put this "special salt" in our dishwasher (there's a special cup for it), and the glasses come out looking brand new. Our 5-10 year old glassware with lots of water etching from years of bad water looks amazing! I don't know if you have to have a special dishwasher to use it, but man---I love this stuff!
Six: built in closets/wardrobes
Bad news---we couldn't get either large dresser to fit upstairs. I was bummed out because for the many, many weeks we sat waiting for our furniture, I imagined how I would arrange our bedrooms. This is what you do when you have bad loaner furniture and lots of time on your hands.
The good news is you don't really need dressers in Spain. Almost every house we looked at had built in closets in every bedroom. This is less than HALF of the master bedroom closet---the other side holds longer items and shoes, and there are four deep cabinets above. I love the drawers---I really have no need for a dresser now. We have four bedrooms full of these. It's a great use of space. Why don't U.S. homebuilders do this?
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| 'scuse my mess---it's my closet, pre winter wardrobe. Notice how I sort my clothes by color! |
Seven: there's a vending machine for that
We were in Madrid last weekend (another blog, another day) and saw a vending machine selling cans of spray paint! I saw this in one of our favorite restaurants:
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| Got a hot date and bad breath? No problem---you can buy single use toothbrushes/toothpaste! |
You can get really decent coffee in a vending machine here. Spaniards love a good coffee break mid-afternoon, and if you can't find your café con leche at a local restaurant, sometimes you have to go with the next best thing.
Eight: Cities and towns made for walking and great public transportation
When I lived near Austin, the city and many people fought the good fight for years to try to get a better public transportation system, including a light rail system. Even in some of the smallest of Spanish towns, there are bus systems, inexpensive taxis (and in cities, Über), and for long distance trips, trains.
Everything is set up so you don't have to own a car. Some of my neighbors are carless. But how do they shop, you say? They walk to the grocery store down the street and carry back a few bags or a pull cart full of groceries. Spaniards typically have smaller European refrigerators, so they can only store so much, anyway. Food is FRESH here---there are very little preservatives in most prepared food, and little to no canned goods in stores---so you will only keep most groceries around a few days, anyway.
It's a whole new way of shopping, traveling, and living. I love the little things about a new culture, and if/when we ever return to the U.S., I will definitely think about what I love here that I can incorporate into my U.S. life.
(And in case you are wondering---we can get peanut butter and coffee creamer at the Commissary on base. This requires an extra trip in a car, unfortunately. It's more a convenience thing than anything else).
The vending machines in Okinawa (and from what I understand, the rest of Japan) are ubiquitous and can offer cans of hot and cold (really cold, but not iced) coffees and teas in the same machine (the Japanese have marvelous toys... including these machines, rice canisters that measure the rice for you, and heated coffee tables). I've also heard of some unusual items in some vending machines but never seen them.
ReplyDeleteI've seen pictures of some of the crazy things offered in those machines, too! My favorite machines in Spain are simple---the one that cuts your bread loaf into slices and the one that squeezes fresh oranges into orange juice. All grocery stores need that!!
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