Let´s start with the differences in language, and by that I don´t just mean that they speak spanish and we speak english...there are some minor differences in their spanish here than what I´ve learned up until now
- to say ´´here´´ they use ´´aca´´ whereas I use ´´aqui´´, same for ´´there´´ ´´alla´´ vs ´´alli´´
- also they have ´´aspiracion´´ so that they sometimes drop the ´´s´´ in words
- no ´´adios´´ here, only ´´ciao´´
- for ´´to drink´´ it´s ´´tomar´´ instead of ´´beber´´
there´s also some culture differences
- to start, greetings- when greeting an acquaintance it is always a semi-half-hug with cheeks pressing, between a male and a female the male usually kisses the female´s cheek where as between females it´s usually just the cheek pressure and a little noise
- goodbyes-roughly the same as greetings, using ´´ciao´´ instead of ´´hola´´
- the houses-all very open in apperances but locked tight in reality, often with glass or barbed wire, or other sharp things lining the tops of all exterior walls (I saw one house that had attempted at a rose bush above but end up with one fourth rose bush, three fourths thorn bush), also the stairs are not enclosed, and have no handrail, I have found myself a few times almost falling down the stairs I just climbed, also roof access is not enclosed either, that set of stairs has no ceiling above and leads straight out to the roof, which by the way is completely flat and used as a laundry drying line (this is probably what caused to water to find it´s way through my light one night-flat roofs are a bad idea!)
- buses- are insane, sometimes I feel like I take my life into my hands every time I get on a bus, and it´s hit or miss on whether they´ll actually stop for you, there´s no scheduled time and there´re no designated stops, so you stand where you stand and hope they stop and you get off where you choose by yell ´´baja´´ (essentially ´´I want off´´ in spanish), however they are very cheap, and unlike buses at home you pay sometime during or toward the end of your ride, this money is collected by the person who works the door that is set halfway along the bus where people get on and off, the routes are also nearly impossible to understand with a million combinations of letters and number and colors and the like!
- taxis-similar to buses in that they take no caution when driving and are ridiculously cheap, also they quite enjoy honking and flashing their lights to let you know they´re available, although sometimes they do so at such speed and from such a distance from you so that if you were to actually put up your hand at that last moment to hail that taxi they would have already sped past you
- driving in general-maybe you already see the trend but let me just say the driving is equally crazy from all drivers, there are essentially no lines to divide the road into lanes, because although there are lines no one pays any attention to them, also red light, yellow light, green light doesn´t matter they all mean continue on your chosen path, and surprisingly while most people here take their time when walking, they have got somewhere to go when they find themselves in a car
- car horns-used often! and relentlessy sometimes for no apparent reason, and they come in varying tones, melodies, and volumes, and some even sound like whistling or police sirens!
- bathrooms-no toilet paper ever gets flushed, it is always deposited in a trash can in the bathroom, also most public restrooms either have no toilet paper, soap, paper towels, running water, toilet seat (or some combination of those) or you have to pay to use them!
- phones- (or at least the cellular kind) all give a tone reminiscent of a busytone whenever you call someone, this took some time to get used to because everytime I called someone I thought it was busy and hung up, instead it is their form of a ring
for now that´s all I have the energy to do, I will finish with the rest some other time!
CIAO!!