I like Spain. I like the people, the language, the food (obviously the cheese), the scenery and the fast trains. Spain is great. But what is it with all of the American students?! The American tourists I don't mind, but the American students drive me crazy and they are everywhere! Fine, call me a racist, I don't care. There are simply too many of them. Taking hostel rooms away from deserving Australians, while they search for permanent accomodation. Filling up the cafes and churrerias (places that only serve churros, isn't that cool?!) so you can barely find a table. And worst of all, wherever I go all I can hear is that American they speak.
I know I am being a bit harsh and, to be honest, I have made friends with a couple of American students and gotten drunk with many of them. But the language barrier between us often seems too high to overcome. While I was in my Madrid hostel last week, I was typing an amusing anecdote for my blog in the Multimedia Room. Most of the Americans hang out in the Multimedia Room so that they can get out their laptops and charge their iPod, back up their Blackberry and then talk REALLY LOUDLY on Skype to their MOM in PHILLY so that she can hear about how nice everyone is in the hostel.
Because they are all hanging out there (and obviously so am I, point taken) I am privy to a lot of conversations that they have with each other. Not that I want to be eavesdropping on their conversation, but I can't help it when they talk REALLY LOUDLY. They shouldn't have anything to worry about with me overhearing them, because I honestly have no idea what they are talking about. They are speaking English, but none that I have heard before.
Here is a conversation I overheard while I was updating my facebook status...
American Girl #1: OHMYGOD. Like, you totally won't believe what happened, like, happened to Tom and Tatum and me last night.
American Girl #2: Ohmygod. What?! What happened? You've, like, totally gotta tell me.
American Girl #1: Okay, well, like, I said to Tom, like, I totally want some pot. So he was like, 'Okay, I'll like, totally ask around and see where we can get some pot'.
American Girl #2: Ohmygod. You went to get pot? Ohmygod, like, what happened?
American Girl #1: Okay, so we, like, go to this totally sketchy park in, like, the sketchiest part of Madrid.
American Girl #2: Ohmygod. OHMYGOD! What happened?!
American Girl #1: So the feeling was, like, totally sketchy. It was dark and there were these sketchy guys everywhere and they were all, like, selling pot. I was, like, I want some pot. But Tom kept saying 'This place is too sketchy! This place is too sketchy!' He was, like, totally sketched out.
American Girl #2: Ohmygod. So what did you do? Did you get the pot?
American Girl #1: No, we didn't. Tom was way too sketched out and the whole thing was, like, way too sketchy for me.
American Girl #2: Oh, cool.
This is the usual kind of convesation that is floating around when the American students speak and so with that in mind, you can imagine the horror on my face when someone asks me if I am American. I have started to say 'No worries!' a lot more in the hope that no one can make this mistake.
