Took a Spill.

May 4, 2008

I went grocery shopping today. I bought some pasta, tomatoes, broccoli, wine (cheap!), and bread. As I was walking to put my cart back, my bag broke and my wine fell. The grocery people were nice enough to clean up the puddle and to replace my broken wine. El Supermercado (the supercenter) is called “El Corte Ingles”.  It’s a Macy’s and Borders and grocery store in one that extends over three blocks. 

Before my grocery experience, I went to the café below the apartment. In previous attempts to order food at Mexican cafes I have been successful, however I suppose because Madrid sees more Americans, today I was not successful. After telling them my order off the menu, the waiter called for a different waiter to interpret me. Then, after explaining to her, she took me to the menu outside so I could point to what I wanted. After paying $6 for a piece of bread and cheese and some OJ, they said “Thank You” to me and in a confused goodbye, I left one Euro for tip (which is not necessary, says my apartment roommate).

The Spanish here is totally different. You need that phlegmyness that you hear when you speak French. It makes sense, being that France is so close to Spain.