1) Crutches
All the crutches I've seen here are different than the crutches we have back in the US. Ours are meant to be held under the arm pits, making it easier to support your weight. You don't really have to be in shape to use them, unlike here where you're actually required to have arm muscles if you're on crutches and want to get around.
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| For example this lady whose image I pulled off of Google |
Note that all her weight it held up by her wrists and forearms. I would not be able to do this. This actually proved a problem for one of the girls in my group who got a hairline fracture in her foot the first weekend here. Luckily she only had to have plaster on and use crutches for a week before she got a walking boot, but for that week she was basically housebound as it was too hard for her to get around.
2) Showers
I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind the different shower designs I've encountered in my travels. A couple of the hostels I staid in had showers that worked like those sinks in public restrooms where you push the tap and water goes for about half the time it takes you to wash your hands therefore making it necessary to push the button AGAIN after you've already started washing, transferring germs back onto your hands that you had already washed off. It is even more annoying when it's the shower that constantly turns off. I'm guessing the policy behind this is to save water? Though I don't really think people forget to turn off the shower when they're done. I mean it's kinda noisy and wet, and trying to dry off when the shower is still running is pretty counterproductive. Maybe it's designed to make people hurry their showers up since after the water shuts off for the sixth time most people are pretty ready to be done - at least I know I was.
Another interesting variation on the shower I've encountered is the type where there's no actual shower head mounted on the wall, just some tubing with a nozzle attached to it. This makes it necessary to use one hand to hold it and leaving only one hand for actually washing. This is the kind that I have in my apartment here in Salamanca. The only thing I can think of is that maybe baths are more typical in some countries and showers are kind of an afterthought? This too can also serve the purpose of hurrying up showers as you can't really stand and soak in hot water without your arm getting tired from holding the nozzle. Actually now that I think about it, maybe this is where Europeans get their arm strength to be able to use their crutches. Hmmm...
3) Trains
In a less "that's bizarre" and a more "I wish we had this in the United States" note, I love the public transportation system here! It's not at all necessary to use a car to travel. Trains go to every big or even medium sized city and it's super easy to bop all around the continent with minimal effort. This is quite different from my experience with American trains, most notably when it took me 13 hours by train to get from D.C. back to Vermont after another form of transportation (airplanes) utterly failed me. Another advantage trains have are that you don't have to pay a gazillion bucks for a ticket (like airplanes) or be basically stripped searched down to your quart sized plastic bag of possibly explosive toiletries (also like airplanes). As you can tell, I'm a fan.
4) The Attitude Towards Alcohol
Last but not least, alcohol. As every under 21 college student is aware of, the drinking age is a lot lower in Europe. However that doesn't mean that there's four times the amount of drinking and partying here than at home. In my view, since people grow up without alcohol being this horrible, forbidden substance, it is treated a lot more responsibly here, ie: a glass of wine with lunch, or some beers out at night with friends, than it is treated in the United States where people drink until they black-out because a lot of them aren't taught that alcohol has a place outside of raging parties or a purpose other than using it to get drunk. In my opinion, the treatment of alcohol is a lot more sane and safer here, but it's such an issue at home that there's no way any of the laws are changing any time soon.
On that slightly more serious note, since this post has been a lot of words with not a lot of pretty pictures to look at, I'll leave you with these totally non-related, but lovely pictures of places I've been/things I've seen. Until next time!
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| Puente Romano with Salamanca in the background |
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| El Aqueducto en Segovia (another Roman construction that's stood the test of time) |
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| La Plaza Mayor en Salamanca lit up at night |
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