el duche y las coches

i finally have a serious complaint about espana. SHOWERS. now, i know they are trying to conserve water and be energy efficient and all of that. which is actually kind of funny since all of the stores keep their lights on all night...

but that's beside the point. i realized this morning how much i dislike the showers here in spain. for one, they are cold. two, they're still cold. and three, i have to turn the water on and off, which makes it colder. i always feel kind of bad though because i normally let the water run a little bit at first so that by the time i'm done rinsing my hair for the first time, there is a little bit of warmth. however, i have noticed that for it to be the perfect temperature (you all know what im talking about, that perfect shower temp. where its warm, but not too hot and not too cold), well the perfect temperature doesn't really exist here. because the equivalent of that here, there is still a touch of coolness running in the water.

another semi-complaint i have is the driving here. now, i came into this knowing europeans are crazy drivers. but i was not prepared for them not being afraid to run you over. literally, i was in the middle of the street (there was still the green person signaling it was ok for me to go) and then it turned red when i was halfway across the street and let me tell you, those cars did not wait for me.

another example of how these spaniards driving confuses me is yesterday when i almost got hit by a bus. now, this is not unusual so much in bloomington because i am always almost getting hit by cars, but i acknowledge that is my own fault. i cross where i'm not supposed to and most of the time i' m on my phone so i'm not paying attention. but here, i'm rarely on my phone and am always trying to be on my a-game after that first time where i almost got hit. but yesterday, i was waiting semi-patiently to cross the street and a big tour bus came by. normally, this is not a big deal because i was by placa catalunya which is where everyone gets dropped off and is the main plaza. but this bus driver stopped. and i was confused because she still had a green light, and i still had my little red person telling me to not cross. but this bus just stopped and chilled there even though there wasnt a lot of traffic to warrant this. so after 30 seconds or so of this, i assumed she was letting me pass, so as soon as i start to cross the street, she starts moving! good thing i have reflexes like a cat cuz otherwise, i would be smushed and chilling on passeig de gracia. i am telling you, crazy drivers and cold showers, my only two complaints of spain thus far.