Notes

Spanish pillows are roughly equal in volume to American pillows but their shape is oblong instead of being nearly square. Another thing is that all Spanish houses I have been in feel noticeably uninsulated and metallic and hard. They give a sense of being in a toolshed or greenhouse because most everything is stucco or linoleum or tile or metal; usually very little wood. Never are the floors carpeted, and rarely do they have rugs. It is rude to be inside a house as a guest barefoot or in socks without shoes or slippers. Kitchens are without exception lighted flourescently. Very few people use driers- instead, houses are accessorized with extendable drying racks that protrude from balconies or windows. Bread is rarely eaten in molded and sliced form. More common are small toasted cracker bread or fresh baguettes. Cheap wine is surprisingly good, and surprisingly cheap. Vegetables and fruit items are ridiculously expensive. I just bought bananas on sale for about $1 per pound and large cucumbers normally cost about $1.50. Milk is sold in cardboard cartons like giant juice boxes and is treated so that it doesn't require refridgeration; it has a strange aftertaste and odor that DuBois has identified as synonymous with his own olfactory aura after having consumed a large volume of soy milk. Shopping carts require a spare Euro coin to detach an individual from the bunch by means of a locking mechanism, the coin being returned when the cart is re-inserted to the stacked line. Front doors to houses have a doorknob in the center, not the sides, and they do not twist. Sidewalks are rarely smooth, poured cement. Instead they are tiled and dog shit gets stuck between the cracks along with chewing gum. All cars mechanics wear unisuits that are usually bright blue or red. Showers usually don't have fixed heads, but hoses with the heads at the end which you support yourself as you shower. There is no turkey meat in Spain.

More of my own self-observed stereotypes to come.