Your trash is my treasure

A post about all of the differences between American and Spanish culture that I've noticed seems a bit daunting at the moment, so I think I'll stick to one positive and one negative for now. One of my favorite things to do is to go shopping at thrift stores. It's amazing the things that you can find there...anything from old and lovingly used hardcover books to a pair of perfect jeans that someone else went through the trouble of breaking in. I guess there is something to be said for not buying certain previously used items such as bathing suits or underwear (Gross! but they sell 'em) but I don't mind the idea of someone elses' behind having been in my jeans (within reason). That's what a washing machine is for after all and thank god for the invention of soap! I used to spend hours in some of the warehouse stores that hide out in Laurel, MD or spend a whole Saturday checking out all of the little ones just for fun. I'm not quite sure what it is about them that I like, but I think the idea of recycling things you don't use anymore is genius. As such enthusiastic capitalists, I think we need this sort of thing to keep us from turning into a giant landfill.

Spain on the other hand would rather die before buying something used (at least according to my husband). I really hate to make generalizations, so let's just stick with facts. I don't know of a single thrift store in the entire city that I live in, or in any surrounding villages for that matter. Last year I had the idea of getting an old piece of furniture and fixing it up for our house and there is ONE place where you can find such things, but they only have furniture and most of it tends to be extremely large or expensive. I'm not really into antiques as it is. Now, of course there are second hand cars to buy and there are some online places where you can buy things that work like Craigslist, but nothing of the magnitude or variety that we have in the States. And well, I think that just sucks. Spain just doesn't like used stuff, in general. I think it mostly comes down to a couple of things: pride and self-image. Spaniards (again, I hate to generalize but if you have ever been here you know what I mean) like to look their best when out in public and they tend to notice and do more than glance at what you have on as well. That being said, I think that labels are important here too and unless it's a vintage Chanel or something equally as expensive it should be of the season or at least something classic. Not old/used. As for the pride, well... people here like to talk. A lot. About each other. If you are seen buying things in a thrift store then perhaps someone might think that you are too broke to afford shopping in a 'real' store. I could go on, but I won't because I'm not a Spaniard and all of my information is based on too few opinions to be considered the unadulterated truth. However, I do think that given the state of the economy here, maybe they should rethink the point of pride and realize that things don't have to be brand new to be useful or even great. My real point is, I miss it and if they offered such a place here I would go regardless of what anyone said about me. I'm the weird/foreign/strange/American anyway, so who cares?

Now, for the positive thing. The food - plain and simple. I think that while there is less variety, the general quality of the food is much greater and is less costly than in the U.S. I don't claim to know the ins and outs of how it is produced, but my guess is that it has to be slightly better than we are doing back home, plus I read the labels on EVERYTHING. Granted, there are fewer options for places to buy if you are interested in organic products, but it is available and not as astronomically priced (so it seems). While I do think that they eat too much sometimes (really- this whole first, second and dessert thing is too much for me), it's nearly all fantastic. I'm sure I could think of more to say on this subject, but now I'm hungry.