I don’t know about you, but where I’m from in the states, we drive everywhere. Dude, where’s my car? Pharmacy down the street? Vamos con coche. Grocery store around the block? Vamos con coche. People actually have a negative perspective of those who use public transportation. Carrying groceries, walking, and getting on the public transit aren’t signs of being environmentally friendly and exercising; they’re generally signs of poverty.
You can imagine my confusion when I arrived to Madrid where people rarely own cars, mostly use the public transit system, and normally walk to get to the other side of town.
Initiate Complaints
- I wanted my car.
- How does the metro work (it sounds silly because it is)??
- I was too afraid to touch rails on the bus (germs are real, y’all).
- I averaged about 12 miles walking PER DAY and was ALWAYS tired.
- Cute designer shoes disappointed every part of my soul because they did nothing to comfort my feet after mile 2, and I had to throw them out.
The universe had spoken: I had to buckle down and adapt (actual theme when you live abroad). I bought a transportation card and better shoes and downloaded about seven different applications on my phone for calculating public transit routes. About 72 mistakes later, I started to kind of like this adventure. Wrong metro stop? I’d explore a whole new barrio. Walking in the wrong direction? Más ejercicio and getting to see a bit more. There’s so much about this big city that I started to learn about, just from not being locked in a car.
And, hey! All that walking turned my body into this especially amazing, good-looking shape that I’d never had before! – I brought sexy back, forward, up, and down 😉
Dude, Where’s My Car?
Not only did my body start to change, but also I dropped a lot of the assumptions I brought with me from the states. Using the public transportation is smart. You save money, help reduce traffic, and it’s better for the environment. Walking to your destination, even if it’s 30 minutes away, is literally good for you. I even used the word literalmente, which I hate using due to how often people misuse it (I could write 57 blog articles on that alone), so you know it’s true.
I went from “Dude, where’s my car?” to “Dude, where’s my transportation card?” real fast.
I love your Coffe con Leche posts. Literalmente.
And this one is just the third one lol.
Wow. I had no idea about what ppl use to think about ppl who use public transport around the world! Where I’m from -that should be a town lost around Galicia- people don’t even care about cars or public transport. They have two buses a day and usually walk or take the “matraquillo”- funny word huh? Some kind of small tractor with remolque I’ve never seen or heard about out of there. And my life in Madrid has been something like “what do I need a driving license for?”
Of course I’m kinda wrong and I should have it. And I will. But you see the difference lol.
It’s really nice to read about how you’ve been changing and adapting. How you’ve been growing until your new sexy. 😛
Looking forward for your next post!
Your posts are ‘literalmente’ amazing. It’s really nice to keep reading how you adapted and grew. How you changed and became the new sexy. Keep going that way! And keep sharing your jokes lol.
This is so different than what I’m used to. Where I’m from- somewhere lost between the mountains in Galicia ppl don’t care about cars or buses. They just take their “matraquillos” (funny word, huh? Something like a small tractor with ‘remolque’) and go their way. And since I’m Madrid I’ve always been surrounded by the “what do I need a driving license for?” concept. Such different worlds! But it’s never too late to grow between them and have a little piece of every single one of them in your soul.
Your posts are ‘literalmente’ amazing. It’s really nice to keep reading how you adapted and grew. How you changed and became the new sexy. Keep going that way! And keep sharing your jokes lol. This is so different than what I’m used to. Where I’m from- somewhere lost between the mountains in Galicia ppl don’t care about cars or buses. They just take their “matraquillos” (funny word, huh? Something like a small tractor with ‘remolque’) and go their way. And since I’m Madrid I’ve always been surrounded by the “what do I need a driving license for?” concept. Such different worlds! But it’s never too late to grow between them and have a little piece of every single one of them in your soul.
Thanks for the love! I’m glad you ‘literalmente’ love it 😀
I really enjoy your snippets of life overseas!!!
Thank you so much <3