the techie expat’s guide to smartphones in Spain

I’ve  been referred to as a “techie” person for as long as I can remember. Having a natural knack for all things tech is a great thing in today’s world, but it means you’re often fielding tech questions from less-techie friends, advising people on gadget-buying decisions and helping troubleshoot when dreaded tech snags arise. I truly do enjoy helping my friends and family with any and all of these things, but I find that a lot of times I am answering the same questions over and over.  Most of the questions I’ve been getting more recently since I became an expat deal with the likes of having a smartphone abroad, so I decided I should write some posts that answer some of these questions in a concise, step-by-step manner. So here you have it, the first post in what will be a series of tech-advice related posts from yours truly, @meggr the tech geek (or @meggr la friki, como dicen aquí )

Despite the ubiquity of smartphones, there are a handful of expats that still stick to modest flip phones: either because they dig the simplicity and off-the-grid-ness of not having a smart phone, or because they simply aren’t aware of just  how do-able having a smartphone abroad can really be. This post is mostly written for the latter, although I would argue to the former that a nice balance can be struck between reaping the numerous benefits of having a smartphone as an expat while still staying relatively off-grid and low-tech.

1. Acquire a global phone. Most newer smartphones are global, which simply means that they have a GSM radio and a SIM card slot. You can read more about it here. I recommend buying the phone in the US either on eBay or Amazon. Electronics are more expensive in general in Europe, and you’ll have way more options (and much cheaper shipping) buying online in the US. For an even better deal, buy a used or refurbished model. The most I’ve paid for a global phone is $250, and that was a refurbished HTC Droid Incredible 2 just after it was released to the market two years ago. That phone is STILL going for $150+ on eBay. Do your research, find a good phone with good reviews, and if you take good care of it you can get most of your money back selling it on eBay when you decide to move on to a newer gadget.

2. Unlock the phone. You can buy them already unlocked on eBay, but unlocking it yourself is pretty easy (you buy an unlock code for $3-5 on eBay and follow a few simple steps) If you don’t want to mess with the unlocking process and can’t seem to find the phone you want that is also already unlocked, you can go to any number of places that have a sign outside that says “Liberamos moviles! (We unlock phones!)” and they will do it for you for 10-20€ ($13-25.)

3. Decide on a mobile carrier and plan. Pay-as-you-go plans are the rule here, not the exception like in the States. And they are SO CHEAP! I have my phone service with Orange, and my plan is called Tarjeta Tarifa Delfín (Dolphin Plan…adorable, I know.) I pay 4.20€/week ($5/week) for unlimited data and 50 text messages. I have not once used all 50 of my text messages because EVERYone here uses a free texting app called WhatsApp (more on that in an upcoming post.) Calling can get a little spendy (15¢ to connect + 9¢/min), but the beauty of Orange is that every time you add money to your account, they give you a “prize”. The prize is almost always free calling minutes or an extra 5€ added to your account to use towards calling minutes. What US cellphone service gives customers free minutes/money simply for paying their bills? Pretty sure none.

4. Keep the minimum “saldo” (balance) on your account at all times to ensure connectivity. For my plan, this minimum is around 5€ to cover my weekly plan, although they send me a message when it gets below that and give me a few days to add money to the balance before suspending my service. You can add money to your account in a variety of ways: at ATMs, in convenience stores, even in the checkout lane at most supermarkets! I opt for paying by debit card on Orange’s website.

4. Enjoy the numerous ways a smartphone can enhance your life as an expat/traveler/wanderer, but don’t let it control your life and/or keep you from being present in the real world. Leave it at home sometimes. Put it away when you’re dining with friends.

I hope this can offer some help to anyone confused by the world of cell phones in Spain. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and just give up when everything is run differently than you’re used to and also not in your native language, but overall it’s so much cheaper than it is in the US that it’s completely worth the trouble to get it all set up.

Happy connecting!

AsturiAWESOME.

Last week was Semana Blanca (White Week) in Spain: the vacation week spanning the various Carnival festivals in Europe, named so for the fact that many Spanish people use the extra free days to head to the mountains and hit the slopes. I’ve been wanting to explore some parts of Spain that I’ve not been to yet, and decided to take this opportunity to head west with some friends to Asturias, the region of northern Spain famous for it’s sidra (cider), gorgeous coastline and, most importantly, the Picos de Europa mountain range. I’d been told time and again that Asturias is an enchanting place, the hidden gem of Spain, a place where you can be sitting on the beach and still have a great view of the snow-covered Picos mountains towering in the distance. I had to see this for myself.

My friends and I spent the first night of our weekend getaway in a town called Oviedo, famously the site where most of Woody Allen’s “Vicky Christina Barcelona” was filmed, taking in the Asturian tradition of cider-drinking. One of the coolest things about the  cider tradition is the pouring ritual–you order a bottle, but you’re not supposed to pour any of it yourself. Only a little bit is to be poured at a time, and then immediately consumed. The bartenders work tirelessly going from table to table refilling glasses all night with their special pouring method. For amateurs like myself, trying to refill your own glass just ends with a lot of cider all over yourself and the ground. Watch this expert and learn:

The next day, we got on a bus to an amazing place tucked away far up into the Picos mountains called Covadonga. This is a place is very historically significant as it is the site of the first victory of the Christians over the Moors way back in the year 722: a battle that would mark the very beginning of the 700+ year Spanish Reconquista, or reconquering of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) by Christian rule. It just so happens that it also looks like something straight out of a fairy tale:

An aerial view of this fairy-tale land

Stunning colors at the Basilica of Covadonga

Covadonga is also famous as the site of the mysterious and beautiful Santa Cueva (Holy Cave). Many Catholic people make a pilgrimage here to visit the shrine inside the cave. Upon entering,  you hear traditional church organ music echoing through the cave. About halfway to the shrine, there is an opening with three crosses in front of a sweeping view of the valley below, and water, considered to be holy, dripping down onto passersby. The shrine itself overlooks a rushing waterfall below. Simply incredible. Check out these quick vids I took in the cave:

After exploring the main attractions of Covadonga, we headed out on our own in search of a nearby mountain to climb. Short on time, we chose a small mountain nearby called Orandi. After hiking up for just an hour, we reached the top and were surprised to find a wide open meadow below on the other side. We followed the sound of rushing water in the distance and discovered yet ANOTHER cave, this one with a big stream rushing into it. With no other tourists in sight, we were like giddy children exploring the awesome, almost untouched nature around us.

Meadow Zen

We wrapped up our Asturian adventure in the lively seaside city of Gijón. Our time was too short though, and the February weather not quite beach-worthy, so I guess that just means I’ll have to return!

notes on Spanish night life

Feliz año nuevo a todos! Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful holiday season and are now hard at work on some good propósitos del año nuevo (New Year’s resolutions) for 2013. Between the unseasonably warm temps and a very alternative Christmas dinner (homemade Italian and American dishes, all vegetarian), it didn’t feel a whole lot like the holidays here, but I cherish the experiences I’ve had. Certainly there will never be others quite like them.

I spent New Year’s in Barcelona, a city that truly never sleeps. You see the slogan “the city that never sleeps” given to cities like NYC and Vegas, but I think the most deserving of this title is any of Spain’s cities. While crazy long nights happen occasionally in many cities around the world, I think it’s safe to say that the regularity of such long nights in Spain goes unrivaled. My Barcelona New Year’s experience really solidified this idea for me.

To talk about Spanish night life, you need to first talk about Spanish day life. People get up at pretty normal times on work days; most people have to be at work around 8:30 or 9. A lot of people work straight through until 3 or so (as in, no lunch break) and many others work a split shift from about 9:00-2:00 and then again from about 4-7. The lunch breaks for split-shifters vary, but are never less than an hour and are sometimes almost 3 full hours. This speaks to the priority made of sitting down to enjoy your food, catch up with friends or family, take a walk, etc. Contrary to popular belief, a vast majority of Spanish people do NOT go home and faceplant into bed during the afternoon siesta.

When everyone finishes work around 7 or 8, it’s still not time for dinner. Most commonly, people are out mingling in the streets, having a glass of wine with friends or going for a walk. Dinner is at 9 at the earliest–an exception being if you have really young kids, in which case 8 or 8:30 is acceptable. Restaurants literally do not commonly serve dinner before 9pm.

For Spaniards, eating is much more about the experience and enjoyment with friends and family than the simple act of putting food in your body, so dinners can (and often do) last for hours. I recently sat down to dinner at 9:30 with some Spanish friends in Madrid, and we didn’t leave the restaurant until after 1:00am. This is completely normal.

This makes for a very different New Year’s Eve experience, as you can probably imagine. Most people are just moving onto dessert when midnight strikes, so the most traditional thing to do here is to bring in the New Year at the dinner table. Others, like myself last year in Madrid and this year in Barcelona, gather in the city’s main square with a big clock tower to count down and eat the traditional “12 lucky grapes.”

So now that it’s almost 1:00am, is it time to go home? Maybe for kids or elderly people (although it’s not uncommon to see people of any age out and about well into the wee hours of the morning), but otherwise, heavens no! Bars are packed and overflowing into the streets with people laughing, drinking, digesting, and getting ready for the next stage of Spanish night life: finding a discoteca or salsa hall in which to shake your groove thang. I can’t count the number of times I’ve read in Spain travel guidebooks or websites something along the lines of “don’t even think about going dancing in Spain until at least 2am.” It’s true–the discotecas don’t even open their doors until at least midnight, and they’re empty for the first couple of hours. People are still finishing dinner, after all. The discotecas typically stay open until at least 6, at which point most people head home to try to get started on some z’s before the sun of the new day comes up.

I attended a New Year’s Party at Razzmatazz, Barcelona’s famous indie-fabulous discoteca. Right around 6am, the lights came on, the DJ took a bow, the people cheered and started filtering out into the street. The next day, I was telling my Spanish roommate about my New Year’s Eve in Barcelona. Her shocked reaction could only come from someone who grew up here in the land that never sleeps:

“They closed at 6am?! Why so soon?? It was NEW YEAR’S!!!”

do not leave us speechless!

This year, I am fortunate enough to be both teaching (English) AND taking (Spanish) classes in two of Spain’s “Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas” (Official Language Schools). These schools exist all over the country and offer classes in a variety of languages including Spanish language classes for foreigners like myself. The schools are public and very low-cost. I paid just 70€ (about $90) for an entire school year of classes–4.5 hrs/week or a total of over 120 hours of class. That means I pay less than $1/hour to attend classes. When I started attending classes at the University of North Dakota back in 2006, I remember learning that my cost per hour of class instruction was around $20/hour. And I’m sure it has increased substantially in the past six years. Put another way: attending classes in 2006 at one of the cheapest universities in the US cost me twenty times more than attending classes in 2012 in the center of one of Spain’s largest cities. Go figure.

With Spain’s economy in the dumps, many educational programs are on the chopping block. Just like everywhere else in this recession, cuts need to be made somewhere, but I definitely side with the argument that education should be one of the last places to be making cuts. The whole reason why I’m able to be here in Spain today is because of a program that was created for the need for Spanish people to learn English so they can compete in the global job market. If language programs continue to be cut, the young Spanish people currently out of work (currently almost 50% of young adults in Spain) will fall behind even more. The low-cost language classes offered at these schools are crucial for Spain’s future.

Side note: If you are a native English speaker, take a second to be REALLY grateful for that. Somewhere along the way, English became the most important/useful language in the entire WORLD, and you’re already a master at it just because of where you were born. Now, more importantly, realize that the fact that you are indeed a native English speaker: 1. is by pure chance 2. does not make you better than anyone else, and 3. shouldn’t make you feel like you’re off-the-hook for learning another language. Learning another language (or two or three) will broaden your worldview astoundingly. In summary: don’t be an ethnocentric a-hole.

Below is a video created by the Oficiales de Idiomas de Cádiz y San Fernando in the South of Spain to raise awareness of the importance of keeping Spain’s Official Language School programs alive. The video is subtitled in Spanish, but the people in the video are all speaking the languages they’re currently learning (French, Italian, English, German, etc.) at one of Spain’s Official Language Schools. Even if you don’t know Spanish, it’s worth watching.

The text at the beginning of the video says:

“I don’t learn languages to speak. I speak languages to learn.” Isn’t that beautiful?

Near the end of the video, the creators sum up their plea by saying: “¡Que no nos dejen sin palabras!” which means “Do not leave us speechless!”

Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I’ve had a wonderful (albeit turkey-less) Thanksgiving Day. Feeling almost 100% after a couple of days fighting a nasty virus, I have that sort of new lease on life that only comes from recovering from illness and realizing how good it feels to not be sick.

That said, it’s a holiday, and I’m not at home, which can lead to another kind of sickness…homesickness, of course. I don’t get homesick easily or often at all, but holidays are definitely harder than regular days. I could sit around and be sad to not be at home sharing this day with my family, but that doesn’t do much good so instead I’m focusing on how much I have to be thankful for. I’m experiencing a wonderful opportunity to live and learn and explore in one of the best places I’ve ever known. I have family and friends back home that love me, as well as wonderful new friends here. I’m healthy and happy. That’s more than enough to be thankful for.

I did a Thanksgiving-themed lesson with my students this week. Most of them knew very little about Thanksgiving prior to the lesson, but they were eager to learn more, curious about lots of details (mostly about the food…which is what it’s all about anyway, right? :-p) and gave me very genuine well-wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving. In case you haven’t caught on yet from this or previous posts, I LOVE my students. They are theeeee best.

On Saturday, several of my American friends and I will have our own expat Thanksgiving here in Billbao, just like we did last year. It’sbe sure to have all the fixin’s, along with my own special Midwestern specialty, Hot Apple Pie.

Bilbao Expat Thanksgiving 2011

To all of you back home: I hope you’re happily stuffing your faces with Thanksgiving goodness or already enjoying a nice, tryptophan-induced siesta.

Love you and thinking of you all! Buenas noches!

manners matter

As I sat in a small café eating lunch yesterday, a man entered with his dog and headed back toward the bathroom, his dog following him. He nodded to me and said “Que aproveche” (Bon appetit) as he passed, then waved a vague signal in the general direction of his dog, who then promptly sat down about 6 feet from me. The man continued on his way to the back of the café to the bathtroom, and his un-leashed dog waited patiently for him, occasionally glancing over at me, probably envious of my succulent jamón ibérico. I got to thinking about how normal this whole scene was to me: the stranger telling me to enjoy my meal as he passes me on his way to the bathroom, the dog entering the café unleashed and then sitting patiently for his owner to return…where am I? When did these things become so normal to me?

No tying up necessary: a dog waits patiently for his owner outside a bank on my street

**Side note: the manners of the DOGS here is a topic that deserves a post of its own. As I’ve mentioned before, they’re not usually on leashes, and they’re soooo obedient! What kind of dog training programs do they have here that we don’t?!

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about differences in what is considered polite and impolite here in Spain and in the States. I started compiling a list a couple weeks ago when a friend of mine asked me on Twitter whether it was true that Spanish people say goodbye to each other when leaving an elevator. Yes, that is in fact true, and it really struck me how that had become so normal to me I don’t even think twice about it.

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So here is my ever-growing list of differences in manners/politeness between the US and Spain:

• Say goodbye when you leave an elevator. I didn’t find this quite so funny until I was talking about it with my dear friend Jackie the other day and told her that you don’t actually say “Adios” but rather “Hasta luego” (See ya later!), as if you have plans to meet up with these strangers again later in this same awkward, claustrophobia-promoting scenario.
• Say “Que aproveche/Buen provecho” to tables you pass in nicer restaurants. My roommates also do this at home– if I’m eating and they enter the room, they wish me an enjoyable meal. Adorable, no?
• Don’t say hi to or smile at strangers on the street. They’ll think you’ve mistaken them for someone you know, or that you’re just crazy. The exceptions to this rule are: 1. When you meet strangers on a hiking trail and 2. When you meet strangers in the hallway or entrance to your own apartment. Then it’s totally cool.
• Say hello and goodbye; it’s kind of a big deal. After living with a Spanish family this summer and now with Spanish roommates, I’ve concluded that they’re much more intent on saying hello and goodbye whenever they come and go, as well as goodnight before retiring to bed and good morning the first time they see you each morning. And the hellos and goodbyes themselves are a bigger production: when you encounter family or friends in the street/restaurant/bar/etc., you give them “dos besos” (two kisses) which aren’t exactly besos, but rather you pull them in, your right hand on their left arm (and them the same to you), and you touch cheeks with them on each side, making a kiss sound. I guess it’s a pretty intimate greeting/salutation compared to the way most Americans greet each other. It’s amazing, though, how quickly it becomes normal. Even my American friends and I here greet each other in this way.
• Keep your hands on the table. Last year at a Christmas dinner at the house of some Spanish family friends, I learned that at meals here, it is most polite to keep both hands on the table at all times. This is something I still have to be conscious of almost every time I’m eating a nice meal here. From a young age, I learned that the proper thing was to keep your non-dominant hand in your lap. It turns out that here (also in France and maybe other parts of Europe), if you don’t have both hands on the table it signifies that you’re not really enjoying the meal. But I suspect that, in Spain, it could also have something to do with the fact that you have bread at every meal, and it is to be kept on the table (not the plate) on your non-dominant side. Children are taught that the bread can be used, in the non-dominant hand, like another utensil to soak up the oils or juices from the dish. So in this case you need the dominant hand on the table to be your “bread hand,” so to speak.
• Get out of the way. In the US, when we bump into someone we pretty much act like we’ve fractured their skull: “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry! I didn’t see you there!!!” The return is often just as dramatic: “No it’s okay! I’m fine! I didn’t see you either!!!” Oh, so you mean you didn’t nearly die from me brushing up against your shoulder? Good good good. Well I have to say that here, it’s the opposite extreme, and I don’t like that either. People rarely apologize for bumping into you, even if it’s a pretty good shove. And I still haven’t figured out who moves aside for who on crowded sidewalks. Younger men will usually move for me, but among women it seems like I always have to be the one to step off the sidewalk onto the street  in a crowd. I guess I get voted off for my foreign-ness.
• Raise your umbrella. In my 18th non-consecutive month living in rainy Bilbao, I think I’ve figured out the umbrella-raising codes. *Note: I know this may only be a foreign concept to my fellow North-Dakotans–not that it doesn’t rain there, but if it does we just run to our cars or avoid going outside. And in North Dakota you certainly never find yourself in the situation of walking down a crowded street where everyone has an umbrella, so it has been a big learning curve for me. Umbrellas make your space bubble a foot or two wider all the way around, so how do you navigate your much larger diameter through a crowded street? Umbrella-raising. In my experience, there are three simple rules in a head-on umbrella encounter: 1. If you’re a male, raise your umbrella. 2. If you’re younger, raise your umbrella. 3. If you’re taller, raise your umbrella. So being young and tall, I do a lot of umbrella-raising. That’s okay though, it’s good for the biceps.
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  Manners are a peculiar thing, and it’s good to be aware of how different they can be from country to country, culture to culture. Even the most culturally-conscious of us are bound to make a faux pas here and there. Laugh it off, learn from it, and move on.
  Buen fin de semana!

the simplest, best ever ice-breaker for adult EFL students

I am working at a language school this year, and my students range in age from mid-20s to mid-60s. Before our first classes together, I read several ideas for intro/ice-breaker activities that work well for adults learning English. I came across one that I hadn’t seen before, and it goes something like this:

1. Give the students strips of paper and tell them they have to think of an adjective that describes them and also begins with the first letter of their first name. Then, have them write their adjective and name, in that order, on the paper.

2. Have each student introduce themselves, adjective included (Hi! I’m Musical Megan), and then tell the class a little about themselves: why they’re studying English, where they work or what they study, and any other interesting facts about themselves they’d like to indulge.

3. After the introductions, gather the strips of papers from the students and mix them up. Explain to the students that they are going to come to the front of the class one at a time, and that you’re going to tape one of their classmates’ names to their forehead without them seeing it first. They then have to show their classmates the name and then ask them questions to figure it who it is. They must ask yes-or-no questions only, and they must start with basic things (Am I a man or a woman?), move onto more detailed things (Am I an engineer?) and, if needed, resort lastly to physical characteristics (Am I wearing a blue scarf?) Finally, they have to try to remember the name of the person they’ve figured out is on their head before they take it off (Am I…Mikel?)

4. The next turn goes to the person who’s name was on the forehead of the classmate before them. If my name was on Mikel’s head, it is now my turn.

This game works really well for both intermediate and more advanced adult ESL students. For the lower levels, it helps them work on simple question structure (a common mistake for Spanish people is to say “I am a teacher?” instead of “Am I a teacher?”) and recall basic vocabulary about personal and physical characteristics. The more advanced students seem to naturally rise to the challenge of making their questions more complete and varied.

This activity makes everyone laugh (we all look and feel pretty dumb with a piece of paper taped to our forehead!) and loosen up, learn each others names and get to know each other a little bit. Meanwhile, as the prof, you get a pretty good idea of their level of English right off the bat. I think it might just be the perfect adult EFL ice-breaker.

Have you used this or a similar activity before? What other ice-breaker activities have worked well for you?