"Vale"

"Vale," translated, can mean just about anything: "thank you," "sure," "it's ok." It's one of my favorite words - and you can use it just about anywhere.

"Hasta luego?"
"Vale."

"Gracias."
"Vale."

"Vale?"
"Vale."

See what I mean? My first experience in Spain taught me to love this word and use it often. I even kept using it when I returned home for a while; but now I get to use it again, and it's just another piece of Spanish culture that I love.

Anyway, yesterday I arrived and Carla brought me to my apartment. Beautiful, no? I cannot believe I get to live here. It's located just four blocks from the ocean in the old part of the city, and there's a lot of life down here.

After settling in I went to a futbol game to watch the Alicante team, Hercules, play. While getting cozy in my seat as the sun went down over the field, I found myself entranced by all the cultural differences around me. This one in particular caught my attention:

Brotherly love - Spanish men have NO problems being physically affectionate with one another. Carla and I were walking out of the stadium and these three boys, probably no more than 15 years old and who were (by young-teenage-girl standards) handsome, were walking arm in arm, messing with each others' hair, scoping out girls together, and it was clear that there was love between them. Then, just beyond them, this older man and his friend were walking side by side with their wives, and one reached out and grabbed the back of the head of the other and made a side comment that I couldn't make out. To me, it's a beautiful cultural difference to behold, because, as we know, this is very different from how men are taught to interact with one another in the States. The intimacy, to me, is grand.

Vale, I'm going to end this post and start another on my amazing experience today!