Estefania's Estereotipos

It is inappropriate to dance crazily in the funkyclubs of Espana. As I previously described, you end up with a huge circle of Americanas dancing sororitastically around each other. Concentrically around the young women, you have clusters of bobbing Spanish men, typically 10 years too old for them, literally pointing at the girls they want to take home. Classy, classy.

Well, I just wrote 800 words for a class about the movie Eurotrip, which 25 of us watched in English, quite drowsy and dehydrated from an awesome night at such bars and funkyclubs as aforementioned and then, portrayed in the film.

I've decided that we can't escape these stereotypes. When Americans are drunk, which this country welcomes as a warming of a rather frozen economy, we dance. Cultural boundaries like the fact that no Spaniard is dancing won't really stop us as long as we have a super bass and some good music (typically from our homeland) blasting in a suave-looking Spanish funkyclub.

Now, despite the country's centuries of Catholicism, I was treated to a free show of two exotic dancers last night on platforms on the dance floor. It's hard to think about the Roman and Arab architecture as Spanish culture when a six-pack and tanned hips are gyrating in front of you at 2 in the morning. Spain, help me out here. It's not my fault that I am starting to see more Eurotrip and less Reyes Isabel y Fernando when I go out and try to embrace la vida cotidiana espanola.

While I'm out being safe, but somewhat American foolish, I try to spend a lot of time asking Spaniards what they think of America, Americans, and Americans in Spain. Because journalism school taught me to be curious and interrogate people at all times.

One young man told me that the way American girls in Spain act is good and bad because we are very flirty but then not actually as easy as we look. Uh, oookay.  Another told me that he would very much like to attend a house party, like he's seen in the movies. As we kicked a soccer ball around the beach, I explained to him that, Oh yea, pierced Matt Damon sings "Scotty Doesn't Know" in my backyard all the time. That's clearly the norm. And our parents are never home and we do kegstands from the time we are born. And then we turn 18 and come to party in Europe and go home back to our awesome house parties with our awesome music and our awesome Obama and our awesome lives.

They see America how we see Spain. Some B- movie that has a mild legitimate basis mixed with an intense fantasy of a world more fun than yours.

Lizzie Maguire's movie, about her romantic jetting around Italy on a motorcycle, is actually how some of my friends are living day and night. You can't make that up.

There is a giant leg of a pig on my kitchen counter. The laundry does hang out to dry outside. Soccer is a religion as much as Christianity. It is okay to have a drink every day. Study abroad really isn't a lot of homework. I really did go to bed at 5:30 AM last night. I really did debone my  own fish at lunch today. Now, I'm going out to a cafe/bar to watch my team, Futbol Club Sevilla own Atletica Madrid because the fandom here is 100% infectious. (Nyackshoutout!)

There are stereotypes, cultural rumors, study abroad typicalities, European traditions, some protected by UNESCO (the Mediterranean diet, for example), that are true and important, righteous or not.

This is way more fun than my American life. No question. I'm on a three month vacation, seeing the world, playing into stereotypes, and trying to play out of a few too. But if I were 30 and unemployed and living with my parents (not a stereotype - just a good chunk of the population here), I might be dreaming of the American House Party too...

But I'm not. I'm just enjoying the 2 am 'exotic dance' show while doing my own dancing embarrassingly and obnoxiously at Club Abril where the walls are cushioned and the bathroom doors are see-through and the drinks cost 7 euros.

Because if I weren't doing all of this, some other silly American would. I'm here to learn, but I'm here to have fun doing it.