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Leaving our parents, becoming independent, living on our ownā¦ is something that we all have to do at some point in our lives (at least before we start living off our children). I, at twenty-two years old, have taken the step, or rather the leap, because thanks to a scholarship from the University of Oviedo I have ended up studying my last semester at the Virginia Institute of Technology, in the United States.
As this is a completely different world, The-RockeR has given me a few whippings, convincing me to write a few posts telling about my experiences in these parts; so here you have me.
The truth is that Iāve only been in the US for more than a week and I canāt delve into many topics, but at least I can comment on some of the things that have seemed different to me (for better or worse) with respect to Spain and which will later deserve their own article.
The Prices
A few days ago I wrote a tweet that said (more or less): āIn Spain we complain for pleasureā. Why do I say this? Well, because I felt a complete stab when I paid more than $6 (yes, six) for Popular Science magazine, a magazine of barely 100 pages including advertising. The worst thing is that this is not an exception, but it is impossible to find written press beyond newspapers for less than $4, without fees.
And thatās another oneā¦ the rates. In Spain, the price of an object advertised by a store is the final price, including our increasingly inflated VAT. This does not happen in the US, so if you want to buy something you must keep in mind at all times that the price will increase by around 10% compared to what is shown on the posters. Something disgusting if you have just enough money :S
Smartphones Everywhere
One of the first things that surprised me is the immense amount of smartphones that swarm these parts. I soon realized that it is due to the ridiculous prices of American telephones. I have seen a rate of $25 per month that includes unlimited calls and 3G connection.
On the other hand, if youāre a sad guy like me who only uses the phone every now and then and prefers a ridiculous prepaid rate (99c a day, only on the days you use the phone) you must be willing to put up with stupid things like being charged for the call even if the other person doesnāt pick up or, something I still donāt understand, being charged for receiving calls, making it impossible to receive absolutely anything if you run out of credit (and they donāt notify you, which is the funniest thing).
From bars, tobacco and other petisoperasā¦
After a week here, I must say that the best thing about the US are the cocktail bars, and for many reasons.
The first of them is the price of the beer, ridiculous if you know how to order. A pitcher (a jug of about 2 liters) of wheat beer costs about $10 during normal hours, but if you go between 5 and 9 (childrenās hours in Spain, macho hours in the Americas) itās half price (what they call Happy Hour here). And it is priceless (well yes, $5) to order 2 liters of beer for just ā¬3.
Another reason why it is a pleasure to enter an American bar is because here, as now in Spain, smoking is prohibited inside the establishments. And, Iām sorry to tell you, Spanish smokers; Nobody has died or gone bankruptā¦ stop your absurd arguments. In fact, it surprises me how profitable the bars must be for there to be so many in a town as small as Blacksburg, Virginia.
Likewise, billiards are present in all the bars, so for a measly dollar you can have a game while you have a few beers :3
And Iām sorry to say it, but the thing about there being no bar culture outside of Spain is a myth.**
The Campus
I wanted to leave for last what surprised me the most in my first week, the Virginia Tech campus. I must say that I come from a small University, with barely 9000 studentsā¦ barely? That is the number of students on the Blacksburg campus and, unlike Uniovi, here they do very, very well.
More than 50 residence halls, as many departmental buildings with classrooms and a few sites worth mentioning make up Virginia Techās Blacksburg campus, the 11th largest campus in the United States and a wonderful place to live.
Apart from more than half a dozen large buildings with restaurants of all kinds (Virginia Tech has been winning the award for several years as the campus with the best food in the entire US), there are plenty of options for having fun, from a HUGE gym with two Olympic-sized swimming pools to the wonder of the Squires Student Center, where we can find billiards, a Dance Dance Revolution machine or even a bowling alleyā¦ yes, a bowling alley on campus, and a bargain, hey.
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Of course, these are just a handful of the many things worth commenting on about the US. However, since this is my first post, I just wanted to give a few notes and let you discuss in the comments (muahahahaha). In future posts I will talk more calmly about some of these topics and give my thoughtful opinion.