Forgive the Rant Please.

Alright, I'm finally going to attempt to put some (all would be literally impossible) of the annoying spanish habits I've noticed into words. 

Firstly, I just want to say that Spanish people are amazing, friendly, and very fun people. I really wouldn't have come back 3 times if I didn't enjoy their company. Sometimes I actually feel bad for finding them so annoying, but then I just force myself to believe that they must have their own opinions on Americans too, and that differences are O.K. 

Secondly, I wasn't planning on publishing these observations on my blog (I just complain about them in person) but my flight from London to Bilbao pushed me over the edge. I guess it was those 5 days in England (a seemingly organized society) that made me really, really focus on Spanish annoyances. So here I go.

Things start off on the bus to Stansted airport, on the transfer bus, when two Spanish guys sit down across the isle from where I'm sitting. They were talking excessively loud and (since I could understand them) with far, far too many swears. 

Once I arrived at the airport, I noticed a second common Spanish habit. After clearing security, there were two big common areas with restaurants and shops and whatnot, connected by a pretty hall with shops down the sides. In the middle, and in the common areas there was plenty of seating but  Spanish people, being Spanish, must stand in the middle of the walkway to chat with their huge group of friends/family, making it an obstacle course to wind through them with your suitcase. This happens on a daily basis in Miranda (or any city here) too. People stop right on the corner to chat, or in the middle of a doorway, or wherever they really feel like it without considering that people need to pass by them. 

My boarding time was 4:45, so around 4:30 I started making my way over to gate 14. When I got there it was pretty full, and everyone was sitting down waiting. Unlike the Rome airport, there was clear indication which flight was leaving and what time it would be boarding. At exactly 4:43, there was a beep in the airport. Just some random beep. One guy got up and started to make a line in front of the gate desk (probably assuming that boarding was going to start), and all of a sudden, like a bunch of animals, everyone got up, grabbed their bags and RAN over to the "line". The little English girl working at the desk looked up, eyes wide, and yelled "SIT DOWN LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE ARE BOARDING IN 10 MINUTES".  But that didn't phase them in the least, actually MORE people got up and joined the bandwagon. When I looked around me, the only people that were still sitting and waiting patiently were obviously English. 

Before the wild stampede, I had sat down beside a lady and her two young (baby and toddler) daughters. During the time, the Mom got a phone call, and stood up and went over to the window to chatter away, not at all paying attention to her kids. I watched as on THREE separate occasions the little baby, who probably had just learned to walk" wobbled over and stole someones book. All three times, he had gotten up and went after the baby to get the book back. The first two times he was smiling like it was cute, but the third time it was obvious he was fed up and expecting the mom to say something, but she was still chattering away. 

After boarding was actually announced, I joined the line and finally got onto the plane. I took a seat near the back, and stuffed my backpack under my seat. When I looked up, there were still a massive amount of people who hadn't sat down yet, because they were still trying to find places to place their carry-ons. Why was this happening? Well, because Spanish people, on trains, buses, airplanes, and in cars, must take off their jackets, and put them out of sight. SO, the overhead bins were full of jackets, leaving no space for suitcases or bags. Therefore, it took a very impatient flight attendant around 15 minutes to go through, hand out everyone's jackets, reorganize the bins, and stuff all the baggage in. It's just crazy that people cant put their jacket behind them, under the seat, or simply on their lap. 

Alright, I warned this was pent up annoyance, so there's more. On the bus from Bilbao-Vitoria, there were about 10 people on the bus. Plenty of space and privacy for everyone. Except the stupid idiot a few rows back, who probably not even 2 minutes after the bus pulled out, got a call on his cell, and proceeded to talk extremely loudly about how drunk he got on the weekend, his entire week of plans, his girlfriend, his lunch, and who knows what else, until I got so annoyed that I turned around, and said translation: "EXCUSE ME can you PLEASE speak a little quieter, because no one on this bus has any interest in what you do on the weekend! THANK YOU!"  I think I caught him off guard, since no one EVER says ANYTHING when people are being annoying, or bothering the people around them. But really, a little bit of respect please!

Alright, I feel satisfied that I've let that all out. Again, this is only the beginning, and I'll probably get around to a Pt. 2, So stay tuned folks.