Small world, shopping, and simply standing

1. At a bar on Friday night, there´s a Lithuanian guy sitting at our table who is suddenly out of the conversation when his friends leave to get a drink. I start talking to him and realize that he´s worked very close (Darien, to be exact) to my hometown in the U.S. We start talking about 75th street and how he thinks Bennigan´s has the best ribs he´s ever tasted.

2. Walking into the shops in Salamanca with Ann on Saturday and realizing that we have the entire shop to ourselves as it is the tail-end of siesta.

3. Ann and I watch the people in Plaza Mayor, Salamanca. Just about every Spanish city seems to have a ¨main square¨ or plaza mayor. I joke to her that I´ll start a photo collection of all the plaza mayors in Spain. But mostly, we just stand there eating our sandwiches, observing all the well dressed people (the men with the men and the women with the women) just standing about as if they´re waiting to be seen or waiting for something to happen. It´s in these moments that I see cultural differences.