When my fellow English teachers and I first arrived here there was a lot of complaining going on- our commute to work, rude people in the street, restaurants, slowness everywhere, not knowing who to go to for help etc. I figured that I would get used to it thereby becoming a "malaguena" who could not be phased by any bump in the road. Yesterday I learned that it is not just us foreigners who are frustrated and fed up with the way of life here...
It started in a conversation during my private English class. My student, who normally can be timid during our conversations, choosing to speak more Spanish than English was on the ball from the second I walked in her flat, "Hi!!!! How are you??? Would you like a coffee?" Our conversation started with a summary of our respective Semana Santa vacations and then there were three main important things we talked about that I would like to share:
She began by saying that recently she has been feeling very frustrated, disappointed and turned off by Málaga and wants a change for a while. First she told me about a man on her street who wears a green jacket and will put a big metal object in front of your car when you are trying to park so that you have to pay him in order to park. There is no one she can talk to about it and clearly it is illegal since the parking is supposed to be free. She says if she called the police they would think she was crazy and ask her why she was calling. They have no doorman or super in the building so they can't complain about problems on the street or in the building. I cant imainge not having a super. My building in New York is very safe, but small problems or even big ones come up every once in a while and you need a person to go to for help. The woman said the attitude here is (and she put her head in the air and started humming) that no one cares, people want to mind their own business because no one wants to be the person to complain about something. She said that the laweyer they have doesnt give a "mierda" either. Note: Spain could use some passionate and caring lawyers
Secondly, she is fed up with all of the doggy doo on the street. As I have mentioned before Málaga is a candidate for European Cultural Capital in 2016 and the other day some woman printed out signs saying "Málaga European Cultural Capital 2016" and stuck it in all of the dogg droppings she saw on the streets in Málaga. Pretty funny right?
Thirdly, she commented that women here are not equal to men like they are in other countries, that Spain is still very backwards in this regard. She said that instead of fighting for equal rights, women are extremely aggressive and rude especially when they drive their cars and constantly honk their horns and yell things our their windows.
And just today I was walking along the promenade towards Limonar to give a clase particular when three malagueños rode by me on their bikes and the last one pinched my butt. They kept riding, but would turn back periodically to smile and laugh at me and one even fell off his bike further up the road. It's like... really? What kind of education and upbringing did you have that you think you can ride by a woman on your bike and grab her ass. Give me a break Spain. Me da asco. Odio los malagueños.
So in conclusion, you are not being a high maintenance bratty American. People here ARE really rude, sleazy and inappropriate and the way of life IS extremely inefficient and frustrating to locals as well. And for those of you malagueños that this does not apply to, I did not mean to offend you, but PLEASE tell your compañeros to get their act together and start acting like a respectable society instead of a pack of barbarians.
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