gotta have my pops

one of my favorite cereals (though i haven't eaten it in years) is this:

you may know these delicious sweet and corny cereal bits; they look like this in the states:

so when i saw THIS at the store here in barcelona, i knew 'i gotta have my pops!'

                               what i didn't notice was the enlarged picture of the pieces, but i sure noticed when i poured it into the bowl. instead of the familiar cereal of my early twenties, i was greeted by this:in case you can't see them clearly, they're oblong mealy puffs of not-corn. biting one open and googling led me to discover that they're hollow and have hazelnut flavoring throughout. they're not bad tasting, just pretty disappointing when i was expecting corn pops (the miel pops seemed like an easy translation). i wonder what 'pops' are like in other countries! ;)

this week in barcelona

this week i had to get a coke zero ('cause they didn't have pepsi) and i was surprised to see the word "daniel" printed up one side of it. the barista (is she still called that if it's an over the counter cafe rather than a starbucks? it feels right) pointed out that there are a variety of names. i got home and looked it up online to see if there was some reason behind these. i couldn't find any, but there are pictures, so there's that. 
this week at the grocery store i spent €22.50  and the cashier was trying to tell me something in spanish. i didn't know what, so i tried to walk away. he dealt me 4 pieces of green peel-paper, which i left on the counter, unaware of what was going on. he picked up one and peeled it open to reveal a "P" or something. then he put it down, did the same to the three others. the last one had a different letter (i didn't see what) which sent the cashier jogging to some corner of the store. he came back with a bottle of wine. for me! yay, i won by accident! :) 

i have figured out how to order a pizza here. muahahah! i think that's the fastest i've done this in another country. anyway, if i call the barcelona domino's call center and ask them to take my order, it's much easier than calling the badalona (the suburb i live in) call center because those peeps don't speak enlgish. meanwhile, pepperoni y piña worked out super well for me. bonus: i ordered a large pizza and the total was €17. the lady on the phone said, "if you ordered 2 medium pizzas, the total would be lower"... she said this of her own volition!! wow, spanish customer service at its best, no?

stores and homes

today i ate a spanish version of bagel bites for dinner. they were alright, but i've noticed in my travels that americans put way more sauce on pizza and pasta products than most other nationalities. that's fine for us, as we're used to it, but it means eating 'italian' things in other countries is a bit disappointing to me. i miss the sauce! i remember trying to order extra sauce on pizzas in hungary and china and finally settled on having my own sauce at home and dipping pizza in it. really? oh well, these were good enough that i'd eat 'em again.

at the store i was happy to see pickles! well... what i thought was just pickles turned out to be pickles stuck inside olives all in a vinegar sauce. i did not buy these. 

this is a photo of the WHOLE cereal section of my local grocer. there are like 16 kinds of cereal and they're not that great, mostly sugary or uber healthy. they have more varieties of frozen pizza than cereal. whoa! i guess the spanish don't eat cereal too much. i'll look into it. 

the toilet paper seems the same as everywhere else except there are animal mascots for most brands. most surprising are the THREE brands that use elephants. i mean, they're cute but does that really say 'soft' to consumers? hmm. ok, i know nothing about advertising.

 this is my front door. if someone can explain the doorknob placement, i'd be so appreciative. this particular door also locks with every close, so i have to be careful to ALWAYS have my keys with me, especially when taking xander out. we've been locked out (me in my pajamas) in china before and it was no fun. 

 it seems customary for spanish homes to include a bidet. that's cool, i guess, except i've never used one. well, NOW i have!! haha, but i just washed my feet in there. it's the perfect height for that and the sprayer thing is handy. idk if i'll ever use it for its intended purpose, but as a habitual foot-washer, i'm glad to have it. ;)

things to miss/reminisce about china

take a look at some things i see every single day. :)

bare bellies in the heat

i guess every guy wants to take his shirt off in the heat, but in china, they do what they do! 

totally casual

not just the worker type, but businessmen too! 

 green tea flavored EVERYTHING!! from cakes, cookies, noodles, potato chips, candy, EVERYTHING.

but look:

 w

t

f

?

 green tea noodles are lookin' pretty normal now, aren't they!?

 even starbucks caters to the epidemic demand for green tea products

 i'll have you know that they tried to market pumpkin spice latte in china and it was a bust. 

but green tea's a huge seller, of course. 

i'll miss seeing ridiculous couples (and families) matching and being proud of it

happy and proud 

 or not so happy... whatevs.

 the amazing engineering feats that are seen regularly around here will be fondly remembered

 i won't miss the spitting. every foreigner is keenly aware of the spitting problem in china, mostly because there's no mistaking that distinct hocking sound that precedes a nasty 'pei!'

 hehehe, the signs are a nice start, even the chinglish ones (oh, i will miss chinglish though!!)

 "pop a squat" why don't ya?

 anywhere will do.

 waiting? squat. talking? squat. reading the paper? squat.

even play a game while squatting in the street. 

 squatty meeting?

i'll miss the yummy/freaky street barbecue. 

how can you go wrong with things on a stick? squid? green beans? eggplants? corn on the cob? chicken? rice balls? potatoes? YES, YES, YES! 

 i won't miss trying not to die every time i'm on my bike or in a taxi.

 at least i'm not alone in my fear and biking...

 but seriously! daredevil's paradise.

i've found china to be hilarious and infuriating. it's such a unique place, full of life, crazy, and funny. i'll miss bits of it when life gets too boring. 

so long, china!!

hilarious, infuriating china

some chips/crisps

little kid was roaming free in the park and became enthralled by the wonder that is xander (and/or linda)

an awesome class presentation about the movie forest gump, that's him sitting on the bench

sterilized instruments in that tray at the hospital

the eye chart (no letters or characters because many people don't read pinyin -chinese transliterated with letters- and some characters look too similar)

a precious student paying attention in class (she didn't even know i took this picture)

free umbrella with purchase of a magazine - weird but completely understandable since ladies avoid sunlight like vampires around here

cucumber mousse for dessert, anyone? (too lazy to flip this pic)

how about some green tea starbucks drink with red beans all up in it?

my taxi driver had no windshield wipers.

don't worry though, he pulled over every half mile or so to wipe the windshield with a rag.

KTV or karaoke is fun and interesting

choose artists/songs based on album covers in case your chinese isn't up to scratch

snacks for sale at 7-11. chewy corn (not the official name), rice mixed with beans or meat or something steamed in bamboo leaves, wrapped, and tied (for dragonboat festival, why else?!)

a bakery full of light, fluffy sweets, including waffles cut into quarters... this makes me miss hungary's bakeries