Coffee

At the the time, I was more than ready to get out of Spain. I found the people to be largely inconsiderate, extremely nationalistic to the point of racism, and with an overwhelming since of entitlement. More than that, I didn't like the person I was becoming while living in Spain. I was almost always late, I stopped caring about my schoolwork, and was generally lazy.

However, now that I'm back in the craze that is my normal life, there is one major thing I miss: coffee. I miss the ease of ordering coffee - as there were virtually only 2 choices: cafe con leche or cortado (an espresso shot w/a dallop of steamed milk). I miss the automated coffee machines that were ubiquitous - I had coffee from a machine at the Alhambra! But more than anything else I miss taking time out of the day to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee. To-go doesn't really exist in Spain. Cortados are small, so you can gulp one down in a minute or two, but that's still a little bit of the day that you took just for yourself. To stop, smell the coffee, chat with friends, re-caffeinate, and then move on.

I don't know that I'd say Spain got many things right, but coffee is definitely one of them. Oh, and also colonizing a continent.