Recently, while shopping for clothes, I have set some strict guidelines:
1. Can I wear this while teaching?
2. Can I wear this in a Spanish summer without getting heatstroke?
Two nights ago, I had this terrible thought: what if all of my American clothes are terribly out-of-date or ugly or just plain laughable in Spain? It's not that I've ever been a particularly fashion-conscious person, but the truth of the matter is that I'm already rather big and white, and I don't need to add more to the list of things that make me conspicuous.
So now there's Guideline #3: Can I wear this without enabling people to instantly pinpoint my clothing as distinctly American?
The internet has provided some consolation, informing me that my current wardrobe probably won't leave me ostracized, at least not right off the plane.
I have also learned that in Europe, my shoe size is 44 and my dress size is 40/42. One plane ride, and I will have swollen 3 to 4 times my American size. It's amazing what thirteen hours in the sky will do!
1 comment:
It's funny what cultural differences "stress" people out before they get here--I never would even thought about any of this:) Hope you're getting closer to that VISA!
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