I have a few questions about Spain?

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salachic

Congrats on the trip, you'll have a great time.
I don't eat at McDonalds either, so I can't help you on the prices there, but yes there is one in Salamanca, right outside the Plaza Mayor.
Birthdays are celebrated, as well as the Saints day, but more on a low key scale. It is possible that your family may get you a cake for after lunch or dinner.
Teens are much more fashion conscious in Spain that in the US. Never go out dressed in sweats and sneakers. You can get some cool tops and skirts over there and summer time is when they have the rebajas (clearance sales). Check stores like Zara, Pullen Bear, Stradivarius, Bershka (ck links below).
A souvenir tee shirt is between 10-15 euros, lots on La Rua street and tons of shops, so more competition.
Most likely your family will live in an apartment in the city limits. But there are lots of kinds of housing now in Salamanca. Just outside the city, across the river, there are condo type housing developments. And they are now on the city bus routes, so easy access to town. Oh, and yes there are "row" houses in the old parts of the city....I know because I own one. They are very old and they don't make them anymore. Most are being torn down to make way for pisos/apts. I'm in Salamanca every summer with family. It will be great. Enjoy.

Freddie

A Big Mac Meal (with fries & drink) cost about 6 Euros. Remember, 1 Euro is about $1.50. Yes, everything is very expensive everywhere in Europe!!!!

Birthdays are celebrated the same as here in the US, and in most civilized countries. With your family & friends, having dinner, cake & presents. Spain is a European country, not the third world.

Teenagers everywhere in Europe dress the same as teenagers in the US.

Souvenirs can be expensive. A typical Tshirt costs about 15 Euros, or about $22.

A typical family lives in a flat, which is similar to a condo.

A host family would appreciate something typical from wherever you're from. Maybe t-shirts or sweat shirts from your State University, or something with the name of your state or a football/baseball team from your state. Almost every one all over the world likes getting t-shirts.

tarmanarmos

Read the book Culture Shock : (Spain) it'll pretty much tell you everything you need to know!

I think big mac are about 2.5 euros
Birthdays I think are typical as the U.S.
I live in Salamanca and you dont want to get caught wearing tee's and sweats on the streets...a big no-no
They are very stylish here in sal. and I would agree with Sue
Skirts are common as well as jeans with high boots with heels
The teens are very stylish around here.
Most live in Apartments,condo's ....I havent seen any single family homes if that what you referring to.

Salva

Hi! I'm from Spain.

You can find a McDonalds in almost every medium city, so I guess that Salamanca will have one. Big Mac is less than 3â‚¬ and a McMenu will cost less than 6â‚¬.

On the contrary of what SUE said, I think most Spaniards don't celebrate the Saints as a birthday!!! We probably say "felicidades" or congratulate people that shares the name of the Saint, but we don't have parties to celebrate them. I don't know how Americans celebrate the Birthday, but I guess it similar. Nonetheless, it depends on the person. Some people celebrate, some people don't.
How we dress? We dress like every European country, I don't understand why SUE said about "conservativism" because I've never been in the US, so I can't compare. People here are trendy, up to date with fashion, but it depends on every people too. There are a lot of styles: posh, sexy, rapper, sporty, punk, heavy..., so, a lot of people have their own style. In coastal areas of the Mediterranean, some girls wear shorts-shorts lol. It's more usual to wear sexier at the discos.
These are some pics of Spanish girls and boys, and some young pop stars.
http://www.streetwear.ch/files/images/2006/5/mob855_1148112495.jpg
http://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/5572/22472/f/105804-Spanish-boys-0.jpg
http://www.spainbcn.com/SpainBCNSummerProgramsBarcelona07/SpainBCNProgramsBarcelona_Summer07/album/slides/201.%20Las%20chicas.%20Actividades%20culturales%20en%20Barcelona..jpg
http://byfiles.storage.msn.com/y1peG8Ihq7Wnb9yQMo1vk-fC3UqOw3XSn_4SMhF1FLdkgwXgBQKL-84csrnhjoQ6RbCDJnCu1X9brY
The Spanish band "Amaral" http://www.musica.pro/noticias/wp-content/uploads/amaral.jpg
Band "El Canto del Loco"
http://www.musica.pro/noticias/wp-content/uploads/canto.jpg
Singer "Edurne"
http://imgserv.ya.com/galerias2.ya.com/img/2/218edeb8813240d3i3.jpg
Hope I have could make it clear to you :)

Cost of souvenirs, T-shirts... well, in touristic areas are EXPENSIVE hehehe

Most families (the mine included) live on a flat, rented or owned as SUE said, there are also a lot of duplex, houses with gardens...

And finally, what can you bring??? I guess that something typical of your country will be appreciated. Nevertheless, whatever your gift is, you'll be very considerate towards the host family.

Enjoy Spain, I guess you will like it a lot!! I hope so. Have a nice holiday!!!

SUE

Actually the dollar has sagged even more against the Euro...according to my desktop at this moment it's $1.58/1â‚¬, but congratulations on your trip! It'll be a blast!

Starting at the top...WHY do you care how much a Big Mac is!? There is so much Spanish food which is SO much better and SO much better for you, and you aren't going to be there long enough to miss them. (There ARE McDonald's in Madrid, though I have my doubts about Salamanca...others out there will know for sure...They haven't really hit the smaller towns, yet, and Salamanca is not terribly large). I suggest you stick to tapas for inexpensive meals. WAY better! (If at a loss for what to order, just get a paella or a tortilla espaÃ±ola YUMMM).

Birthdays aren't really celebrated among Spaniards. They celebrate their Saint's Day the way we celebrate a birthday. However, your family and/or friends will probably celebrate somehow, a cake or pastry reminiscent of something American style. Any program I've been on has done. And an early Happy Birthday to you! Â¡Felicidades!

Clothing: They dress much like conservative Americans do. You won't see quite as much skin as you would here, but you will see t shirts and jeans, longer shorts (walking style - no short-shorts), and more skirts than you see in the US. Shoes are REALLY important, but don't bother bringing many. They will still stand out there. If you're going for most of the summer, buy something cute but comfortable there, you may only wear them while you are there, and never take them out again when at home, but you may want to wear their styles while there. (they shouldn't be TOO expensive...I think I saw some flats at around 30â‚¬ or so last year. They were just so very different from anything you would see here.

T shirts in Spain generally run in the 10 - 15â‚¬ range, depending on style and quality. I paid 30â‚¬ for a medium weight sweatshirt from my alma mater last year.

Most people in the cities live in "apartments" called Pisos. I put Apartment in quotation marks, because in the US, an apartment is rented, whereas in Spain they can be rented OR owned. They don't have the word Condo, but your family is much more likely to own it than rent it. and Houses, well, you only really see those out in the country. It's not really like Mexico, where they are all bunched together in a strip with no space in between, but a little yard in front and back. They seem to either be an apartment (half a floor of a building) or rural houses. Very little in between.

As for a house gift or hostess gift, people often like things they can display in their homes, some sort of wall art or sculpture that represents your home. Something hand made by a local is always nice. Almost every town has a shop with goods that are handmade by local people. Something along those lines, or someone suggested a framed photograph of you with your Spanish family, doing something that was memorable.

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