Job Discussion Forums

[lozwich]

Hiyas,

I'm trying to weigh up whether I want to stay living here in Mexico, or move to Spain. One of the most important factors is whether I will be able to watch movies (either at the cinema or at home) in English in Spain. I've heard that everything is dubbed, but is that true? I don't want to have to buy DVDs just to see movies in English.

Maybe there's some kind of expat video rental service?

Have a good day,
Lozwich.

[grahamb]

Indeed, everything is dubbed. One way around the problem is to buy a TV with a dual transmission function. This allows you to choose the original dialogue, be it English, French or Strine. The word "dual" usually appears on the screen (and in the TV listings in newspapers) to indicate which films which have this option.
There are several original version cinemas in Madrid. I imagine other large cities have similar facilities.
Surely there are better reasons for going to Spain?

[lozwich]

[gsbcn08080]

Now the BBC is free to air so I bought all the equipment ( after checking many forums about it) and I get all the BBC channels and also ITV. All free with a dish of 1.20 and a second hand receiver I bought on ebay.
A friend of mine did all the work for me so now I can watch the same TV as at home. Many websites about it but this British guy answered all my mails and was very helpful.http://homepage.ntlworld.com/de.sullivan/
( Manual tuning for Sky Digital ). I paid a total of 200 euros and I get a perfect picture all the time so it is worth it.

There is one Channel in Catalu�a ( TV3 ) that is dual which means if you have a modern TV you can watch most films in English but everything else is dubbed and with the same voices.

[grahamb]

Well, if you're determined to go there, be sure to take plenty of warm clothes for winter because it gets damn cold in the centre and north of the country.

[lozwich]

What do you mean?!?

How cold?!?

Like SNOW???

The choices I am making about location just now seem to involve mountains, pine forests, and at least freezing overnight, if not snowing. Is that what the north is like?

For someone who is most recently from the sub-tropics, its a little daunting, but I just feel so dang drawn to these places. Hence wanting to be able to watch movies in English, sipping hot chocolate and eating churros while its freezing outside...

[Mouse]

How cold? Very cold. I don't think I've ever been colder than in my flat here during the winter (yes, there is occasional snow). I think the lack of double-glazing or quality wall-insulation may have something to do with it as well, mind you.

[lozwich]

Gosh, that does sound a little daunting. That's one good thing about Mexican homes, once they get warm - even when its freezing outside - they stay that way for a good while...

Sorry, Mouse, don't mean to 'out' you, but where is 'here'? I'm thinking of the Pamplona side of northern Spain, is that anywhere near you?

Thanks,
Lozwich.

[Mouse]

Yikes! From my extremely limited experience and Catalan hearsay (so discount freely) Pamplona is brutal in the winter! I live in North-Eastern Spain (Catalonia) in a town inland from Barcelona (which as GSBCN will tell you, has better weather). As GrahamB says, the centre and north get cold in winter, but there may be variation depending on your altitude, proximity to the coast, and so on.

[Mouse]

On a more positive note, Mouse said after rereading some of Lozwich's earlier comments, the hot chocolate here is truly marvellous. Truly. I'm going to stop here because I could rant at length on the marvellous properties of a good thick Mediterranean hot chocolate (and all for somewhere between a euro and a euro an' a half!). Sipping hot chocolate inside on a cold day makes everything else worth it.

[gsbcn08080]

I think the problem in Spain is that most flats/houses are not prepared for any cold weather. At least not the flats that English teachers rent. I've never been in any flats with central heating or double-glazing windows and it does get cold around Dec-February. I heard people complaining about winters in Spain and I think it's because they have flats as if it was summer all year around.
I'd love to try the hot chocolate Mouse keeps talking about but "Im watching my figure".

[lozwich]

I have diabolically high hot chocolate standards, since I live in the state of Oaxaca, the home of the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted in my entire life!!

But thanks, y'all, this is really helping me make the dreaded decision, which still, unfortunately, seems so far away...

Have a great day,
Lozwich.

[Mouse]

As I've never visited Oaxaca (how would you pronounce that? Wa-cha-ka?) I can't say whether the hot chocolate is better there than here. But if it is, then... then... damn, my brain is unable to process how good that would be.

Also agree that having good quality food or drink can ruin you for experiences in other countries: after living in southern Italy (and having visited Chicago to try the American version of the meal), I'm contantly and bitterly disappointed by pizzas anywhere else.

[lozwich]

Its pronounced wa-HAH-ka more or less.. You should try pronouncing the name of the town I live in! Mexicans even have trouble with it! And then there's names like Popocateptl, Tlaquepaque and so on.. Part of the joy of living here!

The chocolate here for eating is bad, but for drinking its fantastic. It comes in blocks and is kind of like dark chocolate with sugar, cinnamon and other stuff in it. I've seen them making it, and basically they throw cacao, sugar, cinnamon into this machine that melts it all together, and then its formed into tablets. To make it, you boil some water or milk, throw in the tablet and mix it with this thing called a molinillo, which is like a round wooden spoon arrangement that agitates everything in a rather marvellous way. A very important part of the hot chocolate is the froth on top, which is caused by the mixing with the molinillo. And then, you eat it with this bread that is kind of yellow because they put egg in it. Or dip in pan dulce or churros or whatever you have handy, and there's breakfast!

I'm not much of a fan of the food in my corner of Mexico. How's the food in Spain? I've heard its FAB. Also, being largely vegetarian with the exception of the occasional bit of fish, am I going to have problems with the food? I have lots of trouble getting vegetables in restaurants here.

Have a great day!
Lozwich.

[grahamb]

As far as eating out is concerned, Spain is hell for us non-carnivores. The Spanish simply can't grasp the idea of a salad without ham, tuna or a combination of both. I hope you like eggs, because apart from tortilla, there's very little for vegetarians on restaurant menus. You'll find more than the occasional fish, of course, and also various molluscs and shellfish.
On the plus side, you can buy a wide variety of good quality fruit and vegetables for cooking at home. And then there's the wine and beer...!