Tuesday, October 24, 2006

It isn’t just the language that she teaches

At our Spanish class the other week we did a bit of work and then we had a discussion (in Spanish of course) about the differences between living in Spain and England.

Inevitably the conversation came around to the girls who offer their services on the roundabouts and alongside the main roads. Actually I have to confess it was my fault because I raised the topic. We explained that this practice would not be allowed in England. Whilst the Guardia Civil happily ignore what is going on, the police in England would arrest any girl attempting to solicit so openly on the roadside.

It isn’t just at night that you see these girls, there is a day shift as well. In fact the day shift is growing in number. Once you might have seen two girls on the way to Torrevieja, now you spot half a dozen. They each have their own patch, presumably with regular customers. Some are well set up with a brolly to shade them and a chair to sit on whilst others just stand in the baking sun. Most are dressed in jeans or shorts but we have seen some in tiny little skirts that do nothing to hide their naked bums. A lot of the girls on the night shift wear just white underwear so you can easily spot them in your headlights. I suppose some of the girls feel that you need to see the goods before you decide to buy.

Prompted by our teacher, we concluded that some men take time out of work to avail themselves of the services on offer whilst others have an extra course at lunchtime. It explains why some Spanish drivers are in such a hurry. They are obviously making up for lost time.

The discussion then moved on to hygiene. Our teacher suggested that maybe they had a bottle of water and possibly some soap to clean up between customers. The idea of being the last customer without such measures was not a pleasant one. We then asked what rates they charged but she said she didn’t know. We imagined it might be anything up to 50 euros but a better informed member of our class suggested the normal price was more like 30 euros. Apparently you pay more for the girls in the clubs but then you don’t have to struggle in a car with them.

It is important to know about these cultural differences.

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