I am continuing with my countdown of the 20 memorable things for me in Spain during my assignment. You can link through the main page if you want to read about numbers 19 and 20, but next up is...
#18 - The Granollers Bowling Alley
After spending my first two weeks here in Spain basically sitting in my hotel room (my bum ankle did not help things but I wasn't exactly turning down opportunities left and right either), I was invited to go bowling with some friends from work on the third Saturday. At the time, I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I'd noticed many differences between the Spanish and American cultures already, but it was my first activity out so I jumped at the chance.
Two seconds after entering the bowling complex, I felt at home, and this small sense of comfort probably helped me for the balance of the time here! Had I been dropped into an alley in Clayton, NC or Pittsburgh, PA, or really anywhere in the United States, I'm not sure I would have seen any differences from what I saw here. The typical shoe counter greeted us as we walked in, and in the distance I saw a bar as well as a ticket counter for the countless arcade games being played by young kids all around. The bowling lanes themselves were, to my amateur eye, the same length and width that I was used to, and the ball weights were even listed in pounds (which caused confusion in my boss the day before, as he claimed the balls weighed 10-15 kilograms, which would be over 20 pounds!).
My bowling effort was poor, which I blamed on my ankle although that was of minimal consequence. But the most important discovery came in between the first and second game. On my way to the restroom, I saw my favorite bar game of all time... Pop-a-Shot basketball! Best of all, everything was in English and it had a running high score, giving me a target to beat. Because we were bowling with eight or so people, I had PLENTY of time to get to work on the scoring record.
After one warm up game, I got into my groove and began storming towards the high score (which was somewhere in the low 300s when I started I think). After my third or fourth game, I had reached the high score but knew I could do even better. At just this time, a small group of kids who had been playing started to gather around (at a safe distance) to see the American at work. I am proud to say that, in front of a small crowd of maybe 5 kids, I put up an unfathomable 351 (shown above, and I eased up at the end) that left the group in awe!
For me, the experiences of bowling and playing arcade basketball ball showed me that I had a few "connections" to American living here if I needed them. Surprisingly, I haven't been back and I suppose that speaks mostly to how I've been able to connect with "Spanish living" relatively well. Still though, I probably should make one more visit just to check and see if I still have the machine record...
19. Scobie's Irish Pub
20. Prices include tax in Spain
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