Socialism is alive and well in Spain.
Buying a freaking train ticket from Renfe is the biggest pain in the ass you can imagine. First of all, if you don´t have a DNI (which is a Spanish national ID number) then you can´t buy the tickets online. (ALERT: if this is wrong, and I have been led astray because the renfe website is so crappy, then please let me know)...
So you actually have to go down to the station to purchase the tickets, which is a total PITA because socialism is alive and well in Spain and everyone and their grandmother is waiting to buy renfe tickets and it takes an hour AT LEAST (and I was there on a Thursday morning by 9:45 AM).
Not only that, but I actually called ahead and reserved my tickets by phone, but because Socialism is alive and well in Spain, it doesn´t matter. You still have to go down to the freaking station and wait in line--with everyone and their grandmother--just to pay and pick up the ticket that you already spent time reserving on the phone. They make everyone take a number and wait. There´s no separate line for those who have already reserved their ticket.
I asked one of my new Spanish friends about this and he looked at me funny, and said: "I don´t see the problem because I think it is a very fair system." Then, the light bulb went off and I realized that Socialism is in full force: clearly, it´s not about what´s most productive or efficient; it´s about what´s FAIR for everyone. Christ.
Well, it should be noted, that I was in the grocery store (where you have to take a number and wait your turn to buy everything...bread, pastries, fruits and vegetables) and I was waiting for my turn, but I noticed that there was this old Asian woman who had been waiting a very long time, and everyone was taking their turn ahead of her, and so when it finally was my turn, I told the guy behind the counter that I thought the Asian woman has been waiting much longer than me, and when he asked her for her ticket, she had #40. Mine number was #81. Clearly, she had been waiting there forever--just waiting for someone to tell her it was her freaking turn!
