the Spanish and Portuguese impressions

Each region of Spain and Portugal has their own character.Many of the impressions might not be true because of my personal views.Well that involves that...
1) I dont speak a damn word of Spanish (but I am good at guessing and picking up single words)2) I am Asian
3) I am a freaking Asian boy
4) I could be paranoid sometimes

PEOPLE
Well, generally, I have found that the Portuguese are more reserved and polite than the Spaniards. You can always hear the Spaniards talking loud on the street, in the restaurant, anywhere. But the Portuguese dont seem to have the same quality.

Perhaps influenced by some Portuguese people I have talked to, I feel, in general, the Portuguese are more friendly to people. One of the reasons I think is because they speak pretty good English. A lot of times when I was with Alexis (an American Canadian girl who rescued me in Lisbon) she thought the people didnt speak a word of English so tried Spanish with them. BIG MISTAKE! sometimes they get offended by that you know! Because their English level is so far ahead of the Spanish standards.
It's sad when you cannot communicate with people exactly the way you want. The English in Spain is pathetic but I don't blame them. Everything on TV is dubbed into Spanish and they don't really feel the need of speaking English. Whereas Portuguese don't have that PRIDE which halts them from learning another language. You really feel that people are more down to earth when it comes to meeting with foreigners. I am not saying the Spanish are not down to earth. But they are definitely down to earth when you speak their language or have some spanish friends who speak english or who have a friend that speaks english.
In many cities you will find no other place that speaks English than the tourist information centers. Well, techniquely, people understand some vocabulary if you speak extremely slow and with a spanish accento. So I suggest the one who wants to travel to Spain at least know some basics in Spanish or have some companions who speak it. Or else, you'd better not just burst out speaking English to people when you see them. That is considered kind of rude in Spain.
Interesting enough, I have found the old people more helpful than the young. At least five times on the street in different towns, I was holding a map trying to orient myself. All those times I was helped by some Spanish old man who didn't speak half a word of English. But they try very hard to help me. They also could just babble on and on about god knows what.
However, I think one reason that they don't speak english is because they are afraid of making mistakes. Because whoever I asked if they spoke english or not always replied "just a little bit..." that shows a lack of confidence.

Last but not least, let's talk about the girls. well first you have to know that most girls on the Iberian Pennisula smoke. And they smoke A lot! So don't expect their breath or voice to be very pleasant if you will. Especially their voice is not very pleasing to the ears since they have been smoking since they are in middle school (well, I saw a bunch of middle schoolers smoking outside the campus many places I went) and they really talk loud. So I guess those things are the nicest contribution to the vocal cord. BUT, compare the spanish chicas with the Portuguese ones, the Spaniards to the Portuguese is as the Portuguese English to Spanish English. I don't know, for some reason, the Portuguese girls just looks so plain. They are not bad looking nor good looking. But you totally lose your interest in them.

CULTURE
Eats late- lunch is around 2-3pm
Party late- you don't really go out partying until 3 am then party till 10 in the morning
Shops open late- don't expect to see shops open until almost dusk
Uncertainty is their middle name- don't expect them to tell you one thing for certain until an hour before

Transport
the Metro- generally they have a pretty decent underground and bus system in major cities and towns.
the Autobus- the Autobuses run between cities, these are not any cheaper than the railway, but more time options and flexibility. Also, sometimes the railway doesnt connect some cities in which case you must take the autobus to get from one to another. Although I would not suggest these unless you know some spanish and are ready to take some challenges. Anything could happen on the trip. One time my bus almost broke down in the middle of the high way but somehow the bus driver managed to dragged the dying engine to the final stop. And one other time we had a girl pouring puke in the back of the bus. And no one could do anything. It started out sounding like someone had a bucket to throw water on the floor. And it kept on going for some minutes. Thank god the puke smelt like strawberries so I didn't follow her lead.
the Renfe- this is their railway system. It's usually pretty clean and punctual and not too expensive. Although if you were to ride the AVE, which is the high speed train, it might cost you quite a fortune. There's several advantages if you ride with Renfe. It's on time (usually), every main train station has a tourist info (which the bus stations don't have), and you probably would run into less strange people on the train.

Well, these, of course, are just impressions. So don't take them too seriously!

FOOD
well both cuisines are excellent but there are some subtle differences...
Spanish-famous for Tapas, Paella, and different small regional foods. The ingredients are generally pretty acceptable, but there could be some strange things that people daren't try. The tapas usually involves a lot of potatoes, pork, jamon (ham), and eggs. Bell peppers and other common veggies are widely used as well. The Spaniards don't really stand the spicyness so nothing is spicy at all. The paella tastes something like jambalaya from Cajun cuisine but without the spicyness. I have personally found Spanish food pretty salty. Oh, and there something I can't miss out, Churros con chocolate. Their hot chocolate is extremely thick, it's as if they just melt the solid chocolate straight into liquid. It goes very well if you dip the churros in the chocolate but too sweet by itself.
Portuguese- even more salty than Spanish, which makes it horribly salty. The portuguese are famous for their pastries. The custards are amazing and so are other little snacks. You will see a very big difference in a portuguese town and a spanish town when you see loads of people standing in Pasterias (places that sell pastries) having their feast in Portugal while the Spaniards prefer tapasterias. One dish you can't miss while in Portugal is the BIFANA!!! It could be very very spicy for some but I loved it! well, it's like a hamburger but with some sliced pork cooked in spicy oil and spices. It's also pretty cheap to have so I highly recommend it.