¿Feo, guapo, o humilde?

These are the pants I found at the Rastro (flea market). When I saw them, I couldn't control my excitement, bought them, and turned them into the ugliest pair of shorts I have ever owned. For this reason, they are amazing. The zebra belt and the dragon just make them so...bad.


So I was wearing them the other day with fivefingers (feel free to judge, it was awful). My friends Bea, Nisrin, and Genesis came over and asked me about my horrendous outfit. They proceed to tell me repeatedly that it was truly ugly, and that no girls would ever talk to me if I wore it out. I was going to the pool, so I didn't really mind. Most of the time, they see me in the dorms, in normal t shirts, and jeans, and even though they know me, they are Spanish, and had made ridiculous preconceptions about the way I view my image. Madrid is very nouveau riche, and dressing well is super important. Again, they repeated, "Harry, son feos. ¿por que los llevas?" "Harry, your outfit is ugly, what are you wearing?"

So when I went to dinner with the IES dean, I of course dressed appropriately. Nice polo blue button down, nice black jeans, leather belt, and sleek black dress shoes. I looked pretty dec.

When I got back to San Agustin, everyone was chilling in the lounge. Needless to say, they're not used to seeing me look more presentable than the average UVM student. I dressed up a little too much in high school, UVM isn't really conducive to polos and seersucker anyway, and all things considered, I'd much rather dress like a vagabond. I sat down to talk to Bea, Genesis, and Nisrin, without thinking anything of what I was wearing, and it turned out that they didn't know what to do about my attire. In stead of the repeated "feo" (ugly), it was "Harry, eres muy guapo." I told them that I'm not actually a scrub, and when dressing nicely is appropriate and necessary, it's a good thing. They understood. Nisrin told me that she had realized that I wasn't actually fashion-inept. She called me "humilde" (humble). What's up with that? I might be going too deep here, but it seems as though I helped them realize that anyone can dress well, but not anyone can be a nice guy.

I feel like I almost wear ugly clothing to force people to think "why the hell is he wearing that...why would anyone wear that...he can't be serious." Indeed, I am not serious. The world is too serious. Laughter is a great medicine (running is the best...sorry expresion), and a light heart is a great thing.