*Listed in order of occurrence, not significance
**Degree of seriousness varies but each item listed is nonetheless a difficult situation to navigate in a second language
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1.Stoplights and crosswalks are not at intersections; they are in the middle of the road. I have yet to understand the logic behind this but it is in fact the case.
2.In grocery stores, you don’t have to buy the whole 6 pack—you can choose however many you want! Clearly the Spanish are more understanding of the single person household lifestyle. Although when it comes to Fanta Limón I will always buy the entire 6 pack. No shame. 3.Siesta. I know I have mentioned this in earlier posts, but it is worth mentioning again. Many businesses close at 2:00 for the rest of the day (like banks, which are only open 8:00 to 2:00) or for a mid-day break and reopen again around 4:00 or 4:30 (like commercial shops and some restaurants). In the case of the latter, they are then open until 9 or 10 at night. Usually I am on board with this whole mid-day nap idea but it is so no inconvenient when you are trying to take care of business. 4.Dogs don’t use leashes. And yet they stay with their owners in the streets and even cross the streets with them! Increíble! 5.It is never too late for coffee or too early for wine. I know many Americans believe this too, but it is simply culturally acceptable here and not a matter of shameful behavior. I am 100% on board with this aspect of the Spanish lifestyle. 6.Military Time. While Spaniards speak about time the same way we do (aka “It’s 5:00”), they use military time in writing. This is a very important distinction to note if / when you ever come visit because it could lead to some very confusing bus ticket mishaps (shout out to you, Rachel!) 7.They don’t keep ice trays in their homes. Whenever you need ice, you have to buy it. This could seem problematic when you want to enjoy a cold beverage immediately upon purchasing (aka when buying your alcohol for the night), but every liquor store sells ice and will even give you a plastic cup with your purchase! 8.There are old people EVERYWHERE. Or maybe it just seems like they are everywhere because in America we isolate our old people. But seriously, they’re on the streets, in the cafes, in the bars…. Doing all the same things as the 16 year olds, 25 year olds, and 40 year olds! 9.Chinos. The closest one can come to a convenience store in Spain, Chinos are small shops owned by presumed-to-be-Chinese people (frankly, the Spaniards don’t care if they’re actually Chinese or not) where one can buy all sorts of goodies. There are two varieties: the first are small shops where one can buy snacks and alcohol (you can find one of these on almost any street); the second are giant Walmart-like stores that have everything from household products to wigs and costumes to school supplies to underwear. The options are nearly endless at the latter variety of chino and the prices are ridiculously cheap. These stores don’t operate on the normal Spanish siesta schedule, so you can run errands at the chino almost any time of day and night. Frankly, I don’t understand how the Spanish culture would operate without chinos. 10. People don’t have printers in their homes. If you want to print something, you put it on a flash drive and take it to a store that specializes in making photocopies and printing. You pay about 10 Euro cents per page. I can’t decide if I think this is brilliant or a huge inconvenience. |
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Meet the Author:Graduate student of GEMMA Eramus Mundus Master's Degree in Women's and Gender Studies. Currently living in Budapest, Hungary. Originally from the American midwest. Archives
October 2016
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