Figured I'd start a segment about some of the big cultural differences between the United States and Spain... enjoy!
The water and lighting situation will get its own paragraph because it is quite important. First and foremost, when you leave a room, turn off the light! Even if you are coming back 30 seconds later, just turn off the light. I have a bad habit of this and I know my roommates are going to ride me. Never leave the hallway light on unless you’re in the hallway. Getting ready for the night, don’t leave both your bedroom and bathroom light on even if you’re walking back and forth getting dressed and doing your hair. If there’s still daylight, don’t even consider turning on a single light in the apartment unless there are absolutely no windows in that particular room. I’m not trying to make the Spanish seem anal but this is their culture so you have to respect it. Alright, now let’s explain the water debacle. First off, water heaters don’t really exist in most apartment buildings. The Spanish use propane tanks to heat their water. It’s literally a tank that’s usually in a kitchen cabinet that must be turned on and lit with a match when you want hot water or to use the oven. When you run out of gas, you put the empty tank outside your door with some money and the propane man will bring you a new one. (So the running joke here is not the milk man but the gas man) For this reason, showers are a unique trick one must learn. This is what I do. Standing outside the shower, I turn on the water and put my hair under the faucet/ shower head. Turn the water off and put shampoo in my hair. This is because at first the water is still cold but I don’t want to waste it. So as I lather in the shampoo, I step into the shower. By now some water should have warmed up; so I turn the water back on and rinse. Turn the water off and put in conditioner. Turn it on and rinse and then quickly wash my body. I haven’t found a water conservative way of shaving my legs yet but I’ll be sure so let you know. It sounds ridiculous but it saves so much money on propane and your water bill that you’ll learn to love it.
The daily schedule in Spain definitely takes some getting used to. It took me the majority of the time studying abroad to get the schedule down. This time has been a bit easier but because I live independently, I tend to mix a little bit of the American lifestyle with the Spanish. On days that I don’t work early, I get up around 10-11am. I usually eat a very small breakfast consisting of a bowl of cereal, a piece of fruit or some type of muffin. I shower, clean and run some errands. Around 2:30-3pm, I eat lunch. Lunch here is a very large meal: equal to that of America’s dinner. Here I tend to vary that because I am still a ham and cheese sandwich type of girl. Then comes siesta time. If I don’t work at all, I’ll go back to sleep till about 6pm. If I teach in the evening, this is when I usually hop on my bus to Madrid and take a nap on there. It’s not that I’m lazy or really need a nap; it’s just what you do. Every store and business closes down from about 2-5pm.
The water and lighting situation will get its own paragraph because it is quite important. First and foremost, when you leave a room, turn off the light! Even if you are coming back 30 seconds later, just turn off the light. I have a bad habit of this and I know my roommates are going to ride me. Never leave the hallway light on unless you’re in the hallway. Getting ready for the night, don’t leave both your bedroom and bathroom light on even if you’re walking back and forth getting dressed and doing your hair. If there’s still daylight, don’t even consider turning on a single light in the apartment unless there are absolutely no windows in that particular room. I’m not trying to make the Spanish seem anal but this is their culture so you have to respect it. Alright, now let’s explain the water debacle. First off, water heaters don’t really exist in most apartment buildings. The Spanish use propane tanks to heat their water. It’s literally a tank that’s usually in a kitchen cabinet that must be turned on and lit with a match when you want hot water or to use the oven. When you run out of gas, you put the empty tank outside your door with some money and the propane man will bring you a new one. (So the running joke here is not the milk man but the gas man) For this reason, showers are a unique trick one must learn. This is what I do. Standing outside the shower, I turn on the water and put my hair under the faucet/ shower head. Turn the water off and put shampoo in my hair. This is because at first the water is still cold but I don’t want to waste it. So as I lather in the shampoo, I step into the shower. By now some water should have warmed up; so I turn the water back on and rinse. Turn the water off and put in conditioner. Turn it on and rinse and then quickly wash my body. I haven’t found a water conservative way of shaving my legs yet but I’ll be sure so let you know. It sounds ridiculous but it saves so much money on propane and your water bill that you’ll learn to love it.
The daily schedule in Spain definitely takes some getting used to. It took me the majority of the time studying abroad to get the schedule down. This time has been a bit easier but because I live independently, I tend to mix a little bit of the American lifestyle with the Spanish. On days that I don’t work early, I get up around 10-11am. I usually eat a very small breakfast consisting of a bowl of cereal, a piece of fruit or some type of muffin. I shower, clean and run some errands. Around 2:30-3pm, I eat lunch. Lunch here is a very large meal: equal to that of America’s dinner. Here I tend to vary that because I am still a ham and cheese sandwich type of girl. Then comes siesta time. If I don’t work at all, I’ll go back to sleep till about 6pm. If I teach in the evening, this is when I usually hop on my bus to Madrid and take a nap on there. It’s not that I’m lazy or really need a nap; it’s just what you do. Every store and business closes down from about 2-5pm.
So there is nothing to do but nap. I spend majority of my evenings at work till about 9pm and then I take the bus back to Toledo; I’ll get home around 11pm. Again, if I don’t work, I’ll clean, take a long walk, catch up on some blogging, emails or watch a movie. Either way, around 10 or 11ish I cook dinner. If I work all day, I usually prepare some food earlier and keep it in the fridge so I can just heat it up. 9-10:30pm is the usual dinner time in Spain. It would seem extremely unhealthy, but honestly it works out quite well. Dinner is still a big meal but not as big as lunch. More of your heavy carb foods like pasta are eaten at lunch. Dinner is usually your meat and veggies meal. Midnight to 1am is my typical bedtime. If it’s the weekend, the earliest time you can hit the bars is midnight. That’s pushing it but because dinner is eaten to late, you also need time to get ready. The average time to be in bed on the weekends is 4-5am. This is probably why the siesta is so important. If you go to a sit-down/ lounge type area, with every drink, you get a tapa (a free small portion of food)… not at the discotecas ‘dance clubs’ though.
Another issue I want to share is Spain’s policy of public displays of affection. This is one culture difference that no matter how many years I live in Spain, I will never become adjusted. Here it doesn’t matter if your 16 or 60; if you’re in the mood for a make out session, you have the freedom to stop and have one wherever and whenever you like. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been sitting by a couple on the bus or metro when they begin swallowing each others faces. I never realized how ‘prude’ I was until I came to Spain. The people here have no inhibitions when it comes to their libidos. You can be in the middle of a crowded room making out with whoever you want. I realized that every time I see these awkward displays I always have the same disgusted look on my face like “Get a room already.” It is more common for younger couples: late teens to late twenties but you’ll see your occasional old person sucking face with someone who looks like your grandmother. It never ceases to amaze me. So let me share some of my experiences:
I was sitting on the bus going to work in Madrid when this couple comes and sits in the row right in front of me. Of course, there were like 5 consecutive open rows behind but they had to sit by me. Not 10 minutes into the 45 minute bus ride do they start going at it like rabid dogs. I mean tongues, hands and sound effects… the whole shebang. If they were any closer to me, I would have been able to feel their breath on my face. I was dumbfounded; I had no idea what to do. Awkwardly move to another row or endure the rest of the trip with this hormonal uprising. (I reluctantly stayed and kept my eyes locked on my paperwork sitting in my lap)
Here’s another example. Walking into the bus station a few weeks ago, there’s this couple standing at the top of the stairwell going at it and blocking all the people trying to get to the buses. It’s not like it’s a small bus station with nowhere to stand; there are multiple sitting areas with probably 50 chairs.
So I guess this is why it bothers me so much. It’s not their display of affection just the manner in which they decide to show it. Go to an unpopulated corner or at least limit your activity until you get to a private place. But no, the Spanish will start whenever the mood strikes them: next to old people at a bus stop, in front of small children at a park, in the crowded streets of Madrid surrounded by hundreds of people.
Well I can guarantee that there will be more cultural differences that I will explain, but these are just a few to help you understand. Enjoy and I’ll keep you posted from Espana!
Another issue I want to share is Spain’s policy of public displays of affection. This is one culture difference that no matter how many years I live in Spain, I will never become adjusted. Here it doesn’t matter if your 16 or 60; if you’re in the mood for a make out session, you have the freedom to stop and have one wherever and whenever you like. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been sitting by a couple on the bus or metro when they begin swallowing each others faces. I never realized how ‘prude’ I was until I came to Spain. The people here have no inhibitions when it comes to their libidos. You can be in the middle of a crowded room making out with whoever you want. I realized that every time I see these awkward displays I always have the same disgusted look on my face like “Get a room already.” It is more common for younger couples: late teens to late twenties but you’ll see your occasional old person sucking face with someone who looks like your grandmother. It never ceases to amaze me. So let me share some of my experiences:
I was sitting on the bus going to work in Madrid when this couple comes and sits in the row right in front of me. Of course, there were like 5 consecutive open rows behind but they had to sit by me. Not 10 minutes into the 45 minute bus ride do they start going at it like rabid dogs. I mean tongues, hands and sound effects… the whole shebang. If they were any closer to me, I would have been able to feel their breath on my face. I was dumbfounded; I had no idea what to do. Awkwardly move to another row or endure the rest of the trip with this hormonal uprising. (I reluctantly stayed and kept my eyes locked on my paperwork sitting in my lap)
Here’s another example. Walking into the bus station a few weeks ago, there’s this couple standing at the top of the stairwell going at it and blocking all the people trying to get to the buses. It’s not like it’s a small bus station with nowhere to stand; there are multiple sitting areas with probably 50 chairs.
So I guess this is why it bothers me so much. It’s not their display of affection just the manner in which they decide to show it. Go to an unpopulated corner or at least limit your activity until you get to a private place. But no, the Spanish will start whenever the mood strikes them: next to old people at a bus stop, in front of small children at a park, in the crowded streets of Madrid surrounded by hundreds of people.
Well I can guarantee that there will be more cultural differences that I will explain, but these are just a few to help you understand. Enjoy and I’ll keep you posted from Espana!
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