Howdy,
I’ve been in Sevilla, Spain for about three weeks, and as I write this, it is 3:00 in the afternoon, I have just finished lunch, and my host mom is already starting to prepare merienda. What even is Spain?
In these three weeks, I have noticed several differences that remind me that I actually am in a different country.
Shoes:
America: wear shoes when you go out (or sometimes not even then) but not at home
Spain: ALWAYS wear shoes. if I get out of my bed and I’m not wearing something on my feet, my host parents warn me that I’m going to get sick.
Food:
America: now this one is very subjective because I suppose everyone eats differently, but at home I mainly eat veggies and fish and the like.
Spain: meat, bread, paella, churros, bread, bocadillos, a LOT of processed foods, bread, jamón, bread, manchego cheese, did I mention bread?
Meal Times:
America: breakfast at 7-10 but depends on the person, lunch at noon which is a medium sized meal, dinner at 7 which is a large meal. then there is snacking throughout the day.
Spain: breakfast at 7-10 but very very small (usually toast with olive oil and sugar and colacao), lunch at 2:30-3:00 and big! (usually 3 courses), merienda at 5 (aka second lunch with sweets or pastries and jamón), dinner at 10 which is a bit smaller than lunch. Spaniards eat so much more at mealtimes than Americans and the only reasons I can think of as to why they all aren’t 9000 lbs is that they walk everywhere and don’t snack between meals.
School:
America: students choose their classes and move between them. They usually receive a lot of homework that they turn in the next day.
Spain: students choose a track (sciences or humanities) and pretty much stay in the same room all day. The teachers move between classes. There is not as much homework, but many more big projects due. Tests are much more frequent, but each one is much smaller than an American test.
Attitudes:
America: generally, kids treat their parents as equals or with more respect, and give more respect to their teachers than that.
Spain: what even is respect?
Shopping:
America: oh, you want a plain white t-shirt? that’s $500
Spain: oh, you want these super high quality shoes with the perfect dress to go with it? that’s 7€
Fashion:
America: you can basically leave the house in a sports bra, yoga pants, flip flops, and your hair in a bun and no one will give you a second glance
Spain: If you want to leave the house looking anything less than ready to go to a photoshoot, you should just not leave the house at all.
Sleeping:
America: 7-9 hours at night and that’s about it
Spain: 2 hour nap at 3, 6 hours at night. Seeing as I can’t take naps for some reason, I end up sleep deprived every single day. yay.
Light Usage/Water Usage:
America: basically just leave all the lights on in every room all the time. I’m very used to taking hour long showers.
Spain: I find myself wandering the hallways of my apartment with my phone flashlight in hand because you NEVER use lights. Even if you leave a room to go grab something, you turn the lights off right away. As for the showers, the water is either -599999 degrees or like you’re about the enter the gates of hell. There is absolutely no in between, but I guess this is good as you are supposed to take really quick showers here…
Language: do I even have to list this one? Spaniards speak Spanish…
Siesta:
America: naps are for young children and old people
Spain: THANK GOD I WENT TO A COUNTRY WHERE LITERALLY EVERYONE SLEEPS. Not only did this help with dreaded jet lag, but also after a full day of trying (and failing) to understand what people are saying, I’m mentally exhausted.
Privacy:
America: your space is more or less your space and you can always retreat to your room if you need more privacy
Spain: yeah knocking isn’t really a thing here and your room is still THEIR HOUSE. Note to future students: don’t come to spain if you need a lot of alone time. you won’t get it.
However, in addition, CIEE told us that we shouldn’t close our doors and that we should only take 1 hour of alone time a day.
Flirting:
America: low key.
Spain: “I’m going to sing you a song that I wrote to proclaim my love for you.”
Greetings:
America: handshake or a hug if you’re lucky
Spain: two kisses: one on each cheek
Volume:
America: we are loud.
Spain: they are louder.
Personal Space:
America: We have about 2ft of personal space for each person and unless you are REALLY close to them, you usually keep your distance.
Spain: Everyone stands/sits/talks REALLY close to you to the point where sometimes I’m not sure if they want to talk to me or kiss me. They are also EXTREMELY touchy. Maybe this stems from saying hello with two kisses, I’m not sure.
Transportation:
America: Let’s ruin the atmosphere with carbon gases and waste all of our precious fossil fuels! Driving!
Spain: WALK! RIDE A BIKE! TAKE A BUS! WALK! WALK! WALK!
As you can see, Spain is different. Very different. But I have learned so so so much and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this experience is. Yes, culture shock is very real. Yes, sometimes I just want to watch American tv shows and eat mac n’ cheese while texting my friends and NOT being 6 hours ahead of them. But then I just step out into the streets. Or I talk to my host family. Or I talk to my American friends. Or I talk to my friends here. Or I take photos. Or I just sing really loudly and dance like an idiot in my room. Or I write. Or I go make myself a very yummy bocadillo (sandwich with cured meats). Or I learn cursewords in Spanish. Or I go to the center of the city. Or I go out with friends. Or I eat. Or I cry. Or I laugh. Or spam everyone I know with texts. Or I make deeper connections with the people and world around me.
And then I know that I can do this. Spain is amazing I can’t wait for more. 258 more days.
Peace,
~Parker Grove
