Spanish Culture

Spanish Culture

I´ve always enjoyed learning about different cultures, but never guessed that I´d be thrown into one someday like I have been here. I had always told myself I´d like to study abroad, but I never really thought I´d do it. Even with this trip, it didn´t seem real until I actually arrived in Spain and there was NO English being spoken around me.

That´s probably the hardest part of the whole culture shock-- the language barrier. I went to go pick up my sack lunch just a few minutes ago for our trip and the guy asked me when the rest of the group will come to get theirs. It took me a while to get out that they´d be there in a little bit. After being here for this long, I feel like I can listen and understand pretty well now, but my speaking still needs a ton of work. I´m going to try to speak as little English as possible next week. It gives me warm fuzzies when I speak and natives get my point. Every time I don´t get that blank stare, I feel like I´ve really accomplished something. It really is frustrating not knowing what´s going on around you. 

The people are very friendly and help as much as possible. I´ve only had one person just become so impatient with my lack of language skills to just huff off, but that´s their problem.

They are pretty sensual in their dress or the younger people are and very free with their sexuality I suppose you could call it. Kind of bothersome to me, but as long as you ignore the cat calls not much trouble can follow. At least I have dark hair and tanned skin; I blend a lot better than some other students. The people seem to live in bars; they start their day there with some light breakfast--Spaniards eat next to nothing for breakfast, which makes me SO sad-- then they go to work and catch a snack on the way back home for siesta time; they catch dinner at the bar and then come back later for some drinks. Just about everyone drinks here. Not always in excess, but I´ve seen a lot of sipping wine after work type thing.

Typical Spanish day is as follows: wake up and eat the carb only breakfast that´s hardly enough to sustain a church mouse, go to work etc. about 9 and open store at 10. Work until about 2 then shut down the store and go home for a huge lunch and siesta. Go back to work about 5 and work until somewhere between 8 and 9:30 and then either go home, go out to a club or hang out in the Plaza. Go to sleep somewhere between midnight and 2 am. Even the old people take this schedule. It´s so odd seeing people my grandparents´age at the Plaze at midnight. haha. 

The 80s fashions are really big here. I saw a girl wearing stirrup pants on Tuesday. An odd combo of a mohawk and a mullet is the latest fashion for men´s hair. They shave it on the sides, have a shorter strip down the middle and then have in long in the back and according to my native source, the longer your mullet is, the "cooler" it is. The women wear a lot of skirts and dresses. I was forewarned about this and brought some skirts of my own. I´ve really enjoyed wearing skirts most the time and may continue that trend when I go home. Of course these aren´t mini skirts; they cover your knees well and are genearlly of an A-line shape and made of light materials like cotton. Many people carry fans to ward of the heat of the mid afternoon. Few Spaniards go out in the afternoon; most are siesta-ing. That´s why there were so few people out in Ávila on Tuesday. 

The Spaniards are very family oriented as I mentioned before and I have seen tons of kids out playing ball in the plazas just before dinner time. I wish American kids were more active and the kids´families more involved in their care and rearing like they are here. 

A few oddities and then I´m done. Going barefoot is a no-no as is leaving stuff for the maid to do that you can do yourself. Drugs are legal here as long as you don´t keep more on your person than you can comsume by yourself. The big supermarket chains will deliever your groceries. A married person wears their wedding band on the right hand ring finger. Throwing away food gets you an evil glare. And if a lady wants to exercise in shorts, she best be done by 9 am. 

That´s all I´ve got for now. I´ll report back when I return from San Sebastian.