Culture Shock in Europe

To state the obvious, Spain is not America, and as a result life here is not the same. In a previous post I outlined what a day looks like here in Pradoluengo, Spain. While there are many similarities between life here and America, there are also some glaring differences. None of the differences are necessarily good or bad, they are simply things to get used to. 

First and foremost, the timeline of one’s day is different in Spain. Primary schools do not start till 9am and students are done with the school day at 2pm. Growing up, my school days were from 7:30am till 3pm. Since the day is shorter, students do not eat lunch at school and instead eat later once they are home. Overall, meals here are a big difference. Citizens opt for a small breakfast, a large meal midafternoon, and a small dinner later in the night. Quite the opposite of what we are accustomed to in America, as we are taught to fuel up in the morning, tend to have a smaller meal in the middle of the day, and a larger meal earlier in the night for dinner. To give a timetable, Spain breakfast is at 8am, lunch 3pm, and dinner 8:30-10pm while America breakfast 7-8am, lunch 12pm, and dinner 6-7pm. Though I have adjusted to the eating schedule here, I prefer ours in America (I may be biased).

Second, is the way people greet one another. It's a little silly to admit, but I thought kissing one’s cheek was only a greeting used in movies. I was, in fact, wrong. Going in to shake someone’s hand instead of their gesture of kissing one's cheeks led me to a few awkward introductions. In general, people are much more comfortable with physical touch than they are in America. This further highlights how individualist America is, something I knew to be true but have never had so much evidence to support until now. 

Third, people in Spain exist slowly. There is rarely a rush to leave or arrive. It is a refreshing change of pace as someone who spent is constantly in motion. For most of my life my brain has been wired to believe slow means lazy. However, this is not true. The people in Spain live slowly but they are far from lazy. As I have not felt a need to rush around it has given me a chance to enjoy smaller moments and time to myself. 

Fourth, I miss my dryer. This one is quite silly, but they care about saving energy here more than in America and, as a result, hang dry their clothes. While nothing is wrong with this, I miss my clothes being dried quickly :). 

Fifth, keeping food in the oven. Plastic bags and Tupperware exist in scarcity here, instead people put food back into the oven if it is not finished. I must say I found this to be a wild concept. To be specific, the oven is turned off and the food simply sits within the oven in a pan or tray to be heated up later. This is one I do not think I will ever be adopting into my own lifestyle; I stick with my Tupperware. 

While there are more subtle differences between the cultures, I have enjoyed immersing myself into their way of life, attempting to leave my American tendencies behind (at least for a little while). Americans do not learn much of Spanish culture growing up, usually opting to understand, their neighbor, Mexico's culture. This has led to some culture shocks for me and some misinformation about Spanish society. Overall, I hope to be equipped with enough knowledge about Spain and its culture when I return to help my future students better understand a diversity of cultures.