Spanish Culture

So, there are a few things that I've noticed about Spanish culture since I've been here and I wanted to share them with you:

1. Cleanliness

Growing up in central Ohio in a small town surrounded by farmland, I'm really unaccustomed to city life. (I got a little taste of the city when I took my two trips to Chicago, though). What I expected was a hustling, bustling city crammed with people and, I thought, there would be some amount of dirt that went along with all that. I mean, really? How can you not expect a city full of millions of people to be at least a little dirty? Madrid, however, at least the parts that I have seen are extremely clean. I often see workers sweeping sidewalks that already look clean! One morning on my way to class I saw a woman working really hard with a broom to clean the underside of an awning at the entrance to a pharmacy. My host family, too, is really clean. Being a neat freak, I think it's really great.

2. Time

You may have heard before that Spaniards are notoriously late, even to extremes (i.e. being 2 hours late to meet a friend for lunch). Now, I don't know anything about that idea, but I have noticed that the Spanish really like to take their time. When you go out to eat with a friend, you don't rush into a fast food place, wait thirty seconds for a burger and fries, eat in a flash, and then go about your day. Here, lunch tends to be a bigger meal and people take their time with it. They like to eat, and drink, and talk together and when lunch has been properly done, THEN they go about their day (usually on to a siesta!)

They take their time with other things too, like serving you at a restaurant! I can't tell you how many times I've gone into a restaurant and waited for ages (okay, maybe not that long) for a waiter to take my order or to get my food. I think I'm so used to going into fast food places and getting my food in a flash or going to a sit down place and having the waitress pop up every few minutes to ask if I need anything. I've gotten used to it and the more I experience it I realize it's not that they're rude or treating me differently; they're just not in a hurry and don't think I should be either. :-) I've actually come to appreciate it for a few reasons. It's helping me to slow down and really enjoy my time here, and also, it's making me take the initiative and ask for what I need instead of waiting to be asked (i.e. good way to practice my Spanish).

3. Relationships

There are a couple of things that I have noticed about relationships here. First, almost every day, I see a pair of older women, arm in arm walking about the city together like BFFs. I mean, I see this multiple times a day! I think it is the sweetest thing. :-) The second thing I've noticed, that all of us USAC students have noticed, is the number of young couples. Younger couples have no problem....how can I say this.....kissing passionately in public. Lol. Seriously, while I'm writing this post, I'm sitting in a cafe and I've seen three couples in the time that I've been here. (Can anyone say PDA?!) But really, I shouldn't have been too surprised about this. I learned about this cultural tidbit in a video by Ben and Marina Diez, a married couple who have a Spanish-learning vlog (if you know some Spanish, you can check out the video here). They mentioned that one of the reasons for this is because these young people usually still live with their parents and that they don't want to hang out together around their parents!

4. Meeting people

One of the customs that I knew about but had never been a part of before was 'los besos' which means 'the kisses'. This is a custom that happens between two people when they meet. Once they've been introduced they give each other a quick kiss on each cheek and may say something like "Ecantado" or "Mucho gusto" which means "Nice to meet you." Now, you're probably thinking, guys kiss each other in Spain?? Haha. No. Normally, this greeting would happen between a girl and another girl or a girl and a guy. Instead of los besos, guys usually just shake hands. I did, however, see two older gentlemen greet each other with los besos!* Another thing that I've noticed about the Spanish is that people on the streets talk to each other a lot. Complete strangers talk to each other as nicely as friends. I've noticed this a lot on the Metro especially (=the subway).

*I want to update this post because since writing it I have noticed men doing the traditional "besos" greeting all the time! They are usually between middle-age and elderly men. This makes me think that the giving "besos" between men is a tradition that is fading out because I've never seen younger men greet each other that way.


Those are all the cultural tid bits that I have for you today. I'll keep you posted about what else I notice about Spanish culture. So far, I've really enjoyed getting to know the Spanish people and their way of life.

¡Hasta luego!

Abigail