Study Abroad: Week Two

I have officially been in Madrid for 14 days now and, for the most part, I have adjusted well to the culture of Spain. Personally, I found that the hardest parts of this culture to get used to are the language and the eating schedule/their perception of time.

I have never taken a single Spanish class in all my years of schooling. I have only taken French and Latin. At most, I would say that I know about 25 Spanish words and that definitely hasn’t been enough to have an entire conversation with someone. It was ignorant of me to not learn the language before traveling to Madrid but, in the end, it has challenged me in a way that no other situation could. Living in a country where people almost refuse to speak your native language is difficult and it has given me a newfound respect and patience for immigrants who flee to the U.S. and attempt to start their lives in a country that primarily speaks English.

As for their perception of time, everything is later and longer. Lunch is at 2:00 or 3:00. Dinner is at 9:00 or 10:00. During meals and gatherings, they will take as long as they need to enjoy their time with the people they are with. This could be an hour, or it could be three hours. It has given me a chance to slow down and really soak in the time I’m spending with my classmates.

However, my favorite aspects of the culture in Spain are the fashion and the food. I love that people use every day as a chance to show off their personal style. They hold themselves and others accountable for how they look. In other words, they are not shy when it comes to judging others. This is incredibly evident when you are with a massive group of American tourists/students. Women typically wear dresses or fashionable pants with classy tops. Men wear slim pants with button up shirts or even full suits when going out for the day. I knew that the people in Spain dressed up much more than the average American person and I prepared for that before this trip. Wearing more dressy outfits has kept me from drawing attention to myself. At the same time, this has helped me to feel more confident when walking the city alongside locals.

The food in Spain is delicious to say the least, but this is not what I love most about the aspect of food in their culture. A meal is almost like a sacred time for the Spanish. Food brings people together and creates a sense of community and friendship. Eating a meal is not something to rush through. It is a time to catch up, talk and enjoy the time spent with friends or colleagues. You even have to ask for the check or else the wait staff will assume you are not finished with your meal (even if your plate is empty).

My least favorite aspects of the culture would have to be the confusion around splitting a check and the fact that smoking is still widely popular in Spain. As much as I love the food in Spain, it is sometimes not worth the hassle that comes with splitting a check for a meal. So far, I have also been to Portugal and France and nowhere have I had such trouble splitting a check as I do in Spain. This makes going out with classmates a struggle because we ultimately end up paying each other back by converting our totals to U.S. dollars and sending the money through Venmo or CashApp.

If you thought smoking was a thing of the past, just visit Spain. I have never walked through so many clouds of cigarette smoke in my life. Spain didn’t even outlaw smoking in restaurants until 2011. I can safely say that I will not miss having to breathe in second hand smoke on a patio when I leave Madrid.

#studyabroad #maybornmadrid #madridspain