During my first week in Spain, I thought I had bought myself a carton of grape juice from the supermarket, got home and poured myself a glass... it turned out that wine is very cheap in Spain! Just one of the many mishaps that come from being in a foreign culture. I’ll never forget the time, several years ago, when we heard my Dad coughing and spluttering in the hotel bathroom in China. We rushed in to find that the 4 litre bottle of “water” we had bought in the supermarket, upon closer examination (he had got a bit thirsty), turned out to be neat alcohol! So I guess I could have done worse than buy cheap wine...
By virtue of its being a European country, there is a lot about Spain that is similar to the UK... minus the scarcity of curry houses perhaps. The main difference is the change in timetable, especially mealtimes. I’ve arrived home several times between 12 and 2am to find my housemate cooking his dinner. The thought of eating a huge meal at that time of night before hitting the sack makes my stomach crawl, but of course I’m in Spain, and my meals at 6 o’clock are pretty much considered as late lunches! Letting go of habits, particularly when they involve food, is not something I find easy. Having said that, listening to my English student explaining her typical 5 mealtimes a day – “What’s the word in English for ‘almuerzo’, first lunch?” – I started to think maybe the Spanish are onto something.
A visit to the butcher’s in Spain is not for the faint hearted. Standing there last week, trying to avoid looking at the skinned rabbit stretched out in front of me, eyes and all, I ended up watching the butcher hack out all the guts of a skinned sheep which was hanging on the wall by its back legs, as the lady in front of me had asked for giblets. The experience would have been enough to turn me vegetarian if it wasn’t that Spanish chorizo (sausages) are so amazing...To divert slightly from the theme of food (!!) the other thing that has amazed me about daily life here is finding the streets deserted by 2pm, despite the sunshine, and everything shut. Shops, banks, bakeries ...etc. Madrid reawakens at about 5pm, and by 8, 9, 10pm the streets are buzzing with life and fun and laughter, with people of all ages milling around the shops and restaurants, meeting friends and generally having a good time.
Speaking of cultural differences, I was horrified to hear my friend saying that she thought the British tradition of having carpets in their houses was disgusting and unhygienic. How could anyone not appreciate the comfort and homeliness of being able to walk around your house with bare feet sinking into the carpet? But of course, if you live in a foreign culture, all the differences to your own habits seem like mistakes!
Still, that is the fun of living abroad. It forces you to analyse things which you assumed were just an inherent part of life. I’m also bemused by the fact it has been down to 0 degrees here in January... yet I am still developing a tan and my freckles are coming out!
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