I’ve been in Spain for about six weeks now, and I have really gotten used to living here. Valencia, specifically, has charmed me, but maybe I’m biased (after all, I have spent the majority of my time here). Life in Valencia is not all that different from life in Raleigh, North Carolina, but I have made note of the differences I have noticed just for fun. (Note: This list is not to say that one country is better than another—they are just different.)
Spaniards eat later than Americans. If they eat anything for desayuno, it’s usually small—a piece of fruit or a piece of toast, along with a small (but very strong) coffee. Apparently breakfast did not win as the most important meal of the day here. I’m pretty sure that award goes to comida, which is the big meal around 2:30 or 3 p.m. I’ve been told that comida is usually a huge meal (“like Thanksgiving every day”), but with my host family, cena and comida were about the same size, and most of the time they were equally filling. Cena is also later than American dinner times. It typically started around 9 or 9:30 p.m. in my house, but I’ve heard it can start as late as 10:30 p.m.
There’s no carpet in the houses. I really like carpet because I think it’s cozy, but “cozy” isn’t really what you want when it’s 90 degrees outside and you don’t have air conditioning. I understand why they chose to forego carpet.
Restaurants: In the United States, you can expect your waiter or waitress to check up on you about five times during your meal—first to take your order, then a few times to refill your drinks, then a final time to give you your check. This is not so in Spain. After the host seats you, you may be waiting for 10 minutes before a waiter comes to take your drink order. And at one restaurant, we weren’t even given menus until 10 minutes after being seated. The waiters don’t stop by to provide you with drink refills, as they cost extra. In fact, not even water is free. Sometimes the beer is cheaper than the water. When you’ve finished your meal, you have to make sure to call over your waiter and ask for la cuenta (the check). I think some of this stems from the fact that waiters in Spain don’t work for tips—tipping is not expected unless the service is fantastic (and as you would probably guess, most of the time it isn’t). But more than that, there is a cultural difference. Meals in Spain are a time to have conversations with friends and family. They are truly an event, and they feel that handing you a check before that event is over is like kicking you out. So, to avoid being rude, they do not hand you the check until asked for it.
Spaniards are much more careful about conserving energy. Air conditioning is considered a luxury—most people just leave their doors/windows open and use fans as necessary. Similarly, most people don’t have dryers for their clothes. Instead, there are clotheslines outside their windows. (This seems to make much more sense than using a dryer—it doesn’t take that much longer, and you don’t run the risk of your clothes shrinking.) Some people conserve energy to the point that they turn off their cars at traffic lights, and some ambulances only turn on their sirens when going through intersections.
The road situation: Roads here seem overall like a nightmare to drive on (at least for me). Cars stop really close to the street light, and when you make a turn, there might be another street light at the beginning of the street you turn onto. It’s not quite as hectic as the driving I witnessed in the Philippines (nor are the taxi drivers nearly as crazy as some of the New York City taxi drivers), but it’s enough to scare me away from driving there. Thankfully, Valencia has great public transportation, and you can easily get away with not owning a car.
Siestas are so real. I thought because Valencia is Spain’s third-largest city, maybe a lot of stores had gotten rid of the mid-day break for siesta so as to not lose business. Although this is true for the big department stores, many of the small businesses here still observe siesta time, closing from about 2 until 5 to eat comida with their families and take a nap. I will definitely miss this socially acceptable, built-in nap time.
El Camino de Felicidad 