Spain is different. That being said, I know this post will say more about me than it does about Spain. It’s just what I notice through my own lens.
For one, there is no to-go coffee. Honestly, I like this. Sitting down for coffee feels like a Spanish luxury and I try to embrace it. And technically it’ not “no" to-go coffee, it's just not a thing. In my observation, a Spanish household may have one to-go mug and I use them in emergencies. Sometimes for tea. Also in Spain I learned that I don’t know anything about coffee, which I knew before but I wasn’t alone. My first day ever in Spain I tried to order a “sweet” (dulce) Americano… which I now know is a black coffee. I take café con leche and about half a pack of sugar. (The sugar packets are bigger here… thats about the only thing.)
Transportation. I myself am a train girl. I love the train. It’s safe, spacious, it’s fast, pretty dependable. Lucky for me I live very close to the train station. Getting downtown takes 20 to 40 minutes for me. There are also tons of buses, but buses and I have a more strained relationship. The buses are green. I refuse to run and chase a bus. This has cost me a lot of buses. I take the 656 for about 10 minutes every morning and ride it all the way to the end. Because I am under 26 my transportation pass is only 20€/month. I love that. It’s not so sweet if you’re over 26. The buses are nicer than in Philly but not fundamentally different. One sad thing is the train stops before midnight and resumes at 6am.
Another sad thing I've come to know is that it is not easy for me to be able to drive in Spain. Basically, I would have to begin the process as if I don’t know how to drive and it’s very expensive here. They love roundabouts. The highest speed is 120km/h and the lowest is 30 that i’ve seen. Gas, I guess is more or less the same. One thing I really love is the lack of pickup trucks and forteen-wheelers, fiats it is.
One thing that really bothers me is the culture of going out incessantly. This wouldn't be so bad except for the pandemic I guess. Personally I love going to people's houses. I think it provides great insight into their life, deepening your understanding, giving you perspective. But here it’s all cafes and bars, I love them as much as the next girl but they all require money, every time. This, in turn, makes it so there are herds of young kids all about, especially on the weekends. 12 kids on the stairs, 8 kids sitting on the floor at the mall, swarms at Starbucks and Dunkin and McDonald's. I suppose I understand their struggle to an extent.
Perhaps I lived in Philly too long (probably not) but culturally I think ive become quite accustomed to people yelling comments at me in the street. No, I don’t mean catcalling. I wouldn’t say I’m used to that. But Philadelphians freely give their opinion and commentary about most things, all of the time. It’s been relieving to get a break from this but I still anticipate it, everywhere I go. Also though, one of the only things said to me on the street was “it's forbidden to speak English” in Spanish, further out in Madrid. It made me sad. I think most people assume because I’m American, I don't speak Spanish.
PDA is definitely more of a thing and they do the cheek kisses thing which I don’t very much appreciate. I would say the general vibe is “Spainards don’t care.” About what people do as long as it’s not super rude, it's mostly a ‘do you' thought process, generally.
One odd thing I've noticed at school is that Spainards love white out. Pens are in. Shoes are as cool as they are in America. Soccer is everything. Sweater dresses are trending. Coca Cola is so alive and well, so is Fanta. Brands are very in but also like sporting different countries. I've seen more Tupac shirts than I can count, which I found odd.
Another thing I noticed for whatever reason is the ring game in Spain is different. I don’t see diamond rings, just bands and it seems you can wear them on either hand. Some people don’t wear them at all. Also the average person seems to have many rings and it’s very cool.
Slightly related, the keys here are different, like for doors. My keys the first time I came to Spain were shaped more like a trident with three prongs. The keys I have now have circular indents on the rectangular piece of metal. This is all in addition to regular keys.
Another thing that is different is the housing. The houses are not separated with a full yard and made of wood like where I lived in PA. It's more comparable to Texas. Everything is separated by wall, you can’t usually see into people’s yards. Also, apartments are much more popular. It kind of makes more sense that houses aren’t made of wood but maybe it does make it colder. Heating here is mostly by radiator. I hate this, honestly. Radiators make a ticking sound when they’re working and I find it very disturbing. It's a COVID precaution that we keep the windows open at school. It has been frosty in the mornings here for the last couple weeks. I'd say high 55, low 35. It doesn’t rain even half as much as i’m used to. I'd love to get accustomed to the lack of humidity, it feels luxurious.
In America, I’m not a large person. I am a bit tall but that’s basically it. Here, I am large, extra large. I am taller than most men. I haven’t tried to buy my version of a women’s 9 in shoes but it might not be easy. I have bought mostly sweaters and they fit snug. I did manage to find some pants, extra large, but it felt like a stroke of luck. I have also noticed things are narrow here in ways they could never be in America. Things like the bath tub and most chairs. It’s not a huge problem for me but it does make me a little sad. I think it gives me some more perspective.
There are tons of differences and I could go on, and maybe at some point I will. But for now, these are my observations thus far.
You can feel my pain. I thought of Robert from Arles, saying his size was a challenge.