We've been living in Spain for almost two months! Yay!
Here are some unusual things I've found living in Spain, and the first of probably many of these types of posts:
1. No underwear on the clothesline
You hang out your clothes to dry if you want to do laundry Spanish-style. Most of the houses we looked at (20+) did not have a dryer because it is very expensive to run utilities here. Most houses still have hookups for a dryer, and being Americans, we naturally opted to get one installed. However, we still sometimes use the line on the roof patio. The thing I've noticed while hanging out my clothes is no underwear on clotheslines.
And there are clotheslines everywhere in the city, so you think you'd get a peek of some granny panties hanging out in all their glory, right?
Wrong---I'm yet to see them.
I recently read that it is illegal to hang out your underwear in some cities in Spain. Not sure about here, but I know for sure that I'm not going to be an uncouth American and hang mine out for the world to see.
2. We're on the wrong time zone.
During the dictator Franco's reign, he wanted to show unity with Nazi Germany by moving Spain from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to Central European Time (CET). Today we are still there. We are the most Eastern country on this time zone. It means we always go to work in the dark----something that could be prevented if Spain moved to its original time zone.
The problem is you now have generations used to the weird anomaly which is Spain and CET, and despite talks, not many people I've talked to here think it will actually ever change.
3. Traffic signs and signals are. . . different
In Europe, there is no right on red. Despite going through a driver's course (more like a crash course---I missed quite a few questions and still got my license, which doesn't give me much confidence about my fellow American drivers), I do not remember anything about this rule in the book or the course. I guess we are supposed to just know that, but when someone mentioned it one day at work, I realized that I had been here almost a month and illegally turning right on red the entire time. Yikes.
The plus is with all the @#$^! traffic circles, you don't have many lights to cross.
The minus is lights are, well, WEIRD. They are green for a few seconds, and then for the duration have a yellow arrow inside of the green light. I slowed down to a crawl the first time I saw this---big mistake. I had people honking at me and giving me angry hand gestures. How dare I use caution! Instead, I was supposed to drive like a crazy person (much like we do in the U.S. when it's yellow turning to red).
Another plus is although people don't necessarily obey street lights (or speed limits), I am yet to feel unsafe crossing a street. This is a pedestrian city. People always seem cognizant of your presence near a crosswalk and stop accordingly.
4. No censorship on the radio---hooray! and Close your ears, little ones!
I never realized how many popular songs have censored/alternative lyrics until moving here. English music isn't censored (unless it's on the Armed Forces Network Radio), so you hear all the naughty bits.
In the words of James Brown: good God, y'all!
I know I have a potty mouth, but I'm not conditioned to hearing f bombs dropping when I'm picking out produce at the grocery store.
Speaking of produce. . .
5. Don't squeeze the produce.
That is, not without gloves.
Yes, you have to wear cheap clear plastic gloves to handle the fruits and vegetables. One American told me that her first venture into a Spanish grocery store featured an older Spanish woman screaming at her about touching the produce. She wasn't sure what she said or did---all she knew was she really pissed off the lady. There are signs, but unless you read Spanish, you will miss them.
Also, don't forget to bring a bag. You'll need it because you are also expected to bag your own groceries.
6. The metric system is real, y'all.
I remember 1980.
Yes, I know many people reading this were not even a twinkle in their dear mom's eye, but I was alive and kickin' it at Monticello Elementary in 1979, excited because WE WERE GOING METRIC IN 1980!!!
You remember that, right? The whole freakin' U.S. was supposed to go to the metric system in 1980. As a result, I learned a lot about it, but not much about converting metric to U.S. measurements. Thank god I have a little experience as a jogger/walker/runner, because I can at least estimate a kilometer and a mile and can compare them. But otherwise. . . is that liter of gas a horrible deal or just a bad one (gas is horrendously expensive compared to the U.S.)? How do I cook American recipes when the Spanish grocery store carries metric sized portions of items? How much do I really weigh (okay, that I honestly don't want to know)?
Is the price for pint of beer a better or worse deal than a liter? That is the REAL question here. I spent a lot of my day trying to convert over metric to U.S. measurements, and Euros to dollars.
And in case you are wondering, I never really learned the American system. I still don't know how many cups are in a gallon, and on every refrigerator we've owned, I've had a index card cheat sheet with conversions on it.
7. Spanish people really do use vosotros
People who took Spanish---you know who you are and what I'm talking about. Your college Spanish teacher wasn't lying. They really use it. I've even seen it on street graffiti.
Also: you should have paid better attention in those upper level classes, because it isn't fun not knowing an entire verb form in all tenses.
and the best for last:
8) kids are welcome EVERYWHERE
Going to the bar? Bring the kids. Going to dinner at 10 pm on a week night? Bring the kids. Children are not seen as a bother in public, and parents don't fuss over their kids' behavior like American parents do. You see kids everywhere you go. They eat at the table with parents (and many time, grandparents), they stroll with their parents to and from dinner late at night, they go into shops and stores and are very well behaved. In two months and counting, I have seen only one Spanish child have what we call a "meltdown" in the U.S. I see more American kids than that having meltdowns every time I go into the NEX or commissary (those places are great birth control, by the way).
Children are allowed to play around tables at restaurants and parents are so much more relaxed around their kids. It is part of the culture, and I think the age of Spanish parents has a lot to do with it.
It's not unusual to live at home with your parents until your 30s and move out when you are getting married. Many people wait until their 30s to get married here, and they postpone childbirth until after marriage, well into their late 30s. You see a lot of 40-somethings walking with toddlers. I know from experience, having a child in my late 30s was a lot more laid back than in my late 20s. I just didn't have the energy to run after him and fuss about every little thing, so I let a lot of things go. And guess what? He came out of that stage relatively unscathed, and a healthy, happy boy.
Children are part of the family here and expected to do everything the adults do. They keep up with them at late night carnivals and events, dinners and breakfasts, shopping trips and sightseeing. And the kids here do a great job because it's the expectation.
Guess what else is everywhere?
Dogs. You see them in outdoor restaurants, stores, and walking every where.
Some restaurants put out water bowls for dogs.
The more you go to the same places in the neighborhood, the more you recognize people's dogs. And as much as I don't like starting up conversations with strangers, I have no qualms about talking to someone's dog. Yes, I am the crazy American talking to your Spanish dog in weird Spanglish. Nice to meet you.
All in all, you have to love a country that loves kids and dogs, right?
Here are some unusual things I've found living in Spain, and the first of probably many of these types of posts:
1. No underwear on the clothesline
You hang out your clothes to dry if you want to do laundry Spanish-style. Most of the houses we looked at (20+) did not have a dryer because it is very expensive to run utilities here. Most houses still have hookups for a dryer, and being Americans, we naturally opted to get one installed. However, we still sometimes use the line on the roof patio. The thing I've noticed while hanging out my clothes is no underwear on clotheslines.
And there are clotheslines everywhere in the city, so you think you'd get a peek of some granny panties hanging out in all their glory, right?
Wrong---I'm yet to see them.
I recently read that it is illegal to hang out your underwear in some cities in Spain. Not sure about here, but I know for sure that I'm not going to be an uncouth American and hang mine out for the world to see.
2. We're on the wrong time zone.
During the dictator Franco's reign, he wanted to show unity with Nazi Germany by moving Spain from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to Central European Time (CET). Today we are still there. We are the most Eastern country on this time zone. It means we always go to work in the dark----something that could be prevented if Spain moved to its original time zone.
The problem is you now have generations used to the weird anomaly which is Spain and CET, and despite talks, not many people I've talked to here think it will actually ever change.
3. Traffic signs and signals are. . . different
In Europe, there is no right on red. Despite going through a driver's course (more like a crash course---I missed quite a few questions and still got my license, which doesn't give me much confidence about my fellow American drivers), I do not remember anything about this rule in the book or the course. I guess we are supposed to just know that, but when someone mentioned it one day at work, I realized that I had been here almost a month and illegally turning right on red the entire time. Yikes.
The plus is with all the @#$^! traffic circles, you don't have many lights to cross.
The minus is lights are, well, WEIRD. They are green for a few seconds, and then for the duration have a yellow arrow inside of the green light. I slowed down to a crawl the first time I saw this---big mistake. I had people honking at me and giving me angry hand gestures. How dare I use caution! Instead, I was supposed to drive like a crazy person (much like we do in the U.S. when it's yellow turning to red).
Another plus is although people don't necessarily obey street lights (or speed limits), I am yet to feel unsafe crossing a street. This is a pedestrian city. People always seem cognizant of your presence near a crosswalk and stop accordingly.
4. No censorship on the radio---hooray! and Close your ears, little ones!
I never realized how many popular songs have censored/alternative lyrics until moving here. English music isn't censored (unless it's on the Armed Forces Network Radio), so you hear all the naughty bits.
In the words of James Brown: good God, y'all!
I know I have a potty mouth, but I'm not conditioned to hearing f bombs dropping when I'm picking out produce at the grocery store.
Speaking of produce. . .
5. Don't squeeze the produce.
That is, not without gloves.
Yes, you have to wear cheap clear plastic gloves to handle the fruits and vegetables. One American told me that her first venture into a Spanish grocery store featured an older Spanish woman screaming at her about touching the produce. She wasn't sure what she said or did---all she knew was she really pissed off the lady. There are signs, but unless you read Spanish, you will miss them.
Also, don't forget to bring a bag. You'll need it because you are also expected to bag your own groceries.
6. The metric system is real, y'all.
I remember 1980.
Yes, I know many people reading this were not even a twinkle in their dear mom's eye, but I was alive and kickin' it at Monticello Elementary in 1979, excited because WE WERE GOING METRIC IN 1980!!!
You remember that, right? The whole freakin' U.S. was supposed to go to the metric system in 1980. As a result, I learned a lot about it, but not much about converting metric to U.S. measurements. Thank god I have a little experience as a jogger/walker/runner, because I can at least estimate a kilometer and a mile and can compare them. But otherwise. . . is that liter of gas a horrible deal or just a bad one (gas is horrendously expensive compared to the U.S.)? How do I cook American recipes when the Spanish grocery store carries metric sized portions of items? How much do I really weigh (okay, that I honestly don't want to know)?
Is the price for pint of beer a better or worse deal than a liter? That is the REAL question here. I spent a lot of my day trying to convert over metric to U.S. measurements, and Euros to dollars.
And in case you are wondering, I never really learned the American system. I still don't know how many cups are in a gallon, and on every refrigerator we've owned, I've had a index card cheat sheet with conversions on it.
7. Spanish people really do use vosotros
People who took Spanish---you know who you are and what I'm talking about. Your college Spanish teacher wasn't lying. They really use it. I've even seen it on street graffiti.
Also: you should have paid better attention in those upper level classes, because it isn't fun not knowing an entire verb form in all tenses.
and the best for last:
8) kids are welcome EVERYWHERE
Going to the bar? Bring the kids. Going to dinner at 10 pm on a week night? Bring the kids. Children are not seen as a bother in public, and parents don't fuss over their kids' behavior like American parents do. You see kids everywhere you go. They eat at the table with parents (and many time, grandparents), they stroll with their parents to and from dinner late at night, they go into shops and stores and are very well behaved. In two months and counting, I have seen only one Spanish child have what we call a "meltdown" in the U.S. I see more American kids than that having meltdowns every time I go into the NEX or commissary (those places are great birth control, by the way).
 |
| little kids playing late in the night at a Rota soccer game |
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| kids and parents enjoying the beach around a sunny summer 8 pm |
Children are part of the family here and expected to do everything the adults do. They keep up with them at late night carnivals and events, dinners and breakfasts, shopping trips and sightseeing. And the kids here do a great job because it's the expectation.
 |
| boy wistfully watching his friends (not pictured) inside a pirate ship ride. It's about 12 am in Cádiz. |
 |
| with my friend India, a bull terrier I met at my favorite bar/restaurant, Los Pinos |
Some restaurants put out water bowls for dogs.
The more you go to the same places in the neighborhood, the more you recognize people's dogs. And as much as I don't like starting up conversations with strangers, I have no qualms about talking to someone's dog. Yes, I am the crazy American talking to your Spanish dog in weird Spanglish. Nice to meet you.
All in all, you have to love a country that loves kids and dogs, right?
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