Spanish Culture
The stages of culture shock are typically considered to be 1) honeymoon, where the new culture is romanticized and seen as new and exciting, 2) negotiation, where the new culture begins to feel strange and differences are annoyingly noticeable, 3) adjustment, in which one grows accustomed to the new culture, and begins to develop routines, and 4) mastery, in which one is fully comfortably in the new culture. I don’t think technically that I was in Spain long enough to proceed through all four aforementioned stages. However, I believe that when I left I was at the beginning of the adjustment period. Everything was definitely new exciting for a while – I’d say the first two or three weeks that we were in Tarragona. I started to really notice the cultural differences right away, but they never bothered me, per se. I think that I became slightly homesick towards the end of week three, probably because I FaceTimed my parents, which reminded me of home. I began to adjust around week 4, and then we uprooted and moved on to Barcelona. The culture was the same here, so I didn’t restart the whole culture shock process, but I think I relapsed back into the “honeymoon” period for a bit since Barcelona was new to me, and I was exploring an unfamiliar place yet again. I still was in the adjustment period officially though, and I began to feel more and more comfortable up until departure.
The most prominent cultural difference that I have noticed in Spain is that people are not in as much of a rush. Everyone just takes life at a much slower pace. This is definitely most apparent at restaurants, however it is evident in general. In America, when you are at a restaurant the waiter usually gives you your check unprompted, whether it’s just as you’re finishing up, or just randomly when she passes by. Often you don’t have to ask for it, and when you do the waiter will already have it prepared or return with it immediately. In Spain, on the other hand, never have I had a waiter who will give my table the check without being asked. You must always ask for the check; otherwise you could be sitting there for over an hour after you’ve finished your meal before you get the check. Yet still at this point the waiter is not trying to kick you out of the restaurant. They enjoy your patronage and want you to relax and have a good time.
Spaniards’ slower pace is also evident when you’re walking on the street – some people walk extremely slow. No one seems to be rushing to get somewhere. Being late is much more acceptable here, as well. My friends and I had made a reservation at a restaurant in Tarragona, and called saying we’d be 15 minutes late – the owner said it was no problem at all and seemed surprised that we had called. I recently went to a flamenco show that started a half hour late. It’s definitely different than in the US, but I think I could get used to it!
Funny story on this topic – one of my friends on the trip was riding the bus from the campus to the dorm and was eating a peach. The bus driver apparently yelled at him and told him to stop eating the peach – you should be seated and relaxed while eating, multitasking is discouraged! Eating on the go is so common in America that I could never have imagined this would happen.
