The Biggest Culture Shocks of Living in Spain

Moving to a new place, let alone a new country is always going to come with some surprises. Here are some of mine.

Siesta!!!

Every single day without fail, the people of Spain siesta. This means that they take a midday break, usually lasting from around 2pm - 5m. During this time, businesses, shops, banks, and even restaurants take a break from work, often enjoying a long lunch with family or friends, take time to pick up their kids from school, or even take a short nap. Some restaurants even close until 7/8pm & reopen for dinner. 

Not everyone follows the tradition strictly - especially in larger cities - siesta is a representation of Spain’s relaxed approach to their work-life balance and the importance of rest in the middle of the day. They then have to go back to work until 7 or 8 pm. 

Would you like to have a siesta in your everyday routine?

Eating Times in Spain

In Spain, lunch is the biggest meal of the day. In my experience, rarely anyone eats breakfast. And when they do it's usually a croissant or some type of sweet pastry or as my kids at school like to tell me “I had milk for breakfast.”

The kids I teach don’t eat lunch at school. They do have a midday snack/recess break though. 

Lunchtime in Spain is around 2-4 pm, during siesta! A typical Spanish family eats dinner around 9-11 pm at night. Meals are extremely social and slow paced here.

You will never see a Spanish person with a to-go cup or eating on the go!

When I cook at home, I eat around 6-8 pm.

Slower Paced Life

Spaniards live to work. Not the other way around. Things like family, friends, social life, and taking long breaks are very encouraged here. Working late and long days and hours is rare to find here. 

It’s also extremely common to hear about people working only 4 days a week here!!

Social Norms

Some random social norms that come to mind quickly are

☆ when you first meet someone or are greeting someone you give them a kiss on each cheek. This is equivalent to a handshake or a hug in America.

☆ Spanish power & electricity is not as strong/relatable as America. My roommates & I’s power goes out at least once a week. If you have any of these 2 on at the same time - the washer, the dishwasher, the oven, or the stove - chances are the power is blowing. Same with the hot water heater.

☆ All the kids at school call their teachers by their first names. There is no Miss or Mrs. Or Mr. in front of the name. It’s literally just their first names. The kids who can’t remember my name call me “Teacher” haha but the ones that do remember just call me “Mary”.

☆ It’s like extremely socially acceptable to be smoking cigarettes & smelling like cigarettes 24/7. People are smoking at the bus stop at 7 am !!!!

☆ You are taking public metros, buses, trains, etc. all day, everyday. I also walk so much in between being on some form of public transportation. 

☆ Tipping at restaurants or honestly anywhere is not a thing. Sometimes people can take it disrespectfully. Taxes are all included into the food or service you are paying for. It’s really common to have your total be a flat number (5€, 19€, etc.) here in Spain which is so nice.

☆ A lot of public bathrooms are boys & girls combined. They are usually individual stalls with a common area sink.

☆ Lots of PDA. Literally everywhere.

These are some differences I’ve noticed so far from living in Spain!