Hola todos,
Today marks my first month in Madrid...Unbelievable!!!
I did so many things that I can't quite remember everything. I went to many cafes, visited the city, went to Toledo and Barcelona, made new friends, went to a few bars and nightclubs, did some shopping, and of course had class!! This is why we're here...right?
The first thing that culturally "shocked" me was the dinner time. Spaniards usually wake up pretty early, have breakfast, go to work or school or run some errands, have lunch usually after 2 , nap ("la siesta") wake up, blank space ( I don't know what they usually do after waking up oops) and have dinner between 10pm and midnight. I'm still used to having dinner pretty early (7-8:30pm) so having to wait until 10 is hard for me and my poor stomach. Since people have dinner so late, they also start going out very late. The young Spaniards go out at 1:30/2am and go back home around 7am. I'm still trying to figure out how they manage to wake up early or if they sleep at all..?
The second thing would be how NICE everyone dresses. Is it a fashion show everyday here?! Physical appearance is very important I guess, so no extra large Fairfield sweatshirt and sweatpants for me anymore :(
Third, water is NOT free. Even at McDonald's!!! I'm always asking for "un vaso de agua" (glass of water) and they give me an expensive and fancy water bottle. So I started asking for "agua de grifo" ( tap water) and the answer was " sorry we don't have tap water" but they have a very nice microscopic water bottle for 4 dollars!!! So an advice guys: buy water bottles at a supermarket and bring one with you everywhere.
Finally... PDA. PDA everywhere. It's not about holding hands and kissing on the street like we see it everyday. No, here you're going to see people from 7 to 77 years old (Ok I'm a bit exaggerating) making out in every possible public places. Parks, streets, cafes, bus stops. and my favorite, the metro. But at the same time, some of the couples are so cute and affectionate in public that you don't mind them kissing like they didn't see each other in a year anymore.
I can't really think of any other culture shock but if I experience any, I will add it to my future posts.
Thanks for reading !
Adios
Today marks my first month in Madrid...Unbelievable!!!
I did so many things that I can't quite remember everything. I went to many cafes, visited the city, went to Toledo and Barcelona, made new friends, went to a few bars and nightclubs, did some shopping, and of course had class!! This is why we're here...right?
The first thing that culturally "shocked" me was the dinner time. Spaniards usually wake up pretty early, have breakfast, go to work or school or run some errands, have lunch usually after 2 , nap ("la siesta") wake up, blank space ( I don't know what they usually do after waking up oops) and have dinner between 10pm and midnight. I'm still used to having dinner pretty early (7-8:30pm) so having to wait until 10 is hard for me and my poor stomach. Since people have dinner so late, they also start going out very late. The young Spaniards go out at 1:30/2am and go back home around 7am. I'm still trying to figure out how they manage to wake up early or if they sleep at all..?
The second thing would be how NICE everyone dresses. Is it a fashion show everyday here?! Physical appearance is very important I guess, so no extra large Fairfield sweatshirt and sweatpants for me anymore :(
Third, water is NOT free. Even at McDonald's!!! I'm always asking for "un vaso de agua" (glass of water) and they give me an expensive and fancy water bottle. So I started asking for "agua de grifo" ( tap water) and the answer was " sorry we don't have tap water" but they have a very nice microscopic water bottle for 4 dollars!!! So an advice guys: buy water bottles at a supermarket and bring one with you everywhere.
Finally... PDA. PDA everywhere. It's not about holding hands and kissing on the street like we see it everyday. No, here you're going to see people from 7 to 77 years old (Ok I'm a bit exaggerating) making out in every possible public places. Parks, streets, cafes, bus stops. and my favorite, the metro. But at the same time, some of the couples are so cute and affectionate in public that you don't mind them kissing like they didn't see each other in a year anymore.
I can't really think of any other culture shock but if I experience any, I will add it to my future posts.
Thanks for reading !
Adios
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