Culture shock is a necessary experience. It is why studying abroad is so vital to understanding that the world is different and that we should not be afraid. Differences are something to celebrate. Most importantly, you will never be prepared, so the only way to find out accurate information about the world outside of where you live is to go out and experience it yourself.
Before I left for Spain, many people had advice and questions based on the knowledge they already had about the country. One of the funniest pieces of advice that people gave me about Spain is to “eat lots of enchiladas.” Or they wanted to know if I’d have guacamole every night. I never could tell if they were kidding, but this made me wonder how many people know that the food we know in the United States as “Hispanic” food is not actually “Spanish” food. That food comes from Latin America and usually is Mexican.
In Spain, ham, or jamón, is a big part of the cuisine. Stews and different kinds of cheeses are popular, but there are no quesadillas, burritos or enchiladas!
There were two things I continually heard from friends and family that gave me pause. First, many people told me that I wouldn’t learn any Spanish because, in big cities, it was more likely that English would be more common. If people could tell I was struggling with my Spanish, it would make sense that Madrid would be the kind of place where people would just switch to English so that they could communicate with me better.
Surprisingly, this isn’t true. A few people know a little English, but they’re usually in the more touristy areas. The number of people speaking English in Spain is fairly proportionate to the amount of people who know Spanish in the United States (who are native English speakers). Even then, English isn’t advertised in businesses on the street, and it’s a surprise when you do hear it.
The second and most common piece of advice that I heard was that you shouldn’t drink the water. I’d almost wondered how much better it would be to drink wine every day (in Spain, 16 is the legal drinking age) rather than pay for expensive bottled water. In Madrid, however, the water is drinkable, though most restaurants will default to a bottle of water if you order agua.
The water comes from the mountains and actually tastes muy bien, just like all of the other things you can eat in Spain, according to my host dad.
What is true about Spaniards is that they are warm in every sense of the word. They don’t like using formal pronouns, they greet with kisses and they have a low tolerance for the cold.
Here, the temperature in January is much like the middle of March in Oklahoma. Spain is a temperate country, but I can’t tell you how many times that I or one of my fellow students from the United States have been asked by a Spaniard (in Spanish, of course) “Aren’t you cold?” The weather here is beautiful and it will only get better.
Spaniards, it seems, want to make sure you are warm. Ustedes, a third person plural form used for talking to “You all,” or “Y’all” in many South American Spanish-speaking countries, is seen as cold and informal and is only used in cases when you’re talking to someone like the King. Spaniards greet with kisses to the cheek. A handshake is stiff and unfeeling.
“Bienvenidos,” they always say, because in Spain, you are welcome. You are family.
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