Things I’ve learned about Spanish culture that I didn’t know before I lived in it:

Looking back over this week, it was very busy, but nothing particularly noteworthy happened, just a lot of class and class-related activities, so instead of giving you a rundown of the mundane things of my life, I have decided today to share with you some general things that I have learned during the past seven weeks of being in Spain.

Leche [milk]

For some reason I had been under the impression that [cow] milk was not very common here and that I was going to have to miss it a lot. Wrong. I have cereal with milk every morning for breakfast. All right!

Color [color]

I was thinking that Spanish people looked just like any other Europeans, and the Hispanics of Latin America only have darker skin because of the mix with the Native Americans way back in the days of colonization. Actually, Spaniards had darker complexions than other Europeans to begin with, because of the mix with the Arabs who occupied most of the southern part of Spain. Everyone here definitely thinks I’m blond (except my American friends; they still agree that my hair is brown).

Horario [schedule]

I knew that dinner was really late over here, but I never understood how the whole schedule fits together. It’s mostly based on meal times: Desayuno [breakfast] is whenever you wake up. If that’s not super late, then around 12 noon you can have Segundo Desayuno or Mediodía [second breakfast or mid-day] which usually consists of coffee and something snacky, like a little orange or some toast. Comida [lunch; no one really calls it almuerzo] is around 2 or 3, depending on when your family members get home from school/work. Comida is the most important meal of the day, and it is why the Siesta [nap] exists: after having such a giant lunch, no one is in the mood to do much. Not everyone literally takes a nap, but watching TV, reading, simply sitting around, and indeed napping if you want to are quite common. Also, most of the stores close around 2 and open back up at 6 or so. Six to seven-something is time for Merienda [afternoon snack] which in my experience is usually something sweet, and often includes coffee or tea. Anything after 8:00 is fair game for Cena [dinner], which tends to be small and especially among young adults tends to occur at tapas bars. And then whenever you’re tired you go home and go to sleep. …I’m pretty sure I get tired before the typical Spanish person.

Acento [accent]

I thought there would be great pronunciation here in Andalucía, because everyone just speaks Castellano, unlike in other regions where there are entire other languages spoken in addition to “regular Spanish.” Well, the words are the same (in the dictionary), but the accent here… “¿Cómo?” It is not uncommon for a granadino to drop entire syllables off the ends of words, or skip consonants in the middle, or to never make the sound of an “s” no matter where it’s found in a word. When I first got here I was a little worried that I had to ask Pepita to repeat almost everything. Now I just hope I don’t end up being “that girl with an annoying accent from wherever she studied abroad” next year in Spanish classes…

Vosotros [“you all”, informal]

Why don’t we learn how to conjugate into vosotros in school? I know it’s never used in Latin America, but in Spain, you need it all the time! I am learning, slowly but surely, how to work it into everyday conversation.

Besos [kisses]

I thought this was just a quaint traditional thing, but it’s actually legitimately the way people greet each other here. Little kisses that don’t necessarily even make contact—right cheek first, then left—just mean “hello” and “good-bye”.

So that’s a bit of culture for you! Happy weekend!