The Spanish Culture

Beyond the tourist spots, I enjoy observing how people from a certain culture do things. After spending a few weeks in Spain and spending time with someone who has lived there for more than 10 years, I was able to learn a thing or two about the stark differences of the Spanish culture vs the rest of the world.

What I noticed in Spain in General

• The Outdoor Culture
  • Before anything, you need to understand that Spanish people love to hang out outdoors.
  • Restaurants would usually setup tables and chairs outside of their shops and you would almost, always see people sitting outside, drinking their beer and having tapas or coffee. And there would usually be less people indoors.
  • This also explains the unusual setup of having a big space in the middle of the road just to put seats at the middle of the street (i.e. in La Ramblas).

• When I was hanging out at a roof top, I can see that from the adjacent buildings with pools that people like to have pool parties.
• I started out always choosing indoors to avoid the sun but after spending weeks in Spain, I've learned to love the sun and hang out outdoors. I even leave my balcony doors open the whole day to get some fresh air into the house.
• The Terrace Culture
  • I've only been to 3 homes, but all of them have terraces (I call them balconies in Korea). Spanish people pay premium just to get these terraces.

• In modern day, when you buy a unit, the terrace would most of the time be on a different floor, and you need to go up or down just to access it. People pray premium to get the terrace on the same floor as where they live.
• Usually, the terraces are big enough to put a dining tables and lounges there - everyone hangs out on the terrace by default. When I stayed with my friend, he rarely stays in his room. It seems like he just goes to his bedroom to sleep but most of the time hangs out outside. I assume all Spanish people are the same.
• The Siesta Culture AKA The Work-Life Balance Culture
  • The most popular Siesta culture. Even though I was aware of it, I was still shocked at how much time they spend on breaks. By default, shops close from 4pm - 7pm.
  • What do they do? They eat, drink wine, rest.. Then a lot of them won't come back after 7pm, some would and open the store for a bit (like maybe until 9 or 10pm?)
• In the busy areas, nothing really operates 7 days a week, except for Indians and Chinese which are be open 24/7. Chinese restaurants and convenience stores are the only ones open usually!
• A lot of tourist spots are closed on Sundays. Even the biggest supermarkets like Mercadona are closed. Small towns even saturdays and certain weekdays!
• And in even smaller towns - they only open every other day (real estate agency in vejer)

• I was on a line for lunch in an expo and I overheard an American and a Spanish employee talking about their cultures.
  • The Spanish person said that if they finish their work at 3pm, they go home and do their hobbies like learn musical instruments, go to the gym, meet with friends, and then have dinner after that.
  • Americans (which is more similar to the Asian culture) work until 5pm, go home, cook meals, have dinner and go to sleep.
• The Tapas and Wine culture
  • In Asia - you get the menu, check for food, order the food, and eat the food.
  • In Spain - you get the menu.. the waiter will approach you just to get your drink order - no it's not yet time to order food, they have another waiter for that. I was trained not to buy drinks back at home, so I usually say no drinks. They find it weird if you don't order a drink. As if the point of going to the restaurant is to order a drink?
  • Later on as I look into the tables of the Spanish people and what they order, even if it's lunch time or dinner time - they will just have wine and some small bites. It's like they're not ordering any main dishes and their main dish is the wine!
  • Sometimes I check the bills of our nearby tables and for 2 pax, they have 10 euros as their final bill. We, on the other hand, have the largest bills of around 30-40 euros. That means ordering main dishes is not common, and it's alright to order 3-4 orders of small tapas (usually at 4-8 euros each) without ordering any main dishes.
• The Tipping Culture
  • It's like in Asia - they don't expect any tips. In fact, they don't leave the receipt or any form of tray on your table. I just tap my card on the terminal and they leave.
  • This is great because their service is not tied to receiving tips - they're really just nice in general. Sometimes I do leave tips because the waiters are just so friendly and nice.
  • When I ordered food delivery via Glovo, they just gave me my food and left.
  • I also had a guy change my lights in the apartment - no tips also
• The "Espera" Culture
  • One thing I love here in Spain is that they're not in a hurry. You can spend 15 minutes on your table without ordering anything because it takes that long for the waiter to come to you too.
  • You called the bill? Chill.. wait for it for 15 more minutes, it's okay..
  • People take their time drinking their coffee or beer or wine, socializing..
  • There was once a blackout in Spain - all traffic lights, elevators (I don't know why they don't have generators in the building), subways and even cellular networks - gone! I panicked, went to the supermarket to buy emergency food. But as soon as I got to the ground floor - people were so chill outside. People were still laughing, hanging out outdoors, far from hysteria that I was expecting. That chill culture helped me feel calm.
• The Active Lifestyle Culture
  • Everyone is running, cycling, skateboarding and rollerblading. I always encounter joggers, skateboarders - all kinds of transportation, I like it! I was even thinking of buying some rollerblades on Amazon because it's the only place I saw where I won't look weird ~ I get to finally fulfill my childhood dreams! Unfortunately, I ran out of time. Maybe in my next visit.
  • There are even gyms on the beach just like in the Youtube videos! However, there are also a lot of not-so-thin people.

• The Shopping Culture
  • Amazon takes 2 days to arrive, in the city. As opposed to next day delivery in Asia. I bet people still shop physically. Online shopping is not yet as prevalent. There are really a lot of people outside.
• The Whatever-Goes Culture
  • Food is a bit more expensive here, rental as well. Football matches start from 100 euros + 20 euros for snacks. Really big games are like thousands of euros per seat. I don't know how people can afford these. But my friend said Spanish people live now and save later. He estimates that an average Spanish has only 25k euros in savings. They'd rather spend now for wine and tapas, hang out with friends, than to save.
  • Jaywalking is not frowned upon. If there's no car - go ahead and cross!
  • I also got the chance to drive in Malaga. I was already driving at the speed limit of 80 but different cars are constantly beeping at me. I don't know if I should be driving beyond 80, but eventually I did.
• The Family Culture
  • On Sundays, I see kids on the streets playing soccer. I miss these days back when I was a kid. Nowadays, back at home, people just play computer games but in Spain you still see families hanging out outside.

• The Football Culture
  • Apparently the football culture is super big - fans all over the world know about this. I am just aloof and unaware about it. I wanted to experience the football culture so luckily I caught a game while I was in Spain.
  • It's an amazing experience altogether - walking together with the 55,000 people going to the stadium to watch a football match, and experiencing group chants and an audience wave! If you get the chance to watch, the energy is great and it was an unforgettable experience!
• Start-late Eat-late Culture
  • Restaurants and shops open late here - 11am or 2pm.. but some bars close late too - until 11pm or 2am. Shops close early, sometimes they don't open after siesta so they just operate until the afternoon.
  • The expo I attended starts at 10am, whereas if it were held in Singapore it would've been opened at 8am.
  • My jampacked gym is almost empty at 8am on a weekend, but super packed on weekdays from 10am onwards.
• The No-cook breakfasts
  • Bread, cheese, cold cuts for breakfast?
  • Milk and cereal for breakfast?
  • Sometimes I get the feeling that eating is not as big as drinking here in Spain. Juxtaposed to the Chinese culture of eating congee for breakfast, and rice meal for lunch and dinner.. Spanish people eat bread for breakfast, wine and tapas for lunch and dinner?

Interesting things I found at the grocery

• Yellow Chicken
• The vast kinds of tomatoes
• The fresh orange juice machine
• Slice your own bread
• The vast kinds of cheese
• Everyone brings their own cart
• Chickpeas as emergency food (5-year expiry)
• Expensive Rice at 3-5 euros per kilo - rice isn't as staple as I thought

The Andalucian Subculture

• The Music Culture
  • At anytime, anyone can start singing on the streets and people would sing along with you
• The Open Culture
  • You can talk to anyone, laugh with anyone
  • We were once beside a group of friends, and suddenly my friend started to talk to them and laugh with them as if they were long time friends, but really, they just met.
• The No-Menu Culture
  • This happened to me twice.. no menu, just order what you want. You ask, "what do you have?" They'll say "we have everything a standard spanish breakfast place offers." Tell me about it, what is the "standard"?