Jamie Fehr

A good friend of mine, David Beltra, during his recent travels in the American mid-west, wrote a brief article on the little differences between Spain and North America. Having lived as a North American in Spain for the last six months, I am here to offer my list of things that I find strange and different about Spain.

Greeting People

Probably one of the first things that caught me off guard here was the fact that you are obliged to greet the ladies with a kiss on each cheek. No matter the age, singleness, or level of acquaintance this is the case. They don’t value their personal space nearly as much here.

The Restaurants

There are no free refills (except Fosters Hollywood), water costs money, and nobody tips. I don’t know that these are really problems though because they give you free bread, that’s right free bread. Every restaurant has a Menu del Dia which includes a first dish, second dish, drink, and desert. I am really going to miss that when I get back to Canada.

The Time

A local news paper recently reported that only 15% of Andalusians get up between the hours of six a.m. and seven a.m., and a roommate of mine also recently commented that if you consider nine a.m. first thing in the Morning you live in the south of Spain. I consider nine a.m. first thing in the morning and I have encountered restaurants here that don’t open there kitchen until eight p.m. in the evening. Everything starts late here, everything from waking up, to eating to going out for the evening. I love it. Viva España!

The Dogs always bark

You don’t realize how quiet the dogs in North America are until you get to Spain. Every family has a dog and every dog will always bark at any person or dog who isn’t a part of their family. When I was living at my old place the walk to and from work included a stretch past a house with two dogs. I walked by that house four times a day for four and a half months and every time the dog saw me it would bark, and it wouldn’t just bark, it would Bark! This dog sounded like it wanted to eat me every time it saw me, and it wasn’t just this dog that felt that way. Any street that you walk on could have a dog that would shock you with how loud it barks, which starts the symphony of all the dogs in the neighborhood. It’s really quite remarkable.

This isn’t a complete list, but it is the big things, and even with major difference’s living here is still pretty great. And as a side note it is finally raining, it’s rained the last 3 days in a row. The only downside now is that it’s impossible to wash and dry clothes.