SPANISH CUSTOMS AND QUIRKS

I decided to try to keep track of the differences I’ve noticed in between the Spanish culture and others I have seen, here are some so far:

1 - Obvious – Obsession with Pork.  Every store that has food has Jamon Serrano, Jamon York and Iberico, two of which are the cured and dried version.  Now I have always been a sucker for prosciutto at home, but this is overkill.  I mean I love ham and cheese sandwiches but this has been my lunch now for over a month!  It’s the only thing you can get on the go without having McDonalds or Burger King.  Ok so this is the typical lunch on the go: there are bocadillos which are baguettes of bread with just ham (all kinds), just cheese, ham and cheese or tortilla (which is a omelet with just egg and potatoes).  Then there is sandwich mixto which is square sliced bread (called Pan Molde here, which my roommate and I thought meant bread with mold at first) with ham and cheese melted.  This is my favorite; I could eat like 3 of them to really be full.  Finally, there are the baguettes which are mini baguettes with any of the above mentioned fillers. 

2 - The cafeteria at school has these sandwiches as well as Amstel on tap and other beer and wine selections.  This is something unusual but fantastic!

3 - Spaniards are obsessed with donuts.  Dunkin Donuts are everywhere and another brand they sell in stores called Donuts that when you go to the store, people have about 10 of these packages in their carts.  I mean its intense.  I have not succumbed to the donut obsession…I prefer their homemade sweets like chocolate croissants.

4 – Spaniards are embarrassing beer drinkers.  Ok Im not sure if it’s a Reno thing, but I know I love beer and so do all the people I know back home.  Spaniards don’t have any world famous beers, their selection is Estrella, Mahou and Cruzcampo.  I think the latter is the most known…however Spaniards add lemon fanta to their beer…oh my gosh are you kidding me?! Call me crazy but just drink some juice with soda water!  You should see the looks I get when I have a beer without juice, bigger than half a pint and its like unbelievable when I have a Guiness (which by the way is not that tasty here).

5 – Spaniards and Europeans in general have to be matching.  If you have a pink shirt on, you most definitely have a pink bag, belt or shoes to match.  I know that matching is better than not in some sort of color scheme…haha I don’t know.

6 - A new fashion fad here in Spain...genie pants.  Almost every girl wears these pants, that are cotton with a fit loose around the bum and the crotch seem can either be at the knee or lower...basically it looks like you have junk in your pants.  Not to mention they fit at the ankle tightly like old 80s jeans...sometimes its cute, but most of the time its uh weird.

7 - I would say 90% of the teenagers in Madrid have facial piercings, and one in particular that is a small white ball that is under the lip or right above like a Monroe.  However, they are very small and so at glance it appears that all these kids have huge whiteheads on their face...sorry for the graphic wording but it cracks me up! 

8 - Phil has noticed this...most of the people in the stores HATE breaking a 50 euro bill, either they can't count or are too lazy but every time phil offers one they scowl and huff and puff and ask for something smaller.  

9 - Grandparents are a big part of the lives of their grandchildren.  Only on the weekends do you really see parent with their children, rather during the week most grandparents are out with their grandchildren.  Newborns to young teens there is a strong affection and relationship between the children and their elders…also there is a general respect towards elders that we don’t see very much in the states, from all ages.