Cultural Differences

Despite only having been here a few days, I have already noted quite a few interesting differences between Spanish and American culture.

-People dress up when they go out.
You would never see someone wearing sweats wandering around a store or on the street even. Women tend to dress very nicely-many wear fur coats to go out and though they do not wear excessive jewelry, they do wear pins and earrings that show their affluence-whether or not it is "real" or just for show. Scarves and pashminas are very popular here, perhaps due to the extreme cold that we are currently experiencing! It´s very cold here and most homes are not heated. Consequently, people tend to dress in layers. It´s quite interesting to note that most people wear very neutral colors. Dark colors are most prevalent and children are the ones who wear brighter colors but even they aren´t that eye-catching. I don´t think people here would approve of those bright oranges, yellows, and lime greens that were in the stores last spring. :0)

-Here, people go shopping every day.
Unlike the U.S. where you go to Safeway or New Seasons oh, say once a week and stock up on food for a while, people here go to the store every day. I asked my madre if she buys bread fresh every day and she said yes. Needless to say, I am not eating Wonder bread but fresh baguettes each day! Also, in Granada there are specialized stores for different types of food. Granted there are a couple "supermakets" (but even those aren´t that big at all) but for the most part people make their purchases at smaller stores. The panaderia for the bread, the fruteria for the fruit and so on. It´s neat to pass by the different shops and see different kinds of just one product. The meat market is really interesting. So many different cuts of meat from various animals. I tried jamon serrano the other day and it was good .I had tasted it in the states before but this was for sure direct from Spain. It was good, but slightly...bitter is the wrong word, but so is salty. It was an interesting flavor, but good all the same. Speaking of which, today I tried my first Spanish paella and it was delicious!! I loved it. My madre made it with chicken and it was FANTASTIC. I can hardly wait until she makes it again.


-People don´t eat in the street
In the U.S., it wouldn´t be uncommon to see someone walking down the street eating an ice cream cone or a pastry. Here, it is considered rude to do such a thing. It is also considered rude for me, as a young person, to say "please" and "thank you" to someone my age. The tone in which I ask for something indicates my intentions and takes the place of those sayings. Going back to the not eating in the street observation, there are very few overweight people here. It´s kind of a shock to go from the U.S. where every other person has a weight problem, to here where everyone seems so small in comparison.



Granada reminds me of a typical small European town where many people know each other by name and they have a considerably slower pace of life here. It´s interesting to want to mail a letter and have to go to two different shops to buy the necessary items in order to do so. The papeleria for an envelope and an estanco (like a tabacco shop or quick mart-they also sell magazines etc.) to buy a stamp. Then as if it isn´t complicated enough, you need to go to the post office and mail the letter there. Luckily, you don´t have to go inside-there are mailboxes outside that you can access 24 hours a day-but I have noticed that there aren´t any mailboxes on the sidewalks where you can mail a letter.

Many people here have motos-a moped-to navigate the narrow streets of the city. There are many compact cars here and not many SUVs at all! Such a contrast from the U.S.!

Things are going really well. Tomorrow we go to the Alhambra! How cool is that? :)