Study Abroad Culture Shocks

It only took me until the end of this semester to make a bonus post, but here we are! That just means that this post is made with extra thought and consideration, right? In the beginning of this semester when I first arrived in Europe, that is when culture shock hit me the hardest and I noticed all the little things- so I started making a list. I want to share this list with you all now that has slowly accumulated more things all semester so that whether you have been to Europe (moreso Spain specifically) or not, you can either relate to these culture shocks or learn a little more about a new culture! The order of the cultural concepts below are in no specific order, so just a warning- it will jump around a little bit.

1. Meat left out. From the second that I arrived at the Madrid airport, I saw dried pig legs, also known as Jamon Iberico, available for sale. It did not take long to learn, especially around Christmas time when I arrived, that the Spanish people love their ham. I know that this ham is meant to be sitting out because it has been dried and salted, but there have

been other scenarios as well where one of my host moms left out their meat just a littleeee too long to where it got suspicious. The same with milk, my long-term host parents would set the milk out the night before so that it was easy to find in the morning. Now, I never said anything because this is their way of life, but I was just a little extra cautious. But at the same time, they do it and don’t get sick?

Picture: https://www.lovefood.com/guides/95898/a-complete-guide-to-jamon-iberico

2. El Dia de Los Tres Reyes Magos (Three Kings’ Day) Parade. In Spain, they moreso celebrate the day of the 3 Kings which is 12 days after Christmas (Epiphany) rather than actual Christmas on December 25th. Now just a warning- this bulletpoint does include the topic of racism, so I am not going to go deep into it and just write about what I noticed. For this 3 Kings’ Day celebration, there are many big parades throwing out candies and goodies, and a lot of the floats are in honor of the 3 Kings. One of the 3 kings, Balthazar I believe, is believed to have been a black man. In a complete act of admiration and honor of Balthazar, many kids and young adults will dress in the old-times clothing and paint their skin dark brown to match Balthazar. Coming from the United States, this seemed extremely wrong to me because of Black Face cases, but I learned after talking to my Spanish sister that they mean no harm by it. Again, whether or not they should keep this tradition is not what this blog post is about, I am simply stating my observances.

https://travelnoire.com/spains-controversial-annual-blackface-three-kings-parade

3. The Commonality of Driving Stick Shift and also Driving on the Other Side of the Road (Ireland). When I turned 16, I bought my brother’s old 1996 manual Ford Ranger, and then I learned how to drive it afterwards. Stick shift is not easy nor convenient as I learned by driving one of my own, but I also came to realize that they are a lot more prevalent in Europe. What blows my mind especially in Spain is that there are so many old towns with tiny, hilly, one-way cobblestone roads with the buildings all so close together, yet these people drive their cars through them like pros. I am honestly so impressed and amazed as I have killed the engine of my past car one too many times on a hill to ever want to do it again.

The other thing I want to mention is that while yes Americans know that the population drives on the other side of the road in the UK, I forgot about this when I arrived in Ireland which was moreso just funny. You see, I got on the bus at the airport and actually thought the driver was trying to kill us when he started driving in the left lane, but then I took a breather and realized that it is just another cultural difference.

A picture I took on the bus from the Dublin airport

4. Wedding Rings. There is a large range within these culture shocks and although some are bigger than others, I want to share the little ones too. With this one, I never truly figured out the full pattern, but I noticed that a lot of Spanish people (and some other Europeans) wear their wedding rings on their right ring finger instead of their left ring finger? This one will need further research to learn why but honestly it is one of the first things I noticed while I had a layover at the Madrid airport on my way to Seville.

5. Calling a loved one, “Gordi”. When I was in elementary school, one of the first Spanish adjectives I learned was “gordo/gorda” which means “fat.” That is why I was surprised to hear my host dad loudly and proudly call my host mom, “gorda!” I actually had to ask about this one because I thought I must be missing something, and it turns out I was. In Spanish, “gordi/gordo/gorda” is a term of endearment for words like “honey” and “sweetie.”

6. Driving. In the United States, it is pretty average to pay around $300-$500 to take Driver’s Ed classes and then to get your license at age 16. In Europe because of their amazing public transportation and infrastructure, people cannot get their license until age 18. I also learned that in some countries, you have to take your driver’s test in a manual car to get fully certified because if you take the driver’s test in an automatic car, then your license is not valid for manual cars. Furthermore, I learned that Driver’s Ed in Spain is expensive! My Spanish sister Alicia told me that on average it can cost $1,500 to do everything required to get a Driver’s License.

7. Spain’s eating schedule and food. A lot of people know that Spain’s eating schedule is a little different, but let me share some things with you (again, this does not apply to all Spaniards but it does apply to the majority of the Spaniards that I witnessed). When Spaniards wake up, they eat a breakfast consisting of a lot of carbs and sugar like cereals and sweet crackers with Nutella and then they drink orange juice, coffee, or cola cao which is similar to our nesquick chocolate drink. The other option is tostada (toasted loaf bread) with olive oil, tomato paste, and Jamon Iberico. (Another side note- most Spaniards go out every day to buy fresh bread and the bread in Europe is soooo much better than bread in the US because they have tighter restrictions with chemicals. My gluten-free friend could even eat gluten when she was in Europe.)

Continuing on, kids go to school from around 9am-1:30pm, and then they come home and lunch is made to be eaten around 2:30-3pm. Their afternoon continues on as normal until maybe they have a light snack of cheese or crackers, and this snack time is called, “merienda.” In the evenings then, Spanish families will eat at between 8:30-10:30 depending on if they have a family and young children. Regarding some of the foods that they eat, they make tortilla (which is not like Americans’ vision of a tortilla at all) and it is basically a thick omelette or they make huevos rotos which is a little similar to scrambled eggs. They think it is weird to eat eggs for breakfast though so tortilla is a lunch or dinner option.

Also, I have learned that to them- fruit is a dessert. After I finish eating, I was often offered an apple or banana. This was interesting to me because in the states, fruit would be ate before or during the main course. It is interesting how Americans view our desserts differently. Lastly, the way that the Spanish eat when out in restaurants is completely different. They use the verb “tapear” which means “to eat tapas” to describe it. Of course they can go to McDonald’s or other restaurant and order a portion for themselves, but the idea of tapas is that you order a bunch of small (usually around 3 euro per plate if it is for locals and not too touristy) tapas consisting of different foods, and everyone shares them when they come out onto the table. Also, the tapas are not all brought out at once, the kitchen brings them as soon as they are made because they are hot, and then you start eating. Some of the very classic tapas in Spanish include Jamon Iberico (Iberian Ham) con queso (local cheese- they eat a lot of goat cheese), Salmorejo and gazpacho (basically cold tomato soups), croquetas (deep fried balls of meat or their puchero stew), ensaladilla rusa (a form of Russian potato salad), patatas bravas (cubed potatoes fried and served with a tomato sauce and ailoi), solomillo al wiskey (pork), and different types of sandwiches called montaditos,

Eating tapas in Sevilla with my brother and sister-in-law Ryan and Kate along with my Spanish sister Alicia. This is the first time they met!

8. No Carpets. This is a quick one, but I have yet to see carpet in a Spanish home. Maybe it is due to the tile trend, or because of the climate, or because a lot of them live in flats, but it is basically unheard of. On top of this, all the Spaniards wear slippers in the house religiously. One of my favorite stories from arriving at my Spanish sister Noelia’s house to stay with her for a week is that I was walking around on the tile floor barefoot and her mom, I call her “madre”, would look at my feet and shiver. It made her physically uncomfortable, so she went out and bought me slippers, and now I wear them every day. One time I was at Noelia’s house and I forgot to put them on, and I was politely yelled at to go upstairs and get them.

9. Ordering Water and Bathrooms. Alright here we go. Maybe this is just me being American and being used to get a big glass of ice water when I sit down at a restaurant in the states, but I find it ABSURD that we have to pay for water in almost all of Europe, plus it almost never has ice because they drink it at room temp. If I asked a server for specifically tap water, they will 10% of the time give in to me, and the other times they say, “our tap water is not potable” or “we only serve bottles” or “you need to buy a drink first to get a free glass of water.” Maybe it is because I look very touristy, but I am not sure.

Furthermore, because of how old the infrastructure is in Sevilla and honestly a lot of Europe, I can tell they were not thinking ahead about the bathroom situation and creating more than one stall. The bathrooms I see in restaurants and other places are always so makeshift that sometimes they even store their new and used beer kegs right next to the toilet. Also, in most public places (like for instance train stations and airports- I am at the Mannheim, Germany train station right now as I write this and this holds true) they make you pay to use the bathroom which just hurts my soul a little bit, but then again- that it what I am used to. If you are wandering down a street in Europe and you suddenly have to use the bathroom, you should almost always be prepared to open your wallet sadly.

*Another note on the topic of bathrooms, bidets are super popular. Almost all of the homes and hotels I have stayed in have them. I am not sure how often they get used, but they are there.*

10. Beauty and Clothing Style. Maybe this observation is wrong or rude to say, but my American friends and I joked about it a lot so I will include it. How do I put this nicely… Yes, yes everyone is beautiful in their each and own way, but… the Spanish are just naturally so beautiful. Like noticeably more beautiful. This goes for the Danish (random, I know, but it is true) as well. For the Spanish, maybe it’s their dark hair and dark eyes, and with the Danish- maybe it’s the blonde hair and amazing cheekbone structure, but I think it also has to do with the fact that they never leave the house without looking nice clothing wise. In the US, I see people walking around in their Elmo pajama pants and crocs all day long, but in Spain you would be stared at for more than one reason. I will admit, there were days I wanted to go out into the streets in sweatpants or leggings, but I never did for the sake of wanting to really embrace this clothing culture. For girls in Spain, I am loving that flare pants with sneakers is an essential look.

Another thing I will not understand about the Spanish is how they are cold when it is literally 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I’m not kidding, they will fully dress in layers with a scarf when there is a slight wind, and they will ask me how I am not freezing in short sleeves.

Also, as much as you would expect the people of Sevilla in Southern Spain to wear tank tops and shorts as soon as it reaches a decently warm temp (which for a Midwesterner would be like 75 degrees+), the ladies at least really do not wear shorts. The men will wear jorts (they are very much a thing here) but the ladies will either wear a skirt/dress or flowy pants and usually not flip flops/birkenstocks- they stay true to their nice sandals or closed toed shoes.

11. Semana Santa- Nazareno Outfits with Capirote Hats. I touched on this in my Semana Santa/Holy Week blog so I will keep this short, but something that can be uncomfortable at first is seeing how the thousands of people dress in their 50+ Holy Week processions. In Spain, they have had processions for hundreds of years where they were traditional robes and a cone hat (capirote). The problem is that when the Ku Klux Klan was formed, they took a similar idea which now gives the Spanish attire an untasteful reputation to Americans even though they have pleasant meanings behind them. I know that Spain means well and they wear their outfits for symbolic reasons, but it definitely took some getting used to!

12. Another small but interesting fact to me has to do with restaurants and how guests pay. Maybe this is because I worked in a restaurant last summer so I am extra intrigued, but in Europe when you are paying a bill with a credit card- they NEVER take your credit card to a Server station or backroom to run it. In Europe, every merchant has one of the portable card readers that they will bring to the table for you to tap. In my opinion, this seems like a quicker and easier solution, and I think this is something the US could consider implementing even if it seems less formal.

Living in another country shocks you, amazes you, frustrates you, and humbles you all at the same time, and I would not change my experience for the world. I am so happy with everything I got to do and experience, and I just cannot believe that I am home in Minnesota as I now finish this post 4 weeks after starting it. These cultural differences not only taught me about new places, they taught me about myself too. Now I can reflect and remember these moments and differences while I am back in the states, and I think that I will be a better global citizen and person because of it.