Top 5 Spanish Cultural Differences I’ve Noticed

1. Handwashing

People don’t always wash their hands here after leaving the bathroom, but I don’t think this is necessarily a choice. Of all the dozens I’ve been to, only a few have had hand soap and of those only a couple have had both hand soap and a way to dry your hands. I asked my host mom about this, and she said it never used to be this way before the recession. Now, the owners of the establishments just don’t want to pay to restock the bathrooms. I think that this doesn’t cause many complaints, because in general the Spanish I’ve noticed are less germaphobic. I’ve taken to carrying around hand sanitizer everywhere though.

2. Time

People always say that the Spanish eat late and party late, which is true, but it’s a bigger cultural difference than that. Their entire concept of the day is different. The mornings are short, because people don’t get out to work until 10. The rush hour on the metro is probably around 9:30am, and lunch is typically at 2. But dinner isn’t until 10, so the morning feels short and the night long. I told my host mom the other day that I would be home at 7, and she responded “A las siete por la tarde?” (Seven in the afternoon?). Obviously, we would say 7 at night, so it’s not just meal times that are different, but the whole structure of the day.

3. Food to Go

The concept of taking “food-to-go” doesn’t really exist in Spain. There are few restaurants with doggie bags, because Spaniards intend to eat everything on their plate and expect you to do the same. I’ve had several waiters comment on how much food I left on the plate, and when I’m eating with my host family I struggle sometimes to finish the heaps of food they give. Even taking food from home with you is not really a thing. People always give me strange looks when I’m on the metro eating a granola bar for breakfast. For them, meals are an event to be enjoyed with all your attention, shared with family and friends, not scarfed down on the way to your next activity.

4. Customer Service

So like food-to-go, customer service doesn’t really exist. There’s a pretty understandable reason for this though, which is that there is no tip here. Since there’s no tip, there’s no incentive to turn over tables by making service quick or chat up your table in the hopes of making them comfortable. They are very much a set the food down and walk away society. This for the most part is okay, but if you have a special request or a problem with the food, this can be intimidating because the waiters can be kind of rude by American standards. Also, you always have to ask for the check, so be aware of that because they will never bring it to you and you could end up sitting there for hours.

5. Students

I’m sure not every Spanish student is like this, but something I’ve noticed about the education system here is that university students at least are not incentivized to try hard in school. University here costs around 4,000 euros a year, which is just a fraction of what most Americans pay. Their parents typically pay for the whole thing, and student loans are uncommon. According to my Cultural Studies professor, this causes students to not put all their effort into school. I’ve noticed this in class when students talk out loud during the professor’s lecture and WhatsApp openly during class. In my group project right now for my Sociology class, I’m having a really hard time getting the Spanish students to work on a strict schedule. They want to put everything off and not worry about upcoming deadlines, and this is giving me a stress ulcer because I need this class to count for my major. But I’m trying to adapt myself to their way of learning and their time schedule, because after all that’s why I’m here to not just point out differences, but to adapt.