Thursday, May 16th
After the long plane ride, I felt exhausted. But, I felt a little better after seeing Dr. Pelo's hair transplant and regrowth clinic.
When we checked into Yugo Galdós residence hall, I was tempted to take a nap, but I knew that this would make the jet lag worse. So, instead, I tried to be as active as possible getting down to the basics of my living situation. First, I unpacked my luggage and connected to the residence’s WiFi. Then, I deciphered how to do laundry with the WashTur app. Next, I got myself some lunch and figured out the routine for getting meals at the dining hall. Lastly, I traveled to all the important places nearby, like the pharmacy, Vicente Aleixandre metro station, and Mercadona. After all this, I simply felt too tired and went to bed at 8 pm.
Friday, May 17th
During the night, I woke up at 11:30 pm and 2:30 am, but I was still able to sleep for a period of 11 hours. I woke up at 7 am, took a shower, drank some mate (traditional Uruguayan tea), and had breakfast.
We met up with Katie and we took the metro to the Accent center for orientation. It covered the basics of living abroad and repeated common sense ideas (e.g. staying sober). Then, I decided to go to Estación Museo Chamberí because it’s free. But, apparently you have to register ahead of time. That was a bummer, but I was able to relax in a nice park nearby.
Later, I walked for around 10 minutes, through a bridge with modern art pieces.
Then, I got pollo peri peri at Honest Greens Serrano. This food was great and I’m thinking of going back later.
Then, I took the metro back to Yugo and went to bed.
Saturday, May 18th
I felt less tired today. I decided to have lunch a little later in the day (9 am) and I actually didn’t have lunch until 2 pm, so I feel like I’m adjusting to Spain well. For lunch I had some lentil soup which reminded me of my family because it was quite similar to the lentil soup I have back at home.
This afternoon, I bought some noise canceling earbuds for the night at Fnac.
On my way to Templo de Debod, I passed through Plaza de España, which looked very crowded.
Then, I went to Templo de Debod, which dates back to the 2nd century BC (Temple of Debod, n.d.).
On my way back from Temple de Debod to Yugo, I saw what I think were people dressed in traditional Basque clothing doing a performance.
Academic Analysis: Customs
I have already noticed a few cultural differences between the US (specifically Iowa City) and Spain. Firstly, practically no one in Madrid drives. It seems most people either walk or take public transportation, like the bus and metro. As I was making my rounds to all the nearby places, I realized bakeries, pharmacies, grocery stores, etc. are all within walking distance to living spaces. Also, people tend to spend a lot of their free time outside. I think the reason why is because Madrid is a densely populated city with smaller living spaces, so people would rather go outside where they have more space rather than remain inside.
Furthermore, people tend to wake up late, eat late, and go to bed late. I realized this when I wanted to have dinner at Yugo even though dinner starts at 8 pm. Part of the reason why is that in 1940, “El Caudillo” Francisco Franco changed the time zone to be one hour later in the day to align with NAZI Germany’s time zone (Hernández, 2024). So, it seems like Spanairds do things an hour later in the day than they truly are. Another reason why is that, according to The Guardian, Spaniards typically work 11 hour days from 9am to 8pm with a 2-3 hour break in between (Kelley, 2017). So, employees have to adhere to their work schedules even if they don’t want to. Another reason why is that Spain can get very hot in the Summer and it’s cooler later in the day (8-12 pm) rather than earlier in the day. Also, I know that in other Hispanic countries, like Uruguay and Argentina, people also wake up late and go to bed late, so I suspect this is a general trend in Hispanic culture as well.
Moreover, people have less personal boundaries. When I was in line at Honest Greens Serrano, I felt a little uncomfortable as the people in front of me and behind me were a bit too close to me (especially when the guy behind me coughed). According to a 2017 study covered by the Washington Post, Spaniards are more comfortable around strangers at a closer distance (90 cm) than Americans (95 cm) (“Analysis | What ‘Personal Space’ Looks like around the World,” 2021). I think this is the case because Madrid is more densely populated than Iowa City, so people are naturally used to having less space. Surprisingly, the study revealed Americans prefer close friends at a closer distance (45 cm) than Spaniards (60 cm) (“Analysis | What ‘Personal Space’ Looks like around the World,” 2021). This is counter to my intuition, but I’m sure there is a logical reason why.
Citations
Analysis | What ‘personal space’ looks like around the world. (2021, December 1). Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/24/how-close-is-too-close-depends-on-where-you-live/
Hernández, M. (2024, March 4). Time change: Origin, history and consequences. Telefónica. https://www.telefonica.com/en/communication-room/blog/time-change/
Kelley, P. (2017, February 22). Spaniards’ lack of sleep isn’t a cultural thing – they’re in the wrong time zone. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/22/spaniards-sleep-time-zone-spain
Temple of Debod. (n.d.). Turismo Madrid. Retrieved May 18, 2024, from https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/templo-de-debod
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