Integrating Yourself into the Spanish Lifestyle

The dream which most people have of Spain is that of sun, flamenco, tapas and passion. This all exists. However, to really make the most out of your new home in Spain, you have to learn to integrate yourself into the Spanish lifestyle. It’s all well and good to have a sandy beach near to your home (actually, it’s wonderful), but how much more enjoyable will the sandy beach be if you can go there with a large group of Spanish friends who know where the best hidden spot is, or where the best seafood restaurant lies?

Equally, the best flamenco shows are found by the locals, not promoted by the tourist office. The best sangria is made by the town’s smallest bar, which you may not discover by yourself. And the tastiest tapas are found down a little alleyway which can only be seen from the bar where they make the best sangria. And so on. If you get to know the locals, the Spaniards, you will get to know all the best spots.

So, how do you get to know the locals and become more a part of the Spanish lifestyle? We’ll try to answer that question here. Well, the first thing that you are going to have to alter is your timetable. Within your first week of living in Spain, you will realize that they eat dinner late, they go to bed late, and they have siestas. If you are an early to bed, early to rise type, you may find interaction with the Spaniards a little difficult, because it is at night time that they really come alive. If somebody invites you to their house for dinner, you may expect to have to wait until 10 pm to eat, then you’ll chat, and it will be 2 am before you get to bed. This is fine and fun, but not if you need to be in bed by 11 or 12. So, you might want to relax your schedule a bit, and just do as the Spaniards do.

You can still get up early though. You may be tired, but hey, that’s what the siesta is for. The siesta period, generally between 2 and 4, is when most shops shut, a lot of offices close, and workers either take to bed for a ‘siesta’ or they enjoy a long lunch with their friends at the local café. This is a nice change from the forty minutes to one hour break which is the norm in northern Europe.

Now, we have already mentioned tapas, which are small snacks, ranging from bread and olive oil to squid or prawns, which were traditionally served free with a drink purchased at a bar. Making your own tradition of going out for tapas is a great way to become part of the Spanish way of life. It is a wonderful way to meet people, because often tapas are taken at the bar counter, and if you go to one bar regularly, you’ll really get to know a lot of the community.

It may be stating the obvious to say that learning Spanish well is a very important element in getting to know the Spaniards. There are, of course, plenty of Spaniards that speak English but you don’t want to limit yourself by not learning Spanish well. Fortunately, Spanish is not a difficult language, and most Spaniards have a great deal of patience with language learners. Indeed, they are generally very eager to help, by correcting you when you make mistakes!

The Spanish way of life is a relaxed, fun and passionate way, and if you can make yourself a part of that, your experience of living in Spain will be all the richer.

About the Author:
Belinda Milestone works as a content writer for oppSpain, a company that is specialised in selling off plan properties in Spain.