Some tips to survive in Spain

Do you know this feeling when you get out of the plane, put your feet on the new ground, breathe the air and smile to yourself at the thought of the adventure that you are about to begin? This is what I felt when I first landed in Madrid. I love travelling -I have been doing so since I was a little girl- and this feeling of excitement accompanies me every time I travel to a new place. But this time it was different: it was not just a simple vacation from my ordinary life in Denmark. This time I was coming here for a whole year as an Erasmus student. Why Spain? If you are considering studying abroad, there are many reasons to fall in love with this place: its language, its culture, and of course its people. Here I leave you some tips for those of you who want to study and live in Spain.

Forget about handshakes! If you try to do that here, the person you are meeting willlaugh atyou andstareat your hand. Here when you meet someone for the first time you are supposed to kiss each other twice, once on each cheek. Unless you are a man greeting another man: in that case you are allowed to shake hands, even if it is becoming more and more popular for men to greet each other by kissing. Remember to kiss always from left to right –you will avoid an embarrassing moment.

Another important thing to meet people in Spain is to learn some Spanish. Of course many Spaniards speak English but you will find yourself in many places (restaurants, shops, parties…) where no one speaks any English, especially if you are not living in a touristy location. Besides, it is alack of respectnot to learn the local language. Don’t be shy, practice makes perfect! 

Once you have learnt a few words such as “por favor” or “gracias” you are ready to go to the bars and restaurants and enjoy the local gastronomy. One of the most famous dishes is paella -which in Madrid, where I live, is not so appreciated-. Another typical dish is "tortilla de patatas", an omelette made of eggs and potatoes, optionally including onion. But my favorite Spanish food is jamón! It is just delicious.

 “¡La cuenta, por favor!” In Spain waiters will take your plates when you finish, but will never bring you the bill unless you ask for it. Delivering an unsolicited bill to a table is extremely rude in Spain. Here a good waiter leaves you alone until you call him or her over to the table. Getting their attention, though, can often be difficult. If you want the bill, it is common to catch a waiter’s eye and make a motion as if you were writing in the air. Once I even saw a manwhistleto the waitress to get her attention but I think that was justbad manners.

In order to enjoy the Spanish gastronomy you need to adjust to Spain’s crazy schedules. It took me a long time to cope with them, since everything seems to take place later than in the rest of Europe. Spanish people will typically have lunch around 2 or 3 pm, while dinner takes place around 9 or 10 pm. In big cities like Madrid or Barcelona this should not be a problem, since there are restaurants that will take you at any time. Still don’t be surprised if you enter a restaurant at 8 pm and the waitershakes his/her headsaying that the kitchen is not open yet!

Also the shops stay open until late –most stay open until 8.30 or 9pm, some even until 10 pm- but almost all of them will close from 2 to 5 pm so that people can go back home for lunch and take a nap But this is true only from Monday to Saturday, since on Sundays stores are closed all day. This can be quite annoying if you are not used to it! So make sure toprovide yourself witheverything you need, since shopping on a Sunday can be an odyssey!

As for the money, nowadays you can pay with a credit card almost in every establishment but some do not accept them unless you spend more than “X” euros. So don’trely onyour credit card and make sure to carry some cash with you at all times. In my case I opened a bank account online before I moved here and I have never needed to go to the bank. Notice this might be another odyssey, since they only open between 9am and 2pm. If you are a student and have classes in the morning like me, that means that you will need to do everything online –who goes to the bank nowadays anyway?

If after everything you have read you are still looking forward to moving in Spain, my advice is to start looking for an apartment before you actually move here. Especially if you are moving to a big city it can be difficult –and expensive- to find accommodation. In my case I did some research about the different neighborhoods. When I had an idea of the area where I wanted to live –centrally located and not too far from university- I used the web www.idealista.com to find an affordable room in a shared apartment. Some schools and universities have residences, so you may want to take a look at them!

I will come back soon with more stories about my life in Spain. If you have any questions please add a comment and I will be thrilled to answer. Thank you for reading!