This week will be my second week in Spain. Tomorrow I will start classes, and I have had a lot of interaction with the people here. In our dorm, there are students from several universities! I had breakfast and lunch with several students from Spain and got to practice my Spanish with them. Our conversations are typically about classes and differences between life in Spain and the United States. It is a bit difficult to integrate into life here because of the language barrier, but my Spanish is improving a lot just from talking to the students and having to constantly use it!
In Spain, life is very relaxed. Days do not start until much later than they do in the United States. Typically businesses open up around 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Then businesses open back up from 4:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. From 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., Spaniards take a siesta. A siesta is where everything closes and people go rest or take a nap. It's something I have learned to really enjoy and appreciate. After work, most people go spend time with their friends. Most people sleep very late here! It's easy to sleep later, because days do start later in the day!
Breakfast is typically a light meal and takes place at some point between 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Spanish breakfast usually consists of a croissant and cookies.
