During this time, almost all stores are closed and the only places open are cafes or restaurants. The normal school day for students is from about 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., and after that, both students and teachers leave to enjoy the comida at home with their family.
Here in Ourense, I am renting a room in un piso (an apartment), and I have two Spanish roommates who are students at the nearby university. Spanish apartments and houses are generally not quite as large as American homes. America is seeing a trend of open floor plans where the kitchen and living room are often connected, whereas Spanish apartments often have different rooms for everything and a twisting hallway to connect them. My apartment is on the third floor (which is really an American fourth floor since the Spanish ground floor is floor zero) and we have a small balcony with our washing machine and clothesline. It is very rare for a Spanish apartment to have a clothes dryer.
I have enjoyed being able to walk to my school, my piso, the casco viejo and all of its restaurants, the main walking street Paseo and all of its shops, and anywhere else I want to go around the city. My grocery lists have definitely shortened since I have to carry all I buy with me as I walk back to my piso.
As I build my weekly routine, I am also finding some ways to incorporate activities I enjoyed in the States into my life in Spain. While in college, I often enjoyed finding coffee shops to work on homework and meet up with friends. And so, here in Ourense, I have found a couple of coffee shops I love. I now know and talk to all the regular workers and often see friends stop by while I am there.
