Lifestyle

I love it here. I love the people and the culture, and just about everything about their lifestyle. One thing I would want to take back to the United States is siestas. I love being able to take naps and feeling refreshed for the rest of my day. However, I do not see it as a realistic change in my life. As much as I loved taking a nap almost everyday, it was also paired with everything being pushed back later. We would eat dinner later, go out later, come home later and we were able to sleep later in the day. That just does not seem to fit with how Americans live their lives. We like to work and make the entire day productive. Naps just are not something a lot of people have time for.

            I have definitely missed my Sunday family BBQs. I am not sure if that is considered a “lifestyle” example but in my family it is very important. All 5 of us “kids” have our own lives and things we have to do during the week and my parents also work, but not on Sundays. On Sundays there is no excuse as to why you cannot make it to dinner. All summer we BBQ and all winter my mom cooks up something. It is our little tradition that I have missed.

            I guess one thing in Spain that I am not a fan of is the clothing, especially when it is hot. In the Untied States, in the summer, the less clothes you wear the more you fit in but in Spain the locals feel very comfortable wearing long pants in 85 degree weather, with no air conditioning. I decided to just embrace the fact that I was going to stand out and wore shorts. I could not do long pants in that heat.