time in spain

One of the many things I’ve had to get accustomed to (and will continue getting accustomed to) is how time works in Spain. In the states, we know phrases like “customer service” and “the early bird gets the worm”. In Spain, everything has its own pace…not a slow pace, depending on how you look at it, but it’s own pace.

Take, for example, going out to eat. Once Lauren & I have a place to live (hopefully by tomorrow – pray!), I won’t be doing this as much, but it’s an interesting example of cultural difference. In a plaza, you sit down at the outdoor tables, and eventually the waiter will come to you – usually within a minute or two of sitting down. You order what you want (tapas y cerveza are a pretty cheap dinner option, agua if you want to go even cheaper), and the waiter leaves. Drinks come about 3-5 minutes after that, and you might wait for your food about 15-20 minutes or so. The biggest cultural difference, however, is the bill. Spaniards coming to the U.S., I think, would feel it rude that our waiters and waitresses bring the bill so soon after eating or that it’s brought at all without being asked for it (which they don’t seem to do often either…this has befuddled me – how do they eventually get the bill without even asking for it?). In Spain, food is a community event – something, like the food, to be savored a bit. Nothing should be rushed – the only place I consistently see clocks are in places like bus & train stations. Americans here who are stuck “waiting” for the bill because they can’t stand not moving onto whatever’s next, are going to have to ask for the bill. Multi-tasking is almost non-existent here too, I think.

Part of me really loves this idea of time. The UofM class-starts-10-minutes-late thing really messed me up for being on time pretty much for life. When it comes to social events in Spain, you are expected to arrive later than the event starts (hey! What my Spanish teachers told me in high school is actually true!). I love the fact that I don’t feel the stress of being rushed to be at any particular event at any particular time. You just get there when you get there (I know some of you all would love this too). Other parts of me find this slightly difficult.

For example, I was waiting at The Phone House (Radio-Shack type store) the other day to buy my prepaid cell phone (I wanted to avoid getting one for a bit, but in case of emergency they are good to have. Also, it’s virtually impossible to search for pisos, or flats, without one). I waited behind one couple who was also getting a phone contract for about ½ hour before finally being greeted by the sales rep. There were probably 5 people in line behind me, including one couple with a mildly cranky toddler, who didn’t seem to be aggravated at all. The couple in front of me seemed to have endless questions of the sales rep, but weren’t apologetic about how long they were taking – they probably didn’t even notice the people in line behind them. But, that’s the way things work here – I’ve been told numerous times that getting huffy & puffy about stuff like this really won’t solve anything. I don’t think in Spain that “the customer is always right”. Pretty much, you just have to be ready to wait anywhere you go, and to not think about it as “waiting” – it’s just downtime. There isn’t a focus on having “efficient” systems here – if a system works, and eventually gets everybody through, then what needs to be fixed?

I start teaching tomorrow. Should be some interesting stories about the kids (and adults) coming up.