15 THINGS THAT SURPRISE FOREIGNERS ABOUT LIVING IN SPAIN

When you migrate from your home country to a new one, there is always a bit of culture shock. It is almost impossible to not be surprised or confused by some practices in your new city or town. The same happened to me when I first started living in Spain and although I am used to most of the things on these list now, some of them still leave me scratching my head and wondering. 

1. TWO KISSES TO SAY HELLO AND GOODBYE

Honestly, the fact that I do this automatically now makes me really laugh at how apprehensive I was of it in the beginning. In Spain, they give two kisses to everyone-:friends, your friends' friends, even some job interviewers gave me two kisses. It really isn't a big deal anymore but just remember that in Spain they kiss the left cheek and then the right. The opposite would be what they do in Italy. That's important to know in case you and someone go for the same side and accidentally kiss on the lips! *YIKES!*

2. WHY DO YOU NEED A SWITCH TO EXIT BUILDINGS IN SPAIN?

You have to press a button, wait for it to buzz and unlock the door of the building that you're already in. 

Also, a lot of the times there is more than one button, one is for the light and one is to open the door, one might even be the doorbell for someone's apartment. So you're literally having a little anxiety attack thinking which button actually opens the door.

In case you were wondering what most light switches, door bells and door buzzers (from the inside) look like in Spain, here you go-:

3. AND WHY ARE THE DOOR KNOBS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DOOR?

I mean it really isn't a big deal but at least where I'm from, I had never before seen a door knob in the middle of the door.

4. THE FACT THAT THE WALLS ARE SO THIN AND THERE ARE EVEN ROOMS WITHOUT WINDOWS.

Rooms without windows? How? 

Who needs a TV when you can hear daily drama from your roommates and neighbors haha!

5. BANK POLICIES VARY BY BRANCH AND PAYING A "TASA" IS ALWAYS A MISSION

A "tasa" is fee that you have to pay when conducting various legal procedures here in Spain. The idea is that you fill the form out online, print it, take it to the bank and pay the amount required. As easy as 1,2,3 no? NO! Some bank branches don't deal with payment of tasas and some only allow payment of tasas on certain days and during certain hours. 

Another interesting thing is that you can go to one branch of one bank and be rejected for whatever reason but then go to a next branch of  the same bank and be completely successful. I don't know why or how but that's how it goes. 

6. STARING 

If I had a euro for every time someone was staring at me on the metro, I'd probably have enough money to pay my rent for one month haha. Here, people stare and even more if you're speaking English. They do it so well and so confidently that I can't even be mad. If I look at you staring at me and you don't look away, then damn, hats off to you!

7. SAYING "HASTA LUEGO" INSTEAD OF "ADIOS"

Hasta luego means see you later and adios means goodbye, so you would think the most common thing to say would be adios, but you'd be surprised. When you're exiting stores or leaving a friend's home or anywhere really, it's much more common to hear hasta luego. Sometimes they say it so fast that it sounds like "ahtawaygo" but you'll get used to it!

8. THE WAY TEACHERS TALK TO STUDENTS 

If you work in the education field here in Spain, you will be surprised at how teachers talk to students here. The fact that they throw out the occasional ¡CÁLLATE! (SHUT UP!) or say things like "¿Te tiro por la ventana o...?" meaning " Shall I throw you out the window or...?" just leaves non natives in shock. However, you very quickly come to realize that those things aren't said seriously and the kids don't take them seriously either. Sometimes, it even makes for really funny moments in the classroom.

9. NUDITY AT BEACHES AN IN CHANGING ROOMS

If you're from a country where nudity is frowned upon or straight up illegal, it's only normal that the nudity in Spain would surprise you. You will go to the beaches and see people just nude and tanning and the same goes for in changing rooms. At the gym for example, everyone just changes right in front of each other and honestly, it's pretty chill. 

10. COOKIES FOR BREAKFAST?

One day, I remember asking the kids in my class what they had for breakfast, imagine my surprise when almost all of them said cookies. I mean, it's normal to me now but I thought it so weird that kids had cookies and biscuits for breakfast. 

11. LACK OF SPATIAL AWARENESS

I mean, I think this is the one thing that many foreigners can agree upon. How do I put this nicely? Spaniards aren't the best pedestrians. They take up the entire sidewalk, they walk super slow, they sometimes don't even move for you to pass and the list goes on. I once joked about having a mandatory walking etiquette class in schools.

12. YOU CAN GET BEER ANYTIME AND ANYWHERE

I've found myself drinking beer way earlier than I would have ever drank that back at home and the fact that you can get beer at McDonald's still blows my mind!

13. DRYERS AREN'T REALLY A THING HERE

If you are used to chucking your clothes in the dryer directly from the washing machine, just know that dryers aren't really a thing here. Some places have clothing lines outside their windows but the majority of people use drying racks. Rich,poor, old and young, everyone uses drying racks!

14. DODGY LANDLORDS

I can't tell you how many people have had a run in with a dodgy landlord. Problems range from asking for multiple months worth of rent for the deposit, trying to keep deposits for no real reason, entering properties without talking to tenants and all around making their tenants lives a living hell. 

They tend to see foreigners as easy targets, trusting and gullible but once you threaten to take action against unfair treatment, they will usually back off.

15. SPEAKING OF APARTMENTS...WHY DON'T A LOT OF THEM HAVE...

Toasters, ovens, microwaves, kettles, smoke alarms, fire alarms ...... ok you get it. When you see an apartment marketed as fully furnished, I guess we assume that all those things come included and then we are left surprised when they aren't available. 

And why aren't there fire alarms or smoke alarms or fire escapes? That's more of a necessity than a luxury.

So there you have it, part one of things that surprise us foreigners living in Spain. Honestly, I have so many more that I'd like to add to the list but I'll save it for part 2. Also, if you are considering living in Spain, you'd see that nothing on this list is so serious that you should be deterred from coming here. Spain is one of the best places to live but it wouldn't be fair to not acknowledge the differences between countries.  So come, see it, live it and learn to love it just as I have!