Six Spanish habits you will never be able to truly master
No matter how long you have lived in Spain or how hard you have tried to fit in there are just some things Spaniards do that you will never be able to truly master.
Straight talking
In other words, calling it how you see it or “being blunt.” As Anglo-Saxons, we tend to tread lightly when we give other people our opinions so as not to offend them or make them upset. For Spaniards, however, a person’s feelings never comes into the equation with them telling you exactly what they think no matter what the consequences may be. If you are looking for an honest opinion, just ask a Spaniard and they will let you have it with both barrels.
Tanning
Some of us pasty northern Europeans seem to have the right sort of melanin in our skin to enable us to get a suntan while others need a factor 50 sunscreen so as not to burn. For Spaniards, this must seem like an awful lot of trouble just to have your skin colour turn a nice shade of brown while they seem to effortlessly tan no matter what they do.
Swearing
Swearing in Spain is an art form that just seems to glue all the words together with Spaniards using the most obscene curse words regularly in everyday conversation without batting an eyelid.
Eating lunch
No one can dedicate so much time to lunch than a Spaniard. Despite us all living in a fast-paced world, a Spaniard would never dream of eating a sandwich at their desk. For them, the importance of going home and eating lunch with the family trumps work obligations any day of the week. Even in big cities like Madrid or Barcelona, where it might not be possible to pop home for a few hours, a Spaniard will join friends for a fixed price three-course menu del dia at a restaurant near work.
Chatting quietly while being loud
Listening to Spaniards speak is like listening to bullets flying out of a machine gun, as the words come so fast out of their mouths that it is almost impossible to keep up. They also have the habit of trying to make themselves heard above everyone else, which for the none Spaniard makes comprehension even harder. I remember walking by a bar one evening thinking that there must be one hell of a party going on only to discover that it was just three Spaniards having a conversation.
Going on summer vacations
Spain is one of the most visited holiday destinations on the planet and while if you stick to the beaches and popular tourist attractions life seems to be carrying on as normal. If however, you should visit one of the interior cities or towns in the month of August you can be forgiven for thinking that some sort of major catastrophe has taken place and that the entire population has been evacuated. You see Spaniards love their vacations and have quite rightly so decided that they might as well all take the month of August off and head to the beach or hang out at the communal swimming pool rather than be at work.
