Intercultural Negotiations

I've been in Seville, Spain for 3 weeks now and I'm loving every second of being in this beautiful city. Before my arrival to Spain, I knew that Spaniards ate late, did that awkward peck on each cheek and stopped in the middle of the day for the Siesta,but I never realized how different it would actually be from my everyday life in Pennsylvania.The first cultural difference I noticed was contact between people. When I arrived to Seville, I was quickly ushered to my host mother's house and let me tell you I was fully unprepared for the peck on each cheek. I'm not a really touchy person so for me I don't like hugs let alone a peck on the cheek. Every time I met one of my host mother's friends of family members, I awkwardly played the game of which way is the person gonna go and which way do I need to go.

My next cultural difference is the meal times. In the States, I prepare my own food and eat every three hours. I start my morning with eggs, toast and fruit and dinner is my largest meal consisting of meat, a whole grain and vegetables. Here everything is the exact opposite. My breakfast consists of two slices of toast and coffee and quite frankly I'm starving everyday. Lunch does not begin until at least 2PM maybe even later. This is a clear difference from the States where lunch begins at 12. Lunch is the biggest meal and my host mother's is constantly trying to make me eat a ton of food. Dinner does not begin until much later, depending on the host mother, dinner could begin at 8:30PM or 10PM. This meal is much smaller than lunch and consists of salad, soup and protein. I don't eat until 9:30PM so between meals is about 6 hours. Dinner in the states begins around 5 or 6PM and it is the biggest meal of the day. My host mother asked me what we do after dinner because here once dinner is over its time for bed. Between lunch and dinner is the merienda which is a snack. This snack consists of coffee or an alcoholic beverage and a dulce which is a pastry.

The last cultural difference I noticed is the siesta. Everyone has heard about the famous siesta and all of my friends tell me how lucky I am to have nap time, but the reality is I don't have time for a nap. The siesta is a time to relax and rejuvenate. Most ,but not all stores close around lunch time and open back up around 5 or 5:30PM. I do enjoy the siesta ,but due to the siesta, classes are an all day thing. I have class starting at 10:20 and on most days I don't finish until 7:30 or 8:30 at night. Also in the States the big shopping day is Sunday where everyone goes and buys there groceries ,but here is is opposite. Nothing is open on Sundays expect Starbucks and some cafes, but honestly it looks like a ghost town on Sundays.