11 Cultural Differences Between America and Spain

Hey Au Pairs!

As an au pair living in a new country abroad you’re bound to find a multitude of differences between life in your new host country and your own country. Living abroad for nearly 4 years in Spain, as both an au pair and English teacher has allowed me to experience many cultural differences between America and Spain.

To learn more about cultural differences I’ve experienced keep on reading!

1.Pharmacies are weird

In the United States most pharmacies are a one stop shop! You can buy snacks, school supplies and even take a passport photo there, in addition to purchasing your medication.

I found out the hard way that this was not the case in Spain when I needed to have a passport photo taken. I stopped in a pharmacy to ask if they could take my photo and the people in the shop were very confused. Needless to say I left the pharmacy photoless and feeling extra silly.

2.OVER FRIENDLINESS Can be a Turnoff

One thing that really stuck out to me when I first moved to Spain was how difficult it was to make friends with Spanish people. As hard as I tried to befriend Spanish people, my go to smiley and cheery disposition didn’t quite work as it would back home! I was almost never able to make it past the acquaintance stage. Spanish people were polite enough, but were tough to crack when it came to being their friend.

After talking to a Spanish person that I was successfully able to befriend, she revealed to me that most Americans are overly friendly and this was usually a turnoff to most Spanish people as it comes across as fake. This perspective opened my eyes and helped me tone down my friendliness factor whenever I met someone new.

3.Meal Times differences leave you feeling hungry

Meal times differ drastically in Spain! Back home I usually have lunch around noon and dinner sometime around 6-7PM, but in Spain meal times are much later in the day, while breakfast is more or less at the same hour. Spaniards typically have lunch around 2PM and dinner is around 9-10PM.

4.Everything is Closed on Sunday

In Spain Sunday is a day of rest and everything shuts down, which as an American really surprised me! In America I was so used to everything being open at all hours of the day. There are even stores that are open 24/7 back home!

As inconvenient as this can be at times, I appreciate having one day of the week where I can sleep in and relax and save some money due to shops being closed!

5.Breakfast is SWEEt!

Compared to breakfast back home, breakfast in Spain is full of sweet items ranging from cookies, hot chocolate, crepes and toast- with chocolate spread. Of course there are more traditional breakfast items such as cereal, and toast as mentioned above but ask any Spanish person what they had for breakfast and chances are they’ve eaten something sweet!

6.Ham is Everywhere!

In Spain there is a very strong ham or as the Spanish say jamón presence. Everywhere you go, ham is offered on the menu. There are even many ham flavored food items, think ham flavored potato chips! It’s a thing! So be prepared to swap out your beloved cheetos for ham flavored chips!

7.Spanish Siesta - zzz

Something that stuck out to me when I first got to Spain was the Spanish siesta. The word siesta translates to nap, and the Spanish siesta goes from 2-5PM. This means that during this time of the day everything is closed. This is so people can return to their homes to have a long lunch with their families and maybe even partake in a nap. The history of the siesta dates back a very long time and has a history of its own which you can check out here.

8. Spain is CHeap!

As mentioned before in my reasons you should au pair in Spain article, life in Spain is extremely cheap! Especially when compared to life in the US! I was instantly amazed by how economical everything in Spain is compared to back home. A single euro can truly go far in Spain! In Spain I can go to a supermarket and buy a water bottle, chocolate bar and apple for a euro, whereas I would probably have to pay around 3-4 dollars for all of this back home.

9. expect to walk Everywhere

Ask anyone who lives in America if they have a car and chances are they’ll say yes, and this is because you NEED a car! In America everything is pretty spread out when it comes to grocery stores and shops so you need a vehicle in order to do your shopping and public transport isn’t usually the best. So naturally when I made the move to Spain I was surprised by how I could get everywhere by means of walking or taking the public bus! Not only is this better for your health, it’s also better for the environment.

Your feet will go through a culture shock of their own though, my feet ached for weeks when I first moved to Spain because I wasn’t used to walking so much! So remember to pack comfy shoes to walk in!

10. forget tipping

Back home tipping is a must! Most people in the serving industry live off tips and you’re almost always considered a jerk if you don’t tip your server, but in Spain tipping culture isn’t really a thing. Initially, I remember feeling puzzled by this but then I learned that servers in Spain typically earn more money than people working these same positions back in America. But! If you do ever want to leave your waiter or waitress a tip because they did a stand out job you can, a euro per person should suffice!

11. Vacations Galore

Something that stood out to me when I first moved to Spain was how often they had off for different holidays. Back home in America our major holidays came from obvious celebrations such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter whereas in Spain they had MANY more days off in addition to these major holidays! Their many days off also include days honoring specific Patron Saints and Holy Week.

Something extra special that Spain does when it comes to holidays is that if there’s ever a vacation day that falls on a Thursday they’ll also give you a day off Friday too as to bridge (or as the Spanish say a puente) the time between the weekend and the holiday, so that you have a three day weekend. Expect many puentes during your time in Spain!

Many of their extra vacation days come from different religion celebrations as Spain is a primarily catholic country, and as an au pair this means you have extra days off which is lovely.

What other cultural differences have you discovered while living abroad in Spain? Let me know in the comments down below.