Siesta

The siesta in Spain occurs sometime after lunch and during it, the world kind of shuts down for a while. Stores close, nobody works, and people relax or take a nap for a couple of hours. Afterwards, work is resumed and people go about their normal activities. Some other countries also have afternoon naps as part of their tradition, usually in countries with warmer climates, where the heat starts to take a toll on you that time of day. In Spain, and throughout much of Europe, lunch is the biggest meal of the day, as opposed to America, where breakfast is supposed to be the biggest meal of the day, supplying you with energy for the whole day. While in Spain, I experienced siesta, and became very fond of it. According to research, people lose steam twice in a 24-hour period: at night, and in the afternoon. These are the two easiest times to fall asleep. Also, after large meals, a person's blood glucose level tends to drop, resulting in drowsiness. Since the largest meal in Spain is lunch, it makes a lot of sense that people would get tired in the afternoon. The siesta is an important part of Spanish culture because it rejuvinates people so they are able to work longer and harder afterwards. It's a concept that I think should be looked into here in the United States. I think it would be a great way to lessen stress in the busy lives of people here. Yes, you may work later. But the quality of your work will surely be better after a much needed break.

I found a very entertaining article about this topic. Check it out!

http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2002/09/24/Features/ThreeHour.Spanish.Siesta.Satisfies-279611.shtml

Comida

Every country is known for having different kinds of foods. America is the land of bugers and fries, Italy is home to pizza and speghetti, and Mexico is known for its tacos and enchilladas. What then, is Spain known for? Many peoply mistakenly think that since both Mexico and Spain are Spanish-speaking countries, they possess many of the same cultural standards. After my early morning arrival in Spain, I was highly anticipating my first Spanish meal. In the arms of the server was a larger-than-life bowl filled to the brim with spaghettis the size of rice grains in yellow, brown and orange colors. On top of the mound were six huge shrimp, which had not been peeled. They looked like miniature lobsters, with their eyes bulging right out at me. Never before had I had to peel my own shrimp, and was astonished at how quickly my boyfriend was able to do it; it was like it was second nature for him. At every single restuarant in America I had ever been to, the shrimp was peeled before it was served to you. Next, when I tried the pasta dish, I found it very bland, since it had no sauce. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't something that I would pick to eat on my own. My boyfriend recommended that I put lemon juice on it, it was his favorite. After my first bite, I immediately regretted doing so. I did not like the taste of it one bit.
That same night, we went out to a restuarant to eat with his family. I'm glad to say that that meal was more enjoyable for me. But what surprised me did not happen when they brought out the food, but when they brought out our water. In the United States, it is common for a lemon slice to be perched on the rim of a water glass. Many people leave it there, and many people squeeze the lemon juice into their water. Imagine my thouhts when my boyfriend took his lemon slice, put the whole thing in his mouth, chewed and swallowed it. What more, but he didn't make a face! If I had even touched the tip of my tongue to a lemon, the sourness would overwhelm me. When I asked if he didn't think that the lemon was sour, he responded by saying, "My whole family eats lemons." His dad then proceeded to do the same.

Lengua

In America, we have one official language. English. However, recently America's common languages have been expanding and we have been considering making Spanish another official language of the United States. In Spain, the official language is Spanish, as you may have guessed. However, there are different dialects of Spanish found in different regions of Spain. Dialects are similar to the accents that are found throughout different parts of North America. It is a different way of speaking, with different words, but is still based on the common Spanish language. The official dialect in Spain is called Castellan, or castellano. The different dialects of Spanish are Basque, Galician, and Catalan. These are all co-official in certain areas of Spain. When I traveled to Spain, I was a pretty experienced Spanish speaker, since I had taken AP Spanish in high school at the time of my visit. Much to my surprise, when I arrived and was out in Barcelona, I found it extremely difficult to understand what people were saying to me. I thought I would have an easy time conversing with my boyfriend's family and friends. But since they were speaking Catalan, I could barely comprehend what they were saying. The word I learned in Spanish class for water was agua. In Barcelona, it was aigua. The world for blue that I learned was azul. In Barcelona, it was blava. Catalan is also known for the thick lisp that comes with speaking it. This means that these specific Spanish speakers pronounce their S's as th's.

"Spanish Language." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 27 Oct 2007.

Los Bailes

Originally, I planned to talk about a number of different dances that originated in Spain. However, after doing lots of various research on the topic, I realized I needed to narrow down my search since the topic is so vast and not much can be said for the infinite different kinds of dances that come from Spain. One dance, however, the most common and most known dance from the Spanish origin caught my eye and I decided to delve further into learning about it. The flamenco comes from Andalucia, which is the southernmost part of Spain. Since Andalucia is mainly preoccupied with Andalusians, Gypsies, Islams, and Sephardics, flamenco is thought to have been an intersection of these cultures. As flamenco spread throughout the rest of Spain, other Spanish musical traditions began to influence its style. Because flamenco came about around the time of the Spanish Inquisition, flamenco reflects the spirit of the people around that time. There are many different arguments about the actual meaning of the word flamenco and where it comes from. The most commonly accepted idea is that the root of the word, flamenc means Gypsy.
In terms of the melody of flamenco music, it is descending, as opposed to most American melody patterns, which are ascending. Flamenco music is also similar to jazz music because the musicians are supposed to feel the rhythm, instead of being more systematic about it. The main instrument accompanying the singer is the Spanish guitar. Usually, the dance will be performed with hand clapping and foot stomping incorporated into it. There are over fifty different kinds of flamenco in existence.

VIDEO:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kPhCIKFkfg4&feature=related

"Flamenco." Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia. 26 Oct. 2007 .

¡Bienvenidos!

The topic of my blog will be Spanish culture and how it differs from American culture. A couple of years ago, I was able to travel to Spain to spend time with a Spanish friend. While there, I observed many things that distinguished American from Spanish culture. I'm looking forward to exploring these differences further to gain a better understanding of the Spanish. I intend to learn more about Spanish culture, why it differs from my own culture, and what accounts for those differences. While in Spain, I noticed the different meal times, the duration of the meals, work hours, siesta, among many other different things. I look forward to delving into the reasons why the Spanish eat dinner so late and why they are allowed a nap in the middle of the afternoon, while all of America is still working. Spanish culture fascinates me, as I am a Spanish minor, and I think it would be a great cross-cultural encounter for me to experience and write about before I travel there again next fall. I'd like to understand Spanish culture more before I am submerged in their culture. This is a cultural encounter for me because although I am somewhat familiar with the culture, I do not fully understand it. I will learn about Spanish culture through my previous observations of it, conversations and surveys of/with Spanish peoples, and research. I think using all of these methodologies will strengthen my understanding of the culture because they are all diverse ways of learning about cultures.