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| Going out with the girls |
One of the most noticeable changes in my lifestyle is my new Spanish schedule. My day more or less begins at the same time each day class/work at 9am). But now instead of chowing down on lunch at noon I must wait until ~2pm when "siesta" begins. Siesta is a very interesting Spanish tradition where from 2pm-4pm the entire city shuts down and people go home to eat with their families. After a big lunch, people oftentimes take a short nap, or "siesta", to recuperate for the rest of their work day. And then from around 8-10pm, I eat a home-cooked dinner with my host mom or go out to a restaurant with friends.
I must admit, I find this more annoying than anything else right now. Why would you just shut down stores in the middle of the day?! And dios mio, why can't stores be open on Sunday?! There's so much you can do on a Sunday! I'm certain I'll get used to the siesta fairly easily - find something to do in that time like take a nap or work on my computer. Sundays may take a little more time to adjust to.
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What really surprises me is the night life here. First, Madrid is quite literally a "city that never sleeps". It doesn't matter what hour of the night it is - 10pm, 2am, 4am - there's always Spaniards simply walking the streets with their partners, having a smoke with their friends, or coming back from a discoteca. In fact, it's normal to stay out partying till 5 or 6 in the morning! A far cry from the average American night out where most bars and clubs close at 2/3am.
I did in fact try out this exotic new form of nightlife and enjoyed it very much. It was a great way to meat real Madrileños and socialize with people outside the program. Strangely enough I wasn't yawning and fighting off fatigue at 4am. I swear, there's just something in the air here that makes one less dependent on sleep.
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