So my last post was pretty much a list of a few of the things that I have done so far in while in Spain. Those were (mostly) not-normal things that won't happen every day. Because this culture is so different than back home, I thought this next post would be a typical day. So here goes. This is my typical schedule:
9am: Wake up. Depending on my classes I might wake up earlier or a little bit later. I think most Spaniards wake up around this time too. This only applies to weekdays, of course. The young people here stay out until 8 am so they obviously wouldn't wake up at 9 on weekends.
(of course, breakfast is next. The breakfasts here are a lot smaller. Here's my typical breakfast:)
9am: Wake up. Depending on my classes I might wake up earlier or a little bit later. I think most Spaniards wake up around this time too. This only applies to weekdays, of course. The young people here stay out until 8 am so they obviously wouldn't wake up at 9 on weekends.
(of course, breakfast is next. The breakfasts here are a lot smaller. Here's my typical breakfast:)
10am: Class. Again, this might be earlier or later depending on the day. This is my class through the international department of the University of Oviedo, called Casa de las Lenguas. I think that most people go to work around this time as well. (At least my host mom, Beatriz, does).
12pm: Coffee time. Usually I will get a café con leche near the university with my friends after class. Here there are only 4 types of coffee: café solo (similar to one shot of espresso), café corto (the espresso plus a little milk), café con leche (half milk, half espresso), and bombón (espresso and condensed milk). If we want something sweeter, we can get chocolate con churros. It's like drinking liquid chocolate.
1pm: Shopping/walking. Between 1 and 4 everyone is outside walking and shopping. No one really exercises here so they talk long walks around the city. Especially the old people. There are so many old ladies wearing huge fur coats. Also, this is the month of "rebajas." Spain doesn't have sales like in America. Instead of each store having sales all the time, there is just a month where all the stores have really good sales. We almost always find good deals. It's really fun to walk around the outdoor market close to the Cathedral too.
2pm: Lunch. In Spain, lunch is actually called "comida" instead of "almuerzo." This time also varies depending on my class schedule. Beatriz usually eats with me because most people eat lunch at home, even the kids in school. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and most of the time I get two or three different types of food, like a salad, soup, meat, spaghetti, or other Spanish food that have some Spanish name I don't know. Bread is also served with every meal no matter the main course. Below is the traditional soup in Asturias: a bean soup with different types of chorizo.
4pm: Class. Every day from 4-6 I have a class through Calvin. We are studying the history of Spain right now and are flying through it. It's really cool to learn about a part of history and then visit ruins where part of that history took place. This Sunday I went to church at San Julian de los Prados. I learned that this was the biggest church in Spain for three centuries and has the longest period of uninterrupted masses in the history of Europe (if I didn't explain that well here is some information about this church).
(between class and dinner we sometimes get a coffee, eat "pinchos" for "merienda", go shopping, or go just home and do homework. There is a huge mall here that has the weirdest building:)
9pm: Dinner. We eat dinner fairly early for Spain. Some people eat at around 10:30. Dinner is similar to lunch including possibly a salad, meat, soup, or other things (and bread, of course). I have liked all the food so far.
11pm: Nightlife. The go to meeting spot for our group is the Cathedral at 11. This is actually really early for Spain. Things don't really start to get going until 1am. But, we Americans aren't used to that yet, so we meet early. During the weekdays there aren't many people out, and if we go anywhere it's to a low-key bar or "sidrería" (cider house). Oviedo is famous for their cider. The waiters pour the cider from as high as their arm can reach into a glass as low as they can hold it, without looking at the glass (they pride themselves on this). Depending on the waiter, about half of it may spill on the ground. Once they pour your glass (it's usually about one or two gulps), you have to drink it as fast as you can. This is so you drink it when it is the most aerated. It's so funny to watch. If you want to learn more click here. And here is a video taken in Gascona, the cider street (I didn't take this, and it's in Spanish. Sorry). During the weekends (we have only had two so we don't know much yet), we might go to a "discoteca" or a bar. A discoteca is kind of like a club with dancing. The weekends start to get crazy at around 1am or 2am and then keep going until 8am. We have yet to stay out until the sun comes up. By 3am or 4am, at the latest, everyone is ready to go home.
So that's approximately my schedule. Of course, it varies every day, but it usually looks something like that. Also, side note, they use military time here. I didn't use it because I am really bad. But it's a thing.
Now a quick update about this weekend. We went to Gijon, a town on the coast, on Saturday. We saw Roman ruins and baths and the beach and went to a "llagar," a cider press. It was all so beautiful! I put pictures in my gallery, but here's a teaser:
11pm: Nightlife. The go to meeting spot for our group is the Cathedral at 11. This is actually really early for Spain. Things don't really start to get going until 1am. But, we Americans aren't used to that yet, so we meet early. During the weekdays there aren't many people out, and if we go anywhere it's to a low-key bar or "sidrería" (cider house). Oviedo is famous for their cider. The waiters pour the cider from as high as their arm can reach into a glass as low as they can hold it, without looking at the glass (they pride themselves on this). Depending on the waiter, about half of it may spill on the ground. Once they pour your glass (it's usually about one or two gulps), you have to drink it as fast as you can. This is so you drink it when it is the most aerated. It's so funny to watch. If you want to learn more click here. And here is a video taken in Gascona, the cider street (I didn't take this, and it's in Spanish. Sorry). During the weekends (we have only had two so we don't know much yet), we might go to a "discoteca" or a bar. A discoteca is kind of like a club with dancing. The weekends start to get crazy at around 1am or 2am and then keep going until 8am. We have yet to stay out until the sun comes up. By 3am or 4am, at the latest, everyone is ready to go home.
So that's approximately my schedule. Of course, it varies every day, but it usually looks something like that. Also, side note, they use military time here. I didn't use it because I am really bad. But it's a thing.
Now a quick update about this weekend. We went to Gijon, a town on the coast, on Saturday. We saw Roman ruins and baths and the beach and went to a "llagar," a cider press. It was all so beautiful! I put pictures in my gallery, but here's a teaser:
I miss you all, but it's been pretty busy so I haven't had too much time to think about it. I am loving Spain, if you haven't noticed. Hasta luego!
Beso, beso