Our first full month here came to a close and it was full of a lot of fun new experiences and a few stressful ones. Kevin started his job, we started getting settled in, we started our apartment search, and Kevin's parents came to visit. Overall, I'd say we're settling in quite nicely and I've really been enjoying myself. Here are a few photos of notable moments in October.
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Watching OU-Texas live from Barcelona (we won't discuss the outcome)
 | | Kevin on his 1st day of work (he also got his 1st haircut from a Spanish barber) |
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| Celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary (also Kevin's 1st day of work) with a nice Italian dinner |
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Going to apartment showings (featuring the one that got away)
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| A weekly board game meet-up |
Changes So Far
The Spanish lifestyle is a bit different from the American lifestyle, so here is a short list of some of the changes we've made so far (cultural and non-cultural):
- Going to bed around midnight and waking up around 8:00-8:30
- Most Spanish homes have exterior slatted window coverings called "persianas" which block out light and heat from the sun. This makes it much easier to sleep in.
- Kevin's work hours have shifted
- Instead of the American traditional 9-5, his work hours vary. He usually gets to work between 9-10 and goes home from 6-7, but he also has late meetings with teams in the west coast in the US
- Eating lunch between 1:30-2:30 and dinner between 8:30-10:00
- Not too big of a change for us from summers in the Midwest.
- Walking more and taking public transportation
- Depending on what I have going on, I'll walk to any place that's under 35 minutes away. The walks here are beautiful and time passes so quickly
- If a place is too far away, I'll take the metro, bus, and occasionally bike share
- I've only been in a car twice since moving here and I don't miss it!
- Weaned off of daily coffee and instead drinking green tea
- Not at all a cultural change lol
- I don't have my cold brew pitcher, stores don't sell batch cold brew, and Kevin doesn't have his coffee grinder or Chemex, so we relinquished ourselves of coffee dependency to make things easier.
- Still enjoy going out for coffee on weekends :)
- Buying bread from local bakeries instead of Kevin baking homemade sourdough
- Bakeries are on every corner here, so it makes much more sense to buy local. We've been buying sourdough sandwich bread or "pa de motlle" from our favorite local bakery for 4.20€.
- Cooking more with local ingredients
- I'll post about my experience doing regular grocery shopping in a different country, but it has been fun/interesting/sometimes frustrating to cook with what's available here.
- I'm cooking more in general since Kevin is working
- Not necessarily cultural. I'm still unemployed at the moment and figuring out next steps, and it's been nice to learn a few things in the kitchen.
- Dressing up more
- Not that I always dressed like a slob before, but athleisure is definitely not as popular here and it's been fun to look a little more put together, even if I'm just going on a walk.
- Playing less volleyball :(
- We're used to playing for 2-3 hours, 2-3x per week in Madison when the weather is good
- Beach volley is so popular here that public nets are often taken and you have to bring your own net! We currently live far from the beach and don't have a net, so getting play time has been a bit of a challenge. Luckily, we found a nice group to play with and have been playing about once a week.
- Listening to less music and more Spanish podcasts
- Kevin and I have been trying to dedicate free time to studying/immersing ourselves in Spanish. While I'm walking, at the gym, or on transit, I'll usually throw on a Spanish podcast to get some listening time in.
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| Homemade tortilla española (Spanish omelette with potato and onion) and lentejas (traditionally Spanish lentil soup and my favorite Spanish dish) |
That's all for now! Hopefully, my next recap will be a little more timely...
Hasta pronto,
Allison
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