Livin' la vida loca

One month in Madrid and I have already fallen prey to bizarre Spanish customs and traditions. To be completely honest I just cant keep up! To explain their lifestyle simply, take my timetable from last year at an english university, move every activity 3 hours later and wahlaaa you've got Madrid life. I'll rock up (...dont joke..what I mean is I'll sleepwalk..) to my 10am lecture on time, however instead of it starting at 10am on the dot, I very occasionally spend at least half an hour waiting outside the class room for the teacher to actually turn up! None of the other students seem to bat an eyelid and they too stroll into class when the teacher comes eventually. This relaxed attitude is very much the way of life here, which actually works wonders for me, except for when it comes to sorting out Erasmus paperwork or waiting for a response to an email. Lunch is usually around 2.30pm, or in my case 3ish, as that is when my flatmate gets home from uni. I am slowly adapting to this dramatic change in eating habits, ignoring my stomach cramps at mid day, or in most cases grabbing a merienda at uni so I can survive! Dinner (as you guessed) is also later, and by later I mean my usual lame bedtime back in England. If you wander through town in the early evening everything appears to be quiet and pretty empty until BAM its 11pm and suddenly the whole city is out dining and drinking. It's fair to say that in England I would normally be found at this hour in bed sippin on some tea...

A night out in Madrid sounds ridiculous when comparing it to ones back in England. Ridiculous... but oh so fun! For the spanish, a night out literally means an entire night out...If you don't come home past 6am, still popping dance moves on the first metro along side morning commuters, then it has probably been a dull night. Pre-drinks, or copas, is never earlier than midnight and turning up to la discoteca (yes, that is what they call it) before 2am is unheard of. The other night I went out with my spanish flatmate and a few of her friends, (all gorgeous ofcourse), to a local bar and later on to a club. It was entirely obvious that I was the foreigner of the group, especially on the dance floor! I swear these girls could so easily be in Beyonce's new music video...Admittedly I did stop gawping at them and tried to copy...ditching my usual fist pumps to make room for some "hip moving" actions! Watch out guys, after a year my salsa moves will be flawless...I'll be bringing a whole new scene to top top TimePiece. I must say that coping with the morning hangovers, especially with early class during the week, is not so fun...However, thank the lord that a siesta really is an accustomed day-to-day activity here! This, without a doubt, has been my lifeline, saving me from sleep deprivation. Why have I never napped before!?  

Time is racing away far to quickly for my liking, and every day I continue to encounter more and more different spanish customs, often involving some sort of embarrassment on my part. I will attempt to scribble them all down here in-between fiestas, tapas, uni and not enough sleep!! WATCH THIS SPACE


Picture 1 - View of Madrid from Bellas Artes Rooftop