I love living in Spain, I love the culture, the lifestyle, and that I feel like it’s made me a warmer person (ish…)
But I also am very stereotypically British, and no matter how amazing our adopted country is, there are always some little things that can make you homesick…
I wrote a similar post about a year ago, funny to see what has changed (and what hasn’t)
The smell of the rain
A bit random, I don’t even like the rain that much, but when it’s over and the smell is left lingering on flowers and leaves, to me it gives such a great smell of Britain and it’s oddly comforting. When it’s been raining in Spain it always makes me feel a little nostalgic (for my home country that I visit plenty), but the smell is never as prominent than when in Britain.
Kettles
WHY ARE KETTLES NOT A WORLDWIDE THING?! WHY DO PEOPLE MICROWAVE – I REPEAT, MICROWAVE – THEIR WATER TO MAKE A BREW?! I know Brits in general, and me in particular, have an obsession with all things tea related, but it really is a convenient kitchen appliance. I hate having to boil water on the hob and often spill down myself whenever I want a cuppa.
Great Queuing
Again, Brits are obsessed with this but we know how to form an orderly queue, and it’s great. In Spain I have to accept people cutting in front of me, or no queue at all just chaos, or sometimes people are in a queue at a cafe, only they’re not really they’re just standing there. Weird. And maybe it frustrates me a little too much (but then again I suffer from bad pedestrian rage)
Ability to Order Tea in Cafes
Tea again, because why be unique when you can be a stereotype. But it’s near impossible to order a simple cup of English Breakfast. I have to ask for “te negro con leche al lado” – black tea with milk on the side. Because if you ask for it with milk only, you can end up with the milk poured already into the cup, or the tea bag infused into the milk. Whyyyy. So now I drink a lot more coffee…
Short Days
As a student most of my days aren’t long, but some days I don’t finish classes until 8pm (and this might change to 9pm next semester!) Which seems crazy coming from the U.K. but is the normal working hours in Spain. I swear they all run on zero energy…and coffee. It’s not much fun walking home late in the dark, even though it is safe, and although it means my days are productive it leaves me too tired to cook anything fancy for dinner, and all I want is Netflix.
Other than this, (and my family, friends, and dogs back home), I adore Spain, Barcelona, and the lifestyle I’ve become accustomed to!
Inside a Mind 