Spanish and English people have different ways to enjoy their free days. English people are always asking for paella and siesta and most of them think that Spanish people are always sleeping after lunch. We have different schedules and our lunchtime is sacred. On the other side, Spanish people think English people are always looking for sun, we called them "guiris". I lived in both countries and this project is a tribute to all those topics and traditions that sometimes we forget.
Take it as a guide to survive!
Almost 60% of Spaniards never take a siesta, while only 18% sometimes take a midday siesta.
The siesta is a natural consequence of the descent of blood from the nervous system to the digestive system that occurs after the meal. That is, most of the blood in the body goes to the stomach for good digestion. For this reason, after the meal (which in Spain is usually copious) there is a fall in alertness.
The word 'siesta' comes from the Latin 'sex', which refers to the sixth hour of the day. The Romans divided the day into 12-hour periods of light, and the sixth hour of the day in Spain corresponds to that between 1 in the afternoon in winter and 3 in the afternoon in summer.
The siesta in Spain begins after the Civil War. In this period, it was common for a worker to have more than one job to support his family and to resort at noon to eat and rest, and thus be able to perform enough at work in the afternoon, according to the CIESE University Center.
The origin of the siesta is almost a human need to have other times of rest, beyond the night, the usual. Therefore, after eating, the body may ask you to take a break, sit down, take a siesta.
Spanish culture is different. But not in the way you can figure it out.
As Spanish, I consider myself more Valencian than Spanish. This fact usually happens in the border regions of the country because we have our language and culture. For this reason, it is common to see big differences when comparing people from Madrid, Ourense or Valencia.
Just to be clear, it is like the Welsh and British people.
As Spanish, I consider myself more Valencian than Spanish. This fact usually happens in the border regions of the country because we have our language and culture. For this reason, it is common to see big differences when comparing people from Madrid, Ourense or Valencia.
Just to be clear, it is like the Welsh and British people.
Our land, traditions, and family are sacred. But avoid thinking in the catholic mind to live. Despite the old beliefs, our country is laic but our traditions and our way of seeing life have been syncretized with catholic, secular and muslims legacies.
Of course, water brings with it a variety of ways to get around and have fun. Here we are the same, we grab something that floats and set off to sail the seas. It is not for nothing that we are said to be two explorer peoples. Where there is sea, there is a desire to know what lies beyond
Both countries love water. After all, we are surrounded by several seas throughout our territory. In the British case, I observed how rivers and small lakes were used by the locals. Where I come from, Valencia, we have both rivers and the Mediterranean Sea. This is a good common point, where there is water, there are villages.
There is one thing that surprised me about the UK: their ability to refurbish vans. As I worked on a campsite, it was common to see large caravans and vans ready to spend a week or two in the countryside. As an example, I show you Rick's (on the left), my colleague. The man accompanying him is Mike (on the right), our boss.
In this respect, we spend our holidays or our leisure time in different ways.
The Spanish word for eating is "comer". If we analyse it, "co-" is a Latin prefix meaning shared action, in union. We are probably the only language that considers eating as an activity to be carried out in community. It is not surprising, then, that our celebrations always involve a copious meal.
The Spanish word for eating is "comer". If we analyse it, "co-" is a Latin prefix meaning shared action, in union. We are probably the only language that considers eating as an activity to be carried out in community. It is not surprising, then, that our celebrations always involve a copious meal.
This is not to say that the English don't like to eat, they do, and they eat a lot, but they tend to limit themselves to a long walk with a great ice cream or a good read in the sun. In this respect, they seem cold-blooded. The weather is terrible on the islands and their clouds, the fastest I have ever seen. The rains are recurrent, and you enjoy every bit of sunshine.
As everywhere, life in big cities differs from life in small towns and villages. So when I meet different people with common interests hundreds of kilometres apart, I have to ask their stories.
In Higueras, a small village in the inland of Castellón (Spain) there are several inhabitants who have a great passion for cars. In Monmouth, in the county of Monmouthshire (Wales) a meeting of classic car enthusiasts was held.
Cars are not only the passion of the older ones. At Biblins Youth Campsite, one of the activities was to create different cars and race them against each other.
Weekends are a good time to set up markets and stalls with different services and offers. In Spain, due to the summer heat, it is common to observe these events in the evenings. In the UK, the heat is not usually a problem, and it is easy to find these markets throughout the weekend.
Several colleagues told me that Sunday was the national day to go to the supermarket or the weekends market to do the week's shopping. In Spain, which has a Catholic tradition, Sundays are the day of the Lord and apart from masses and religious events there are also some of the more traditional festivities.
Another big activity at the end of the week is sports. Although it is said that the English invented football, we Spaniards play it like angels. Famous is the story of tiki-taka and its feared squad. As it rains more in the UK, fresh green fields abound, leaving huge spaces to play various sports. As a result, young and old alike have a great time playing their favourite sports.
Why not take a walk with your friends for a drink?
There are several things to consider when it comes to drinking. However, let's focus on a target group: men/women from 21 to 90 years old who want to leave their house to walk one or two streets if possible, to enter a square, dark bar where you see the fact of going to the toilet as Ulysses returning to Ithaca.
The English will be amazed at the multitude of sizes we use in Spain to drink: tercios, quarters and fifths of a litre, cañas, zuritos, doubles, tanks… Yes, I agree with you, having a pint is more satisfying than doing sums, but you have to bear one thing in mind. In Spain, it is much, much hotter than in the islands, so smaller formats allow you to drink at the perfect temperature.
Say hello to Pablo! He's my friend, so no copyright and all that stuff from websites that charge money for viewing.
To be serious, you can see the third litre format.
Despite going to church, to the supermarket, to play sports or just to get a drink. There is one activity where our cultures differ a little.
The British Isles are a region where (apart from the big urban centres) we build horizontally, whereas in Spain we are crazy about verticality. If you can make it vertical, why not?
So, while I was riding my bike and my Rollei35 around the English lands, I observed that weekly mania of making the garden greener than the Windows wallpaper that a good part of the English built-up areas have.
As we suffer from urban verticality, we have more time in the afternoons. We tend to have a second home in rural areas for weekends and holidays. There we can enjoy our friends and loved ones.
I have more films to develop, and this work has been going on for years. I have dozens of photographs that could be worthwhile and many others that I would like to be worthwhile. As the end of the year is approaching my few and dear readers, I leave the work published, with future changes but making a special mention to those with whom you spend this end of the year. Alone, in company, with friends, animals, with yourselves.
Happy 2024!
