(If you are a peer and reading this- you may completely disagree on a few things- but this is Spain according to Erin!- so no judgement!)
Spain through Erin's eyes 2 months into living here-
Weather/Climate:
-I decided it's kind of like the same as Minnesota, but around this time of year it starts to change. September is like a Minnesota August, October is like a Minnesota September and I think November and December will follow suit- but August wasn't necessarily like July... Just picture Minnesota with 2 Augusts.... and a decidedly drier climate with less lakes, rain, grass, trees, and more brown- kinda looks like Africa actually! (well, in the fields outside the cities anyways)
Food:
-definitely Mediterranean. Which means olive oil. In EVERYTHING. Meat, yes. But even vegetables. They're fried in olive oil! and salads have olive oil in them with salt thrown on top! So lots of olive oil, olives in general, tomatoes, fish, wine, grapes, bread-(they LOVE their bread), cheese, yogurt, fruit, vegetables, and not stereotypically mediterranean- nutella (picture everything peanut butter in the US replaced with nutella here. (this is true in all of europe I think) There's nutella EVERYTHING. and they don't really think peanut butter is anything special. GASP) Ham- they LOVE their ham. Ham in everything- even a ham fiesta in the plaza once.... it's loco. In Segovia specifically, croquetas and tortillas españolas are very common. Croquetas are flour and milk with some ham all mixed together and fried in little dough balls (they're pretty stinkin fantastic) and tortillas españolas are omelets- but eaten for dinner instead of breakfast- and made with potatoes. (Pretty much potatoes and eggs with some onion and cheese thrown in- This is one of my favorite things in the world). aaand soup. Which I love.
Clothing:
-European. Obviously. They really don't wear any variety of pants other than the skinny variety, I see a TON of black nylons and jean shorts, patterned tights with skirts or long shirts and boots, leather jackets, and they dress up decidedly more than Americans (don't even think of leaving the house in sweats) I feel like I'm looking at a live walking pinterest board whenever I leave the house- really. Think most stylish pinterest clothing board- Seriously, some of these 3rd graders have more fashion than I do. They're all so stylish and classy! HOW?!?! ok... anyways, also: boys look nicer here than in the states. The sporty look isn't as popular here. Here it's more "hipster" we'd call it. Scarves, skinny jeans, high tops, leather jackets... guys look decidedly put together and classy. I kind of appreciate it. Makes me feel like US guys are sometimes lazy. Then again- I also like that sporty laid back look and that US guys don't try TOO hard. There's a balance.
Pastime:
-It is weird if you don't go out at night. If you're home at midnight and between the ages of 15 and 30, something is wrong with you. End of story. Heaven forbid you stay in your house THE ENTIRE DAY?! (faint*) yes. Sociality is VERY important in Spain. Be social. Go places. Do things. Talk to friends. But not people you don't know- never talk to them- cause that's just strange.... Don't be Minnesota "nice" when you're walking down the street and say hi to everyone. No- that wouldn't fly. They LOVE fútbol. Well, obviously- but it's seriously huge. Think of watching a game between Real Madrid and Barcelona in a bar here like the Superbowl in MN.
General Time:
They have 5 meals- breakfast (only one with the same time) mediotarde (a snack at around noon to tide you over till comida) la comida at 2 or 3 (lunch) menondante (snack at around 6 to tide you over till cenar) and cenar at 9 or 10 (dinner) No one goes to bed till midnight. Not even the children. This is Spain. People between 18 and 30 go out on thursday, friday, and saturday nights to discotecas to which people don't really all arrive at until 4:30am and people stay out till 8am. You could go from 3 to 5 and have a good time, but not from 2 to 4. Also, to make up for this (i think) the entire city shuts down from 2 to 4 for siesta when everyone goes home for la comida and takes a nap or rests....or does homework. Naps every day :) Such is Spanish life. Also, no one gives you the death glare if you're 5 minutes late, which I like- but I'm part of a group of Minnesotans and I've been more than 5 minutes late on occasion.....
So concludes Spain according to Erin