Cultural differences

The main cultural difference is that in Spain things go and mostly are slow. In the beginning this can be annoying at times (okay who am I kidding this can be annoying whenever the timing is bad), but you get used to it. There is a very relaxed and tranquilo atmosphere throughout Almería.

The people are not very direct, which is a big difference compared to how the Dutch are in general. If I put stereotypes to the two cultures, they can be characterized in the following way (according to me):

-       Dutch: direct, want to get things done quick and right now, very loud (or at least that is what the French say) and always doing many things

-       Spanish: more laid back, take siesta’s (sometimes bad for us, when the shops close and we forgot about it), mañana mañana culture, not very direct, kind, but most speak very bad or no English.

Another big difference has to do with housing. The contracts are very vague, if you have one at all (when you use an agency, there will be one). We didn’t use an agency and so our contract was pretty much just half a page. Our location was amazing but everything broke. The pipes had to be replaced, we got mold on the wall, as the pipes weren’t closed properly etc. It was probably the oldest and most disgusting flat I saw. So, don’t go live there.

Restaurants typically started serving dinner at 20:00 PM until midnight. This was strange, as in Holland we eat between six and seven PM usually. When you eat late everyday for five months though, you get used to the rhythm.

These were the biggest cultural differences I could think of during my stay.