Spanish Culture

Some facts about Spain, Spanish life and the Spanish people...
In Spain, people don't say please (por favor), thank you (gracias) and sorry (perdone) nearly as much as in Britain. Spoken Spanish is a much more direct language than English and so its speakers themselves sound more direct.

In Spanish conversation, it is quite normal for a group of people to all speak loudly and at the same time as each other in order to get their point across. They may appear to be interrupting each other. The Spanish are great conversationalists and bars, buses, trains, markets, and streets are full of people engaged in animated conversation.

Spaniards speak as much with their hands and arms as with their tongues. When meeting Spaniards, be prepared to shake hands more than you might in the UK as this is the normal form of formal greeting. You may also be aware of a greater degree of formality in business / meetings or exchanges.

Family members or very close friends usually kiss each other on each, cheek when they meet and when they say goodbye. It is also common to see adult men, who are good friends or family, embracing when they meet. In general the Spanish are much more physical when it comes to greetings and farewells and you will see a greater degree of physical contact.

The Spanish goodbye
One thing that Spaniards are not very direct about is taking their leave. In social circles, getting up to go does not mean that the party is over. It is quite common for people to announce they are leaving, only to be found still talking at the door a good while later. The conversation may well continue out into the street. Get used to the culture shock of long goodbyes! Useful expressions when taking your leave are hasta luego (literally until later, but used in the same way as see you around); hasta manana: (see you tomorrow).

Work and social life
In general there is much blurring of the line between work and social life in Spain. The typical Spanish working day in any town or city involves a morning's work from about 8.30 or 9 until 1.30, followed by a three hour break in the middle of the day, during which many people go home, have lunch, sleep, watch television, etc., before returning to work at around 4.30 or 5pm. Some people have lunch in a restaurant and discuss business with a colleague. Most people then finish work at about 8pm, which is about the time that shops close. Spaniards tend to live near their place of work, often in central apartment blocks, and after work some stay on for a drink or for dinner. Because people leave work at different times, the early evening rush hour so typical of the UK is much less evident in Spain.

Many companies are modifying this typical working day to fall in line with the working hours of the rest of Europe, what Spaniards call la jornada intensiva (the intensive working day), with just a short time for lunch and an earlier finish in the afternoon. One of the reasons for this is to enable them to carry out business with other European firms during their opening hours.

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