Fiesta and Siesta... It's Real

So before going to Spain, probably like most all others who have at set off for  Spain, I had heard all about the siesta (nap) and of course fiesta. Well, it turns out that they weren’t lying. Of course in the United States we also have naps and people take them when they have time for it. However, here it is on a completely different level. It is essentially something that is penciled in or should I say inked in on the schedule.. it is a part of the lifestyle here. Essentially from 2-5 in the afternoon, everything shuts down except for the a few small stores  and everyone takes a break from the day and what they’re doing to go home and eat and take a nap or whatever they please. This is very different from the lifestyle in the U.S. in which it always seems as if there are never any breaks in the day and everyone’s always on the go. At home it’s always “what do I have to do next?” or “Where do I need to be now?” but here it’s more relaxed and easy going. People take their breaks, get their rest in and return to work after the hours of siesta for a couple more hours to finish what they need to do.

Fiesta.. Also something that I have found to be very much a part of the lifestyle here.. at least for the younger crowd. Here, it is not uncommon for people to go out about any day of the week, not just the weekend. And when people here go out, they go really go out. I found out very soon when I arrived in Spain over the summer that parties worked a little differently here in Spain. Typically when people go out with their friends, it doesn’t happen until at least 12:30 to 1:00. Furthermore, it is very normal to see people returning home from parties anywhere from 5:00 – 8:00 am in the morning. During the summer while staying with Marcos I was able to get accustomed to how going out worked in Avila. One of the things that I thought was really cool was how there were many fiestas de pueblos (village parties). In Spain there are many pueblos or villages and each pueblo typically has a weekend in which they host a party. So, everyone would get a ride to the village however they could, usually around 1 at night, and hang out on the streets until the event started. These fiestas always consisted of a stage with a group who would sing and dance and everyone would fill the streets in front of the stage.

       Here are a couple pictures from earlier on in the summer when I took a bus with Marcos and his friends to a pueblo about an hour away. The bus left at midnight and we got back at a nice, early hour of 9 in the morning. Needless, to say I slept until about three only getting up to eat lunch and go right back to sleep utilizing the siesta. This was one of the strangest things for me as well, that is so accepted to just to go out all night and sleep all the day. His mom always telling me you must be tired or hungry or why don’t you take a nap. Slightly different than waking up my house at two and my mom yelling at me that I need to do something with my life. So yea.. fiesta and siesta is real. Til the next time.