As of today, I have finished my fourth week of school. After a very emotionally overwhelming first week where I just wanted to quit, things have settled down and the students have become more used to me. The second ESOs even beg to go with me! (And I love them, too!) I’ve almost been here for as much time as last time I was here. Although times definitely get trying and school can be overwhelming, I would say I’m overall enjoying myself. (Thanks, mom, for making me stay). So to celebrate one month, I’ve developed a list of unusual and surprising things from my time here.

Catalans have a warped sense of temperature.

There hasn’t been a day here that has been below 70 degrees. In the morning, it gets a little chilly, but it’s never below 50 degrees. There have been many times where people have told me “It’s cold!” or “Do you need a jacket? It’s cold!” One time someone told me they were cold, and I told them, “I’m actually kind of hot!” I’d like to see what a Catalan would say if they had to dig their car out of a foot of snow at 8 at night! They would never survive in Virginia!

You can never be barefoot around the house.

Much to my dismay of loving to walk around barefoot, if you do that here, they act as if you have a third foot growing out. After having that feeling last year, I came prepared with slippers. Yes, they are nice and soft, but like I said before, it’s 70 degrees outside and I’d rather not wear the slippers. Wearing flip flops is acceptable, too, but wearing flip flops inside just seems wrong to me.

Red light means go.

If I ran a red light back home, I would be scared that either the police saw me or a red-light camera took my picture. I’ve been here for a month, and I’ve been through multiple red lights with several different people. I’ve known all these people, too, so it’s not like I don’t trust them, but it still makes me grimace a bit when I go through them. I had heard the Spaniards are crazy drivers, and I can confirm this is in fact TRUE.

They try to squeeze every last centimo out of you.

Want a bag to carry your groceries in? That’ll be an extra five cents. Want to park somewhere? Well the only place to do that is in an underground parking garage that will charge you per hour. Want to text someone? Better download WhatsApp because a text message will cost you up to 10 cents. Want to watch soccer, the number one sport in Europe? Well you have to buy one channel that costs $10 per month, but you only get your team every other week.

El Corte Inglés is God’s gift to the world.

El Corte Inglés is a seven-floor department store. Now when you think of a department store, you think of Macy’s, Kohl’s, JC Penny’s. Well, you haven’t seen anything yet. There is a grocery store, a huge make up section, jewelry section, clothes for every imaginable opportunity (even huge puffy jackets that you don’t need here), a hair salon (where you can also get a manicure), a restaurant, a café, a bookstore, a CD/DVD store … you can even buy washing machines and beds there! Whatever you want, El Corte Inglés is bound to have it.

Drinking at school is ok.

In moderation. Every day at lunch, there are several teachers and faculty who partake in a glass of wine. In America, if a teacher was caught drinking wine with their lunch, they would immediately be fired, no questions. But as we are in Europe, rules are different here. As for me, I have never drank any wine because I would just feel weird. I did drink some limoncello out of curiosity, but let me tell you … I don’t think I ever want to have some again!

Three year old children are mandated to go to school.

Yes, this is true. Three, four, and five year olds go to school for full days in an infantil school. I only go into infantil once a week, so I’m not really sure what they do in there. They color and learn to share, but I don’t see how they can be graded as three and four year olds can’t read or write. They are super cute, though!

You can buy bread and ham here for less than $3.

It’s true. I recently went to the store and spent less than 5 euros on a baguette, ham, chocolate, a drink, and a snack. In the US, the fake Serrano ham I bought cost nearly $4 alone! Not only are these items cheap, but at a local café, I can get coffee and croissants for less than half the price of a Starbucks drink!

But if you want any American brands, you’ll be paying double the price.

At El Corte Inglés, I made the mistake of picking up some OPI nail polish. I figured it’s a respectable brand and I liked the color. However, there was no price around the OPI display. When I looked at my receipt later, the nail polish cost more than 16 euros! That’s nearly $20! Oops! I’ve also looked at the Cover Girl make up section – lipstick that I paid $4 for cost 9 euros here! Eek. I guess I’ll just have my mom send me all my brands.

Personal space is not a thing.

I came prepared for the whole no personal space thing. I knew they liked to hug and kiss kiss, but the weirdest one for me is when I’m standing in line and the person behind me is hovering over my shoulder. The American in me is thinking, “Are you trying to get in front of me in line, or no?” Also, they are super touchy here – which I also came prepared for. Not prepared for: five year olds rubbing my leg. At least they are super cute!

So one month down, eight more to go! Even though things can be pretty different here, I really am enjoying my time as a faux-European. I walked down the street with a baguette in my hand today feeling pretty Catalan, if I say so myself. All these things are just minuscule roadblocks to overcome while living the Spanish dream. Estoy disfrutando la vida.

Also sidenote: Europe turns back their clocks this weekend, so for a week I’ll only be five hours ahead of the East Coast! Yay!