Is Spain really a dream country?
Published in the magazine Ieva, 2024 No. 2 (27)
If we had to choose one of the most popular travel, emigration, and real estate investment destinations, Spain has been the undisputed favorite of Lithuanians for the past few years. A country with about 300 sunny days a year, one of the longest life expectancies in Europe, and major regional festivals lasting weeks, it attracts many. Is everyday life really that upbeat in Spain?
How Lithuanians discovered Spain
Although the Spanish mainland was certainly not a safe destination when the COVID-19 pandemic began, due to the emergency situation, it was very difficult to leave here, and even more difficult to enter. But there was a green light in one direction - to the island of Tenerife. The virus did not spread there as much as elsewhere, and Tenerife quickly became a favorite place for foreigners to work remotely. The growing interest in Spain grew even more when the war in Ukraine shook Europe. Since the war began, real estate purchases in Spain have been growing steadily. Pragmatically comparing the cost of living, over the past five years there has been no longer a big difference between lunchtime in both countries, and food prices are increasingly more friendly in Spain. Coffee, back in Lithuania, seems like a luxury, while in Spain everyone can afford at least one cup of coffee, which does not exceed one and a half euros in a regular bar.
Although rental prices in Spain's major cities are still significantly higher, according to NT
According to agent Gintarė Kazakevičienė, if you want to purchase a home for living or investment, you can save significantly in Alicante or smaller cities in other regions compared to the prices of the Lithuanian seaside, Vilnius, even the Netherlands, Germany, or the United Kingdom.
Endless youth, a more peaceful lifestyle and healthcare
In Spain, there is no taboo on asking about age or talking about one's own age - most people have been around for their entire lives.
feel young. Spaniards are not inclined to give up entertainment, travel and other pleasures of life because of age. The word old age is generally avoided here. It is inspiring to listen to locals talking about their elderly neighbors or relatives, often these are optimists who are over ninety. In general, there is a lot of lightness in the everyday life of Spaniards: when people feel young, they do not lack energy, and during city festivals it is almost impossible to deduce the average age of the participants, because among the children still sitting in strollers you can see many long-blond hairstyles.
When passing by the old people's homes, one can only admire the elderly women, often already in wheelchairs, with their lipstick on and their many necklaces. In general, the Spaniards teach us newcomers simplicity and joy - complimenting ourselves out loud, looking in the mirror and seeing only what makes us happy, is part of everyday life. Although the Spaniards themselves like to complain that healthcare in the country could be better, especially when it comes to queues to see specialist doctors, most not only doctors, but also nurses
works out of vocation. It took some time before it became common for a dentist to not just politely ask how my family is doing after returning from Lithuania and to be genuinely interested in how the trip went. However, the biggest and most pleasant shock was when, while moving from one region to another and saying goodbye to my doctor at the state hospital, I received a hug.
Integration and language barrier
Spaniards usually nod their heads when asked if they speak English, but in practice, their knowledge is often
is limited to greetings and a few short sentences. The further you travel from tourist destinations, the greater the chance that English alone will not be enough. With more than 500 million Spanish speakers in the world, Spaniards do not bother to learn other languages. As soon as you start speaking Spanish, locals welcome foreigners warmly, but when working and dealing with Spaniards, their desire to have everything explained accurately in their own language is revealed. A typical Spaniard will rarely bother to use Google Translate and will calmly wait for a foreigner to translate an unknown word on their own. In addition to language, the way to the hearts of Spaniards is opened by the time they are given. Greeting with a smile, asking how you are doing and listening, talking about the weather, upcoming holidays, the lottery are the glue of the Spanish community. It is important to avoid work topics outside of work, which are usually of little interest to Spaniards. The same topics are often the most interesting to locals during work. Lithuanian and Spanish work cultures differ significantly - work in Spain is rarely among the priorities.
The hours here end when it is written, less than half an hour before the lunch break and the end of work, it is better not to start solving serious issues with Spaniards. Well, and a few unbreakable rules, which foreigners who violate get into trouble: you should never bother a Spaniard with work matters after work, on weekends, and even more so during holidays. When life is an endless celebration
In the Valencian region, there is no more important event of the year than the Fire Spring Festival (las Fallas), which lasts from the first to the twentieth of March. Valencians live this festival all year round - friends or neighbors gather in groups that meet to socialize throughout the year, finance sculptures that are displayed throughout the city during the festival. The festival, which has a history of several centuries, began with artisan carpenters who cleaned up their workshops before spring, threw away and burned what was no longer needed, and the culmination of the festival takes place on the eve of St. Joseph's Day, because St. Joseph is considered the patron saint of artisans. The first sculptures were cast in wax, now they are made of foam - they are burned on the night of March 19. It is a festival, an integral part of which is pyrotechnics in the most diverse forms: fireworks, firecrackers,
Even kindergarteners throw small fireworks, and in the city's municipal square at two o'clock on weekends, about 200 kilograms of equipment are blown up in a little over five minutes. Life in Seville stops for a week before Easter, when religious processions of different brotherhoods take place. The streets of the city are filled with various processions, local women wear black and black lace vestments, signifying mourning for the crucifixion of Christ, waiting for his resurrection. After Easter, the city returns to its normal rhythm for two weeks, and then the Spring Fair (Fería de abril) and another week of festive events begin. Numerous tents appear on the streets, live music sounds, flamenco is danced, most women wear flamenco dresses and wear flowers in their hair. Neither vacation days nor money are spared for celebrations in Spain - being here and now and enjoying the holiday is a feature of the Spanish mentality.
Jealousy and excessive curiosity
When extremely hardworking Lithuanians appear among relaxed Spaniards, misunderstandings arise. Spaniards are not attracted to either very ambitious or career-oriented colleagues. One of the most unexpected personal experiences while working and living in Barcelona was a conversation with my manager and his reproaches that I stay at work too long, because in Spain they avoid paying for overtime, they are afraid of inspections by the Labor Inspectorate, and the desire of a newcomer to work really does not encourage adaptation in the Spanish environment. Colleagues have repeatedly made remarks that newcomers are taking jobs away from locals, even when objectively this is not the case due to the Spaniards' own lack of foreign language skills. The most emotionally difficult situation at work was when a foreigner was prescribed free sensors to monitor her blood sugar levels by a doctor earlier than a Catalan colleague. The latter showed her dissatisfaction for several weeks, and other colleagues sympathized with her. Although it is easy for Spaniards to feel rejected in the workplace, often when they get used to foreigners in their immediate environment, the situation turns to the extreme and everything about a non-local colleague, acquaintance, or neighbor becomes interesting. It takes time and determination to clearly draw boundaries in Spain about how much you want to share your personal life. In Valencia, when I was registering with the local government, the employee started asking about my education, and when I asked how it related to my place of residence,
declaration, kindly replied that he was just curious.
Learning to eat and live
The Spaniards believe that their cuisine is the tastiest, best and richest. A lot of attention and time is paid to food here: cooking paella for three hours, preparing stews from a variety of ingredients is part of leisure. Eating should be done with company, often not at home and without rushing anywhere. In general, time is perceived differently in Spain: punctuality seems to be greatly overrated for the Spaniards, and a better incentive than more time for rest cannot be imagined. From the outside, the Spaniards sometimes look like professional actors constantly reincarnating, and sometimes they radiate childish carelessness. The same serious office worker, having gone out for lunch, attracts the attention of those around him with loud laughter and passionate stories from dance lessons, and the mood of the neighbors changes in the ten minutes before and after the first cup of coffee. Whatever the Spaniards do, they dive into it headlong. And if foreigners look down on them a little, that they lack responsibility and seriousness, they usually get a response from the locals - more peace. As the Spaniards like to say, there are no perfect people, and neither are countries. But there is Spain, with its contrasts of nature and people, siesta when everything stops, endless celebrations, and curious neighbors. A country where you will learn to make time for relaxation and pleasure.