Cold fish in the oranges city

The first impression about Polish people is, that we are cold and distanced and need some time to become more open and then, when we start to love you, it will be last for ever;) I usually thought, that I am not really typical Polish. My friends called to me: come to swing the party, but... in Granada, sometimes, I start to feel like a cold fish.

Kiss, kiss

In Poland, when we see somebody we know or meet new person, we used to shake his hand, we have to really like somebody to hold him. It is quite huge shock for people here. Sometimes, when you give your hand for someone, people don't know what to do with it because, what was a little shock for me, here, people kiss twice in their cheeks and no matter that you first time see somebody. Actually, in Poland we kiss three times, but just family.

Mañana

The next point is that I used to have timetable, actually many timetables; planned each activity, every minute of my day in advance. It was almoust impossible to just called me and said: hey, we'll go to the pub now, are you going with us? - of course not, I have strike timetable, planned weeks ago. Here is like: let's go tapas now – ok, where? - we will see... My first respond was like: whaaaaaaat?! I will kill you if it is not a joke :P But, you can hear just: c'mon, be positive, enjoy your time. Ok, I try to get used to do it ;)

Tapas

Everyone, who come to Spain read or hear about tapas. But mostly just that exist something like that, that it is a food, food for free? So, we participated in a training for people from south-east of Europe and, one evening, we went tapas. We found tapas pub, went inside, took menu and... there was no tapas in menu... What? Where are tapas, we want tapas, screamed everyone. It was better that the waiter couldn't understand english because, in other way, he can thought that we are totally stupid, because: first, you should order some drink (which is also sometimes not in menu) and then, as a gift, they give you some food: it can be sandwich, pasta, potatoes with sauce – it depends of a pub, sometimes it is someting small, sometimes one dish for few persons, sometimes it is so huge that you don't need to eat dinner at all and sometimes you can choose the tapas, sometimes it is a surprise. What is interesting also, here, pubs are mostly small and when there are many people, you just drink standing and go to next pub. Impossible for Polish who go to one pub, order someting and sitting as long as someone close the pub. What is more, when there is many rubish on a floor it means that it is really good pub ;)

Lunch, siesta, diner, fiesta

There are two more things what i still couldn't get used to: food and siesta. So, generally i adore breakfast here because it is small and sweet, no sandwich, eggs, sousage, just coffe and some cookies, donuts. Then, around 3 p.m. there is a lunch: two dish and dessert, but then, the dinner is afrter 8 or even later and thre is also 2 dish like on lunch... I try not to think how can I look after 2 months beeing on this diet and what can say about that people who eat their last dish at 6 which is just a fruit or yogurt.And the dish here are quite heavy: potatoes, beans and bread to everything and it is especially bread for me, which in Poland we called baguette or parisian bread. It is also difficult to be a vegetarian here because it is unique and it is difficult to explain what does actually mean and what you can not eat and why if it is not religion or illness so, why don't you eat meat? Ridiculous.

And siesta, time for rest in the middle of a day. Many Spanish people finish work after 9 p.m. And it not mean that they always working 12 hours. They just have about 3 hours break from 14-17 when they go for lunch and rest and then, they come back to work. So, when I first time went to the city about 15, many institutions and shops are closed. What I also still try to understand is: finish work at 9 more or less, then go home for diner, then tapas with fiends around midnight, then clubing till 4 a.m., work starts at 9... when do they sleep?

Crazy weather

When my friends from Poland write to me, they usually ask: are you taking sunbath? Because here, it is – 20 degrees and snowing – you know, it is someting cold and white on the ground, if you won't remember what is it :P So, of course, we had a plan to post on fb photos in bikini with snowy Sierra Nevada mountains in the background but... it is much complicated. Avradge temperature here is about 15 and people say that it is quite cold winter now and talk that I am totally crazy that I am walking just in T-shirt. But... during the evening I also start to feel like Spanish and shaking and I don't care that in Poland is snowwing now, it is also cold here, just in one moment and what is unrealiable temperature is just a little lower...

So, Andalusia is for me totally different world than I used to live. That is also one of reason why I chose it. What can you expect of the city of oranges trees, which are on all streets, just take and try it (be carefull, some of them taste like a lemon), that when we saw it first time it was: aaachhh ;)? Totally everything. Just come and see!