November is upon us! Fall and Halloween sped on like they always do, and we have reached November aka my last month of being abroad. With just about 3 weeks to go and lots of plans coming up, November is sure to fly by and that means it will be even more important to soak up as many Spanish days as possible. Usually I am not a person that considers November 1st the start of Christmas season, especially being on the coast of Spain far away from any wisps of Christmas-y snow, but this year may start the holiday music a little early. Spain does not celebrate Thanksgiving of course, so Christmas decorations are already starting to appear on the streets and the Starbucks advertisements! Personally, I’m relieved that I will be home for all of the Christmas activities in December, but the holiday in Spain looks like it will be amazing too.
Speaking of the Christmas season (someone count how many times the word Christmas is in this post), my post this week will be about shopping in Spain. My friends and I have ramped up our souvenir/holiday gift buying this past week, slowly collecting many items that will surely complicate the re-packing process of going home. Even though I may have to plead with the airline desk person when they weigh my suitcases in a few weeks, shopping for gifts abroad has been really fun for me because Spain offers so many options. There are the traditional cheesy souvenirs sold in the kiosks along La Explanada, local food products in small stores around the city, anything you could imagine really. Spain’s shopping culture is very diverse and attends to the needs of all kinds of different shoppers. Here in Alicante, there is a large Central Market, two locations of a huge department store, and many little shops, local and brand names. Usually, only the international brand name stores are open on Sundays. Most local stores also close for a few hours for siesta, between 2pm and 5:30pm. This is important to remember if you are in Spain and planning to make Sunday your shopping day; it takes a bit of getting used to, but you eventually learn to make other plans! The Central Market in Alicante is very significant to the city. It is a multi-floor building with turrets and mosaics on the outside, and inside they sell every fresh grocery item possible. The Market is only open until 1pm on weekdays, and is not open on Sundays, so you need to get in there fast! Markets are very important to the Spanish culture whether they are outdoor or indoor, and although supermarkets are still very common, many Spaniards purchase special meats, seafoods, or produce at local markets. The culture of shopping for clothing, jewelry, etc. is not significantly different than that of the United States, although I have not often seen many people shopping alone. A couple other interesting observations about shopping in Spain are that it is much more common to interact with the store personnel when browsing, especially in stores such as pharmacies or specialty food stores. When you walk into a local, small store, it is expected that you greet the store worker when they greet you and you respond honestly when they ask what you are looking for, rather than just say you’ll find it on your own. Store workers anticipate needing to be very helpful, and in stores that are not for clothing, it is not very common to just walk around aimlessly. The other thing I found interesting here is that while they do not celebrate Thanksgiving, they do participate in Black Friday! Black Friday in Spain is similar to Halloween: it’s an American holiday that has only very recently been brought abroad and is not celebrated quite the same way. Stores don’t open at 3 in the morning to stampeding crowds, but they do have significant discounts and large rushes when the stores do open. Black Friday will be our final day here in Spain and I am not sure if that is good or dangerous; it will end up depending on how proactive we are about packing! The holiday season is always a flurry of activity between malls and tiny stores across the world, and while that brings stress, it is also always fun to pick out the perfect gift for someone. Shopping in Spain is a mode of entry into their culture and provides us students with a way of connecting this country to our loved ones back home. Thank you for reading and happy start of the holiday season!
2 Comments
Keli Emmons
11/4/2021 02:53:36 pm
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Lisa Garland
11/5/2021 04:12:36 am
Hi sweetheart. I love your blogs you have a unique way of writing that makes me feel like I am there, seeing what your seeing and smelling the food, and feeling the excitement of it all. only 3 weeks to go as I know you are excited to come home at the same time feeling alittle sad knowing you will leave this wonderful place . Enjoy your last 3 weeks see you soon .
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