What should we wear in Spain?
This is an important question to answer, as students will want to know what to pack.
Obviously, Spain is usually a lot warmer than the UK, and students will need to pack clothes that will keep them cool. But just bear in mind that Spaniards do tend to dress quite elegantly and will frown on overly casual clothing.
For example, if you're visiting the coast, you should only wear your bathing suit on the beach. If you plan on wandering into town for some lunch, make sure you cover up (in some places, you can actually be fined for walking around town in just your bathing suit).
And make sure you wear appropriate footwear – Spaniards usually keep their flip-flops (which really are only appropriate for a day at the beach) on until just before they reach the sea.
It’s also important to ensure you’re appropriately dressed if you plan on visiting any churches. For both sexes, this means covering the knees and shoulders (it might be worth taking a shawl with you to cover up). Men should also remove their hats upon entering a church.
Addressing people
In Spanish, there are two words for ‘you’ – the informal ‘tu’ and the formal ‘usted’. If you don’t know someone very well (or they're older than you) or you’re just not sure which form to use, use ‘usted’.
You need to establish a relationship with someone before you can call them by their first name (unless, of course, they invite you to). So you should start by addressing them as ‘Señor [their last name]’ if they’re male, or ‘Señora [their last name]’ if they’re female. Don’t use ‘señorita’ (it’s considered pretty old-fashioned nowadays).
Alternatively, you could address them as ‘Don [their first name]’ if they’re male or 'Doña [their first name]’ if they’re female. Don’t use this honorific solely with their family name, if you only know their family name you should use señor/señora instead.
Eating and drinking
One thing you're going to need to make clear to your students is that mealtimes are very different in Spain (and this is especially important if they're going to be staying with host families).
Spaniards usually eat breakfast around 8 am – 9 am. Lunch is generally the main meal of the day, and usually starts around 2 pm (and certainly no earlier than 1.30 pm). Most Spaniards will take a long lunch break, often returning home to share the meal with their families (so you'll find many shops and offices are closed around this time). The evening meal is usually taken around 9 pm during the week, and from around 10 pm at the weekend.
You may be able to find restaurants open outside of these time (but they may not be of the highest quality). Having said that, most establishments do offer tapas or sandwiches even when the kitchen is closed.
When you sit down to your meal, you may be given a basket of bread. This isn’t free and usually costs around €1-€4 (it's absolutely fine to refuse it, if you don't want it).
If you choose to enjoy the bread, you may wonder where the bread plate, butter and butter knife are… Your bread should be rested on the side of your main plate or on the table next to your plate. And don’t ask for butter – try a little olive oil instead.
When you're finished, you'll need to ask the waiter for the bill - it won’t be brought to you automatically (this is regarded as very rude in Spain). You can use the phrase 'la cuenta por favor' to ask for the bill.
And you don’t need to worry about tipping, as it’s not particularly expected. If the service has been good, you could round up to the next euro, or even leave a couple of euros (but no need to leave more than that).
Interested in arranging a school trip to Spain?
Contact us today for more information or to request your tailor-made quote.
