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One of our first nights in our new house in Spain—just after our late-evening dinner—we decided to go out for an evening stroll to the tapas bar just down the street.
It was still hot in Spain, and the evening air and cold drinks would hopefully cool us off. Each of us ordered a beverage.
The waitress took our order, and then pointed to the pictures of tapas on the menu. She was clearly asking us what tapas we wanted.
A tapa is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. It may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried, baby squid). In some bars and restaurants in Spain and across the globe, tapas have evolved into a more sophisticated cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal.
Wikipedia
Having just finished dinner an hour earlier, we weren’t hungry.
“No Tapas!”
“No tapas,” I said with an American accent.
The waitress looked surprised and said, “No? Nino?” (“The boy?”) She was especially shocked that we weren’t ordering food for our youngest child, Pierre.
I wanted to explain to her that we had just finished dinner and weren’t hungry, but the language barrier between us prohibited me.
“No tapas,” I repeated.
“Ok,” she responded, with a shrug of her shoulders.
She walked away, seeming perplexed.
“They are Free!”
“You know the tapas are free with your drinks?” Timothee asked me.
“What? Are you kidding? I didn’t know that,” I exclaimed.
Vincent went on to explain to me that he had recently gone to a tapas bar at the airport with Timothee. They each ordered a drink, and they got TWO FREE tapas with each beverage. Wow!
I quickly grabbed my phone and went straight to the “Google Translate” app. Plugging in the sentence, “Are tapas free with our beverages?” I looked at the Spanish translation.
As soon as I could call her back over, I showed the waitress my phone and my question in Spanish.
“Si,” she responded with a smile.
“No Comprendo!”
“Oh,” I said, “No Comprendo.”
I was an ignorant tourist who couldn’t speak the language.
She proceeded to count the beverages on our table, “Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco.” Then, she pointed to the pictures of the tapas on the menu and counted again, “Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco.”
We selected five different tapas for a variety—chicken nuggets for Pierre, a cheeseburger for Timothee, a grilled cheese sandwich for Robert, fried calamari for Vincent, and French fries for me. We managed to eat all of it, even thought we had just left the dinner table at our house one hour earlier.
Our final receipt indeed showed 0,00 euros for each tapa. They were completely free and included with the purchase of the drinks.
A Cheap and Easy Meal
“Wow!” I said to Vincent. “We should come here for dinner every night. For 3,10 euros, we can order a Coke and get a free cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, calamari sandwich . . . We could try a different tapa for dinner every night, and that would make a cheap and easy meal!”
FYI, a tapa (sometimes 2!) is always included with your drink, so don’t miss out!
I guess that I should read “Cultural Shock: Spain” or “Spain: Culture Smart.” Then, I would know these cultural tidbits! I clearly lacked cultural awareness. It was time for me to become a “cultural learner.”
When we think of “culture shock,” we usually think of something negative. I have to say that this “culture shock” tidbit is VERY positive and a highlight of the Spanish culture.
Siestas and free tapas . . . thank you, God, for bringing our family to Spain. I think I’m going to like it here!
—The Cultural Story-Weaver
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
Let’s Weave Cultures!
Have you ever missed out on something because you lacked cultural awareness when traveling or living in a foreign country? What did you do to become a cultural learner?
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