Ways I have NOT Changed since Moving Abroad

So a week ago, I posted about some of the most obvious ways I Have changed since I moved abroad to live in Spain. There are lots of things that haven’t changed for me. What are the things that I haven’t changed a bit on? Find out below:

1. Dress – So something interesting about Spain is that they dress seasonally regardless of the weather. This is something that I simply cannot do. When it is almost 70 degrees in the winter, I absolutely refuse to wear a puffy parka. It goes against my identity as a Buffalonian. I also started to wear sandals waaaay earlier than most Spanairds.
2. Meals – I just cannot get into the swing of the Spanish meal time and amount. Most Spanairds eat around 5 meals a day (counting two snacks) with lunch as the largest meal. I just cannot eat that much at lunch. The plate above is one of three on a typical Menu del Dia (an amazing value). However, I also still prefer a larger dinner than most Spanish people do, especially if I’m going to consume any alcohol at all. The other night, I went out with some locals and among 5 people we ate 6 tapas at one bar and some sushi and noodles at another. IT WAS NOT ENOUGH. So, yeah, I’m all about a slightly larger dinner. Also – definitely refuse to have a small breakfast. I just love breakfast too much.

   

3. Coffee – Everytime someone sees me with a Starbucks cup – they say the same thing – “that’s expensive.” It is. But the thing is that I just cannot justify spending the same amount of money on three smaller coffees as one nice big one costs. I like my filtered coffee. While I’m finally getting the hang of using a French Press – even that is larger than most standard cups of coffee here. I wish I could get into espresso – you can just shoot it and you are done. I just can’t do it. I love American style coffee too much.
4. Football – I’m not talking about American football but rather soccer. Although I haven’t changed my mind on American Football either – GO BILLS. However, in terms of my favorite soccer team – it’s stil Bayern Munich. I’m not a fan of La Liga. I just cannot bring myself to support Real Madrid or Barcelona. That being said, I did go to a game of Real Zaragoza. They are in the second division and this year is proving to be a good season. If they make it back to the first division – I will be a Real Zaragoza fan. However, realistically, Bayern will always be my favorite.
5. Time – This is one I’m actually trying to soften on. I’ve always been a freak about being on time. If something starts at 5, I’m there early to make sure I don’t miss anything. I don’t really buy into being fashionably late. However, the Spanish are known for being a little more lax on this. I think it’s not so bad now that people have cell phones and can let you know if they will be late. However, I’m honestly trying to chill about my on time obsession. Not in a rude way but to be a little more culturally appropriate.
6. Planning and Organization – About a year ago – I said to myself that this was it. The last year of using an Erin Condren with stickers. The reason was pretty simple – it’s expensive to ship stickers from a lot of my favorite Etsy shops to Europe. I really intended to be done and I have gone on some serious no buys. However, I have not stopped completely. So yeah. I still love stickers and using them in my planner. I also, if anything, am more organized now than I was in the past because I have less possessions than ever before. Now, I’m able to really only keep things that I think I’ll use. It’s genuinely been so satisfying.