Advice (and a siesta)
This past weekend I met with some friends from CMU and their family for lunch and a movie. Their family was in town and they very nicely invited me to come along with them. This family has traveled near and far and are now settled in the US after moving from India a few years ago. The husband travels a lot for work and he told me about his experiences in Florence and Madrid. It was nice to hear the perspective of someone who has done business in foreign countries and dealt with the challenges of foreign business cultures.
He talked of the markets in Florence and the slowed down lifestyle. He mentioned the knock-off rolex watches and designer handbags that the hawkers sold in the street market. They were apparently the best knock-offs he had ever seen and they were priced accordingly. (Paying 125 euros for a fake watch seems like a bit much, but when you compare that to the thousands needed to buy the real deal it doesn't seem as bad.)
Another little fact that he mentioned really made me think about the other (perhaps more substantial) changes that I am about to face. While studying Spanish everyone learns a little about the culture and one those tidbits that you usually learn is the fact that most Latin countries have a siesta (a large lunch/nap break) in the middle of the work day. I remember learning this fact but I didn't realize that this would apply to me interning in Spain until he mentioned it at lunch. Apparently everything in Spain comes to a complete standstill around 1 or 2 in the afternoon and stays that way until 3 or 4. Executives, shop-keepers, and street vendors alike all take a siesta in the middle of the day. Now for productivity reasons this poses the question, "How do they get their work done?" Apparently you are given the choice of either coming in to work super early in the morning and working until siesta time or coming to work at a normal time, taking the siesta, and then coming back to work until 6 or 7 in the evening.
I guess I will have to adjust to the new schedule when I start working in Spain in May. I have always been a proponent of the afternoon nap and maybe this will give me the perfect opportunity to schedule a nap in every single day! The family's youngest, a curious 10-year-old posed the question, "Do you have to go to sleep during that siesta time?" Of course we all laughed when she asked that but I suppose it was a very valid question. Do the Spaniards actually sleep during this time? Well all this talk of napping is making me tired. I think I might go take a quick power nap before my next class. Until next time.
He talked of the markets in Florence and the slowed down lifestyle. He mentioned the knock-off rolex watches and designer handbags that the hawkers sold in the street market. They were apparently the best knock-offs he had ever seen and they were priced accordingly. (Paying 125 euros for a fake watch seems like a bit much, but when you compare that to the thousands needed to buy the real deal it doesn't seem as bad.)
Another little fact that he mentioned really made me think about the other (perhaps more substantial) changes that I am about to face. While studying Spanish everyone learns a little about the culture and one those tidbits that you usually learn is the fact that most Latin countries have a siesta (a large lunch/nap break) in the middle of the work day. I remember learning this fact but I didn't realize that this would apply to me interning in Spain until he mentioned it at lunch. Apparently everything in Spain comes to a complete standstill around 1 or 2 in the afternoon and stays that way until 3 or 4. Executives, shop-keepers, and street vendors alike all take a siesta in the middle of the day. Now for productivity reasons this poses the question, "How do they get their work done?" Apparently you are given the choice of either coming in to work super early in the morning and working until siesta time or coming to work at a normal time, taking the siesta, and then coming back to work until 6 or 7 in the evening.
I guess I will have to adjust to the new schedule when I start working in Spain in May. I have always been a proponent of the afternoon nap and maybe this will give me the perfect opportunity to schedule a nap in every single day! The family's youngest, a curious 10-year-old posed the question, "Do you have to go to sleep during that siesta time?" Of course we all laughed when she asked that but I suppose it was a very valid question. Do the Spaniards actually sleep during this time? Well all this talk of napping is making me tired. I think I might go take a quick power nap before my next class. Until next time.
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