Nine Weird Cultural Differences You Won’t Notice Unless You Grew Up With a Spanish Parent in the UK

I’ll never understand number 4 on this list!

I recently saw a TikTok of a Spanish woman living in the UK talking about changing into her pyjamas around the house. Her husband finds it super weird, apparently.

But, hold on. I have changed into my pyjamas the moment I got home my whole life. In fact, it was mandatory. And that’s when it dawned on me. My mum taught me how to live the “Spanish way” this entire time and I never even realised!

Having grown up in the UK, I'm extremely familiar with the ways by which British culture is seen as weird by my Spanish family, and vice versa

With that said, here are all the strange differences you notice as a Spanish/British mixed heritage gal.

1. Greetings

In Spain, you greet everyone with two kisses. In the UK, you give a handshake or a friendly nod and smile.

As a child, I wasn't meeting strangers to the family, so I was always encouraged to give two kisses. As I got older and started going to school, I realised people don't do this, so I never knew what to do when I met new people.

To this day, I still do the awkward dance of kiss? hug? shake? I find it easier to just let the other person dictate at this point, to be honest.

2. Shopping

Although it’s less common now, shops used to close during the afternoon in Spain, and the entire Sunday. But in London, this was simply not a thing. You could go to the shop whenever you needed it without worrying.

So, you can imagine how much of an adjustment this was when holidaying in my mum’s town, with nothing in the cupboard, but being forced to wait until 5:30 pm for the shops to open.

Nowadays, I try and avoid going food shopping in the middle of the day because it feels wrong!

3. Mealtimes

This is a big one. I’m not exaggerating when I say the difference in when I eat my meals in England and Spain differ by 3–4 hours!

Growing up, my family always had dinner at 7:30 pm. To me, it was normal — it’s all I ever knew.

But when I spoke to my friends at school, they told me they would eat at 5–6 pm daily.

And in Spain? My family would eat at 10 pm.

I got used to it, but I think it explains why I’m awful at keeping a strict mealtime…

4. TV Adverts

For anyone whose never watched Spanish TV before, brace yourself. Spanish ad breaks are bonkers! You’ll have 7 minutes of a programme, followed by 12 minutes of ads, then 3 minutes of the programme, followed by 10 minutes of ads, then 30 minutes of two programmes stitched together, then 30 seconds of ads. Please, make it make sense!!

For reference, one afternoon after lunch (at 3:30 pm), my grandad sat down to watch House on the Prairie. Thanks to all the ad breaks, the film finished at 9 pm!

Give me UK TV any day!

5. Going out

In the UK, a night out starts at 9 pm and finishes at 3 am at the latest. In Spain, however, a night out starts at 12 pm and finishes whenever you get home the next morning.

When I was in Spain during the festival season, I went out at 12am with some friends and got home at 1 pm the following day. That would NEVER happen in the UK!

6. Passionate conversation

If you’ve never been around a group of Spanish people talking, you’d think they were constantly having loud, aggressive arguments. They’re not, though. Spanish people tend to talk emphatically and use their hands a lot when they speak.

Brits, on the other hand, tend to be more reserved when they speak.

It’s a trait I picked up from an early age and one that has gotten me in trouble quite a few times. That’s probably why I decided to stay so quiet at school…

7. Siesta

I used to get so bored in Spain when my entire family would power down for a few hours after lunch. It wasn't something I was used to, and I became rather restless over it.

In the UK, lunchtime is taken more as a quick nutrition/refuel stop in the middle of the productivity train, but in Spain, it’s a slower affair. Between lunch being the biggest meal of the day and summer heat making it intolerable to go outside at peak times, most Spaniards opt to take this time to sleep or lay on the sofa.

I will say, while I didn't appreciate the power of the siesta as a kid, I love a good afternoon nap these days!

8. Alcohol

Go to a pub in London, and it’ll cost you £5 for a warm beer (if you’re lucky). Ask for a cocktail, and it’s at least £8 for a single shot of alcohol.

This is a concept Spain wholeheartedly rejects. In Spain, beer is always served cold and will only set you back €2-€3 at your average bar. And as for the cocktails and mixers (aka cubata), they’ll cost about €6 but your bartender will free-pour the alcohol. The result? A drink that’s 80% rum, 20% coca-cola.

As a lightweight, I always have to stop them mid-pour because it’s too much!

9. Interesting idioms

If there’s one thing the Spanish enjoy, it’s a good idiom. We brits have a lot of sayings, but we have nothing on the Spanish. Here are some of my favourites:

“Me cago en la leche!”

Literal translation: I s*** in the milk

Meaning: For f***’s sake!

“Son cuatro patas por un banco”

Literal translation: They are four legs for a bench.

Meaning: They are meant for each other

“Dale la vuelta a la tortilla”

Literal translation: Turn the omelette around

Meaning: Turn the situation around/ Look for another way

“Estoy hasta las narices!”

Literal translation: I’m up to the noses!

Meaning: I’m fed up

When all is said and done…

No matter how crazy or different these two cultures are, one thing is for sure.

I love my crazy Spanish/British mix!