Siesta

Thursday, July 7

Occasionally I just crash.

As my parents (and really probably anyone who knows me well) can readily tell you, I’m a sleeper. I love naps, sleeping, pillows, blankets and all of it. And while my bed here in Spain isn’t exactly four-star quality comfort, it feels wonderful every night to sink into it.

We’ve been going non-stop all week with class, time for lunch, an excursion, and then sometimes even an evening out. And so today, despite the fact that the excursion was to the beach in Aviles, I just had to crash.

I’ll call it my first true Spanish siesta.

In case you’re not familiar with Spanish culture, the siesta is a traditional Spanish custom. As I’ve explained before, lunch is the big meal here, and it happens at around 2p.m. every day. Everything around town shuts down. Stores close from 1:30-4, banks close, school lets out, and most government-run businesses like the post office and tourist desks won’t reopen. The Spanish go back to their homes and enjoy a large meal with their family. The sit and talk and enjoy each other’s company, and then they go take a brief nap until they have to be back at work.

At my house here, we have lunch when I get home from classes at around 2:15. And we always watch crappy television. There are these two shows we watch every day: one that’s called something like Hombres y mujeres y los dos (Men and Women and Both) which is basically a Maury or Jerry Springer-type show where they send women on dates with random men and then stir up fights between them; and then another called La Buena Ley (The Good Law) where they have a court case, the audience fights over what should happen, and then a judge makes a ruling. My favorite episode thus far has been when two sisters were fighting over their mom’s wedding dress. The older one originally had it, but the other one stole it, along with the man the older one planned to marry. Great television.

Anyway, after that we watch the 3p.m. news. I usually watch about the first 10 minutes, which is enough for the 2-minute overview they give first and then the big news of the day. After that I go get ready for our afternoon activities with the program, which have thus far started at 4.

Today, however, I decided to finally take the siesta I had been looking forward to.

Without really having the intention, I fell asleep for two and a half hours. It seems ridiculous in retrospect, but I don’t regret my decision at all. It’s never really above 70 degrees here, so the beach would’ve been cold and probably only more exhausting. And sometimes, you just need the nap.

Hopefully this will be a rejuvenation and not a habit. As much as I love napping, my intention while here was never to miss out on Spain for sleep. I want to continue seeing as much as I can!