Culture shocks in Catalonia

If you’ve ever moved to a new country or at least visited somewhere, you may have experienced some degree of culture shock. 

Catalan society has plenty of its own peculiarities and specific ways of doing things that differ from other parts of the world. 

Francesc Salvador Beltran is a professor of psychology at the University of Barcelona, and he explained to Catalan News that culture shock is an experience that occurs when “we become conscious of what we do unconsciously when we are in our own society.” 

“We realize the difference because it shocks our traditional way of doing things,” Salvador explains, adding that he prefers to avoid calling the sensation a ‘shock’ because he says it is more of a positive thing rather than a negative one. 

Culture shocks commonly found in Catalonia include: 

• Meal times

• Late work hours 

• Staring on public transport

• Kisses on cheeks

• Intimacy from strangers, such as shopkeepers calling you ‘amor,’ ‘guapo/a,’ or ‘rei/reina’ 

• Party times 

• Using olive oil and no butter

• Festes major, the noise

• Christmas decorations involving poo

• Politeness and direct speaking

Compared to many other countries, meal times are generally much later in Catalonia. It would be normal for locals here to have dinner at 9 or 10 at night, while lunch is normally served up at 2 or 3 pm. Breakfasts can often be quite light, with a small snack around 11 am such as a croissant to go along with a coffee.

Late meal times go hand-in-hand with late working hours. Many businesses often close for some hours during the day, and even offices have traditionally given employees long lunch breaks in order to get tasks done, but then finish the working day at around 8pm. Given this, perhaps it’s no wonder that dinner is eaten so late. 

One thing that might come as a surprise to people who move to or visit Catalonia is the level of intimacy that people who don’t know one another share among each other. It’s very common in shops to be referred to as “guapo/a” or “rei/reina” by the store workers. 

There is a certain degree of closeness in Catalan society that doesn’t exist in other, less intimate, societies. This may also explain why so many people tend to stare in public, such as on public transport. 

“People do not live alone,” psychology professor Francesc Salvador explains. “We are part of a society that has some unique ways of doing things or behaving, and this is the result of adapting to certain situations that have become traditions for that specific society but keep evolving and changing.”

Do tourists experience culture shock?

Everyone can experience culture shock to some extent. People who move to another place will likely come more into contact with the true daily life of the new society they’ve moved to, so will experience culture shock to a greater extent. 

Francesc Salvador recommends that people be in contact with as many people of different cultural backgrounds as possible, and try to understand them, as this will open up mindsets to learning new ways of thinking and being. 

“All this bolsters individual richness, it makes us more human and we will become immune to bigotry, racism, and supremacism. Therefore, I always say, go to places, meet diverse people, and when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”