Rhythms and Routines

 

Today (Sunday) is the middle day of a puente, which literally means “bridge,” but here in Spain it also means a “long weekend.” Monday, January 29, is a holiday here, in honor of San Valero (Saint Valerius), the patron saint of Zaragoza. People celebrate by eating roscones, which are round sweet breads with a hole in the middle, often with a layer of whipped cream in the middle. (Pictured above.)

 

We’ve lived in Zaragoza for over six months now, and I’m slowly getting used to the schedule of things, but I’m not there yet.

 

We may have mentioned before that businesses are generally open Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 2:00pm, at which point they close for lunch. Then they reopen from 5:30pm to 8:00pm or so. Additionally, they’re open on Saturday from 9:00am to 2:30pm. (Those are the current hours of the city’s Central Market downtown.) Restaurants have different hours depending on what food they serve. The sushi place we’ve visited a couple times is open 1:00-4:30 for lunch and 8:00-11:30 for dinner.

 

This made a lot of sense when we arrived this summer. It was so hot in the middle of the day, from 2:00-5:00pm, that it made sense to go home, eat lunch, and hide from the sun. Maybe even have that siesta (nap). But if you don’t get an early start – then everything closes right as you’re hitting your stride. And it’s harder to get an early start if you’re up preparing or having dinner. I'm definitely not used to eating dinner that late.

 

So it makes sense to make lunch the big meal of the day. And it becomes a nice family time when the kids get home from school (or have a break before they go back, depending on their age). And the family gets to hang out together while it’s still light outside. I remember countless winters in the US when I didn’t get to see family members during daylight hours. (Of course, that all depends on the parents’ work schedules here. Sometimes, if the parents work lunch for example, the kids go to an afternoon program and you don’t see them until late.)

 

Monday through Friday hasn’t been as strange for me as the weekends have. Friday night and Saturday morning had become my time to unwind after the workweek. If my son didn’t have a soccer match, I’d sleep in Saturday, wear jammies until noon, and then have Saturday evening and Sunday to run errands, do chores, and get everything ready for Monday.

 

Well here I have to push through getting things done through Saturday morning, because if you want groceries, particularly fruit, Saturday morning is the time to do it. Stores are mostly closed Saturday afternoon and all-day Sunday. Yes, there are exceptions, but it’s an overall adjustment.

 

In regards to soccer matches, my son’s games are very roughly scheduled. We know which team we’re playing which weekend and whether the game is home or away, but the time and date – Saturday or Sunday – isn’t usually set until the Monday that week. Technically, Wednesday is the deadline, but we usually know on Monday evening. Everything else regarding the weekend comes second. (As it should be?!) We hope to plan a day to go visit a nearby town on a weekend, but we’ll have to wait until the Monday before to plan it during soccer season.

 

Oh and by the way, weeks start on Monday here, not on Sunday. Google Calendar has made the proper adjustment, but my Windows computer calendar has not. So I need to look twice at the top of the calendar to make sure I know which day is what, because they frown upon showing up for appointments on the wrong day.

 

I imagine that everybody wants to do what they want to do when they want to do it. Meanwhile, I more than not appreciate that everything shuts down Sunday. It’s a break from the go-go-go mentality. If there’s an opportunity to get things done, then I’m always thinking that I should be doing something productive, or something MORE productive than the simple chore I’m accomplishing. Not on Sunday! It's a mental health break.

The next puente is in early March, I believe. Now that I understand a little more about how the rhythms and routines work here, I hope that in six weeks I’ll feel more well-adjusted. And perhaps half the lesson is learning how to rest….