Moving to Spain - Mañana

I guess that, if you are serious about moving to Spain, then you will have read that life in Spain is slow and this is true in many senses.

The heat during the long Spanish summers ensures that things are never done at a rush. The siesta period (usually from about 12noon/1.30pm until around 4/5.30pm) is essential. When you first move to Spain you will find that you can do very little between those hours as the heat can be exhausting. It is then you will have great respect for the Spanish Siesta.

However, siesta time means that nearly all work in Spain comes to a halt and things can be delayed as a result. Work begins again after siesta and continues until around 8 or 9pm, but to the expat, newly living in Spain, this can seem like time wasted.

If you want work done on your Spanish renovation project, you may find that your builders work through part of the siesta to save daylight hours, but delivery drivers, electricians, surveyors, telephone engineers or any other service you may call upon will not. This can be very frustrating for someone unused to Spanish culture and who wants to get on with living their life in the sun as quickly as possible, as everything in Spain can appear to move in slow motion.

And when you couple this with the Spanish 'mañana', the new expat can find their patience driven to the limits.

It is likely that many people studying the Spanish language will assume that mañana means 'tomorrow'. Well yes, it does, but the term also means an awful lot more.

When, for example, you call a plumber or a telephone engineer, you will most likely be told that they will call 'mañana'. Don't hold your breath. There is an old saying 'tomorrow never comes'. People living in Spain don't exactly mean that when they tell you 'mañana', nevertheless, it can be a long time coming.

When moving to Spain you have to be prepared to live with this. Getting upset when you've waited in all day for the plumber to arrive will only get you stressed. And your Spanish telephone engineer will definitely be arriving at your villa 'mañana', but it may not be tomorrow. It could be next week or next month. Take a guess... And it is quite often not the fault of the Spanish worker. He could be waiting for special materials to arrive so that he can do his work. And he will have been told these will arrive 'mañana'.

The word 'mañana' can be as frustrating to Spanish people as to those who move to Spain. The difference is that they tend to shrug their shoulders and except this. The only way an expat can cope is to do exactly the same.

And in some ways the culture of 'mañana' is to be recommended. After all, when you planned on moving to Spain one of the things that probably attracted you was the slower pace of life here. So remember this when you are told something will be done 'mañana'.

And while you are waiting, why not go and soak up the spanish sunshine and try not to get too stressed?