"It's a bit late to be going out isn't it?" "Mate, this is Spain, it's never late..."

Hey people :)

I thought i would do a post on how exactly people go out here. To say it is different to England is a bit of an understatement. I’m not quite sure which I enjoy more yet, but I’m starting to get more accustomed to the differences.
I’m going to start with the difference in times and what we actually do when we go out. In England, it’s customary, if you are a student, to go round to someone’s house to pre-drink, and then go to the club at 10/11. That’s what happens in general. People who are not students, do still pre-drink in someone’s house, but it is general to go to a pub first, and then onto the club.

Here in Spain? COMPLETELY different. Here, you don’t even think about going out before 12. And when you do go out, it’s generally firstly to what is called a “botellon”, which is technically not allowed any more, but everyone still does it anyway. It’s basically where you go to a place where lots of young people hang out, and you all drink, outside. It’s a lot cheaper to do it this way, because alcohol is a lot cheaper in the shops than the bars (and a lot cheaper than in England!) The weather here is generally good enough to be outside for that long, although, coming up to more winter times it’s not really that smart. Once you’ve consumed sufficient beverages, you move onto the club, which doesn’t really happen until, at the earliest 3, although I’ve gone into a club at 5. A lot Spaniards tell me that they don’t get in until 8 o clock, but that to me, as an English bird, is too much. I’m used to the clubs closing at 2!

The one thing that shocked me when i came here (and this was when I was 17, so I’ve known about it for a while) is the fact that no one checks how old you are. In England, I’m id’ed everywhere I go. Literally. I’ve been id’ed at the door, and then id’ed at the bar. It’s just what happens. You HAVE to had identification to get in anywhere, let alone drink anything. But here? Nothing. I don’t even go out with my id anymore. I have never been asked for it here. Now that’s all well and good, but how do they know that they are not selling alcohol to a minor? I know, some people look like their age, and so maybe they wouldn’t get served. But I’ve never seen anyone get refused. And I don’t look exactly old, and in England I’m always questioned, but here? Never.

An interesting story was something that my mother witnessed (so sorry mother but I’m taking your story and using it :P) We went into McDonald’s for a post-dinner McFlurry (I had a peanut M&M one, and it was amazing). Anyway, it was a Saturday, and it was getting to about 11/half past. She went to use the toilet, and what she saw shocked her. Inside, was about 30 young girls, all plastering makeup onto their faces, makeup that was at that point covering the whole surface of the sink. There was a girl at every inch of the mirror. Obviously their parents wouldn’t let them out of the house like that, and they want to appear older/more attractive, whatever it may be, and go out. And yet, I have never read an article/heard anything about underage drinking being a problem in Spain. The botellon, certainly, is a controversial topic which affects everyone, from the people that participate in them, to the neighbours who have to listen to all the noises, and of course, to the police. But underage drinking? It’s strange.

Something else that I have noticed and someone that bugs me is the amount of people they pack into the clubs here. In England, there are limits to the amount of people you can have in a place, and I have been refused from a couple of clubs because there are too many people. Here, the policy seems to be, shove as many people in as you possibly can, and deal with the consequences later. It’s so full of people that you can’t dance, you can’t drink because people knock your drink out of your hand, you can’t walk anywhere; you can’t even just stand because someone will be walking behind you/in front of you to get to somewhere else. I can’t enjoy myself like that. Surely that’s also a fire-hazard?

And speaking about fire, it’s still legal to smoke in bars/clubs here, although, “apparently”, a law to change that will come into force in January. No one believes that will happen though. In England, I am so used to going out and coming home NOT smelling of smoke. As a non-smoker, I don’t really want to be walking about in other people’s fumes. But here, whatever clothes I wear out, I have to wash the next day, and my hair always stinks of smoke. It’s horrible. One of the reasons I don’t smoke because I don’t want that smell sticking to me. It’s also quite irritating to the eyes when you have smoke everywhere. Another problem? Combining the problem above of packed clubs, and people smoking, you get people getting cigarette burns. Which I got last night. Repeatedly. Lovely. My arm look like I’ve attacked it with a large red marker pen at the moment. I might just go out tomorrow and get a matching set on the other arm.

But, all in all, I do enjoy the nightlife here. As a smaller city, of course it’s not going to be as exciting as Madrid, or indeed London, but you don’t come to a small city to expect it to be fiesta central.

xD