Survival kit for going out in Spain - Things you need to know!

So, the first time I came to study Spanish abroad in Spain I was just like any other young American under the age of 21. You meet and make friends really quickly because essentially everyone is in the same boat and the first thing you do is go out to party!!!

I mean, Salamanca is a university town full of nightlife and bars, really it is the best way to get to know the city and practice your Spanish skills, right?

So this blog post is designed to give you the FYI on things that I did not know when I first started going out in Spain.

1. Don't worry about what time it is. After school, take a nice long siesta nap and don't bother waking up until dinner time. No hurries, you can party well into the morning in Salamanca. I remember many a days when the sun was coming up on my way home. :)
2. Girls: TAKE TISSUES with you in your purse. I am sorry to say that neither Salamanca, nor Spain in general, is famous for having the best bathroom amenities in public places. Don't be surprised if there is no soap or toilet paper!
3. The lights are on timers! A good idea is to locate the strange looking button with a pilot light on it BEFORE you sit down to do your business. More than once and more than twice I have been left in the dark, literally, with my pants down! It is helpful to know where the switch is before this happens :).
4. Girls - Go to the bathroom BEFORE you have to go to the bathroom. Oh, and take a beer with you while you wait. Yes.. in popular bars and clubs the wait is that bad… might as well have a book with you :).
5. Now this one is important as it gave me lots of problems my first night: No matter how AMERICAN or ENGLISH a word is (think brand names.. I dunno.. like BACARDI) you must NOT pronounce words in English. Seriously, they won't understand you.... Bacardi is: BAH - CAR - DÍ" Emphasis here on the DÍ, where the word is stressed, if you don’t stress that they will respond: ¿Eh? ¿Eh? Seriously, this took me awhile to learn. Remember your Spanish alphabet? Pronounce the word, no matter what the word is, according to how the letters are pronounced in Spanish. This should save you a lot of grief J
6. Spaniards are not big on cocktails; well at least they just aren't as common nor as popular as they are in the US. Do not expect to order your super fancy drink that mixes 5 ingredients. There are some places that have the typical Sex on the Beach, Mojitos, and some of those cocktails, but it is not the norm. So if you want a mixed drink, keep this one in mind: 2 ingredients. Yup... that is it, you need to order like this: Vodka + tonic, Whiskey + coke. Doesn't normally get much more interesting than that.
7. Important Beer/Alcohol Vocabulary: There is a lot of vocabulary you need to get clear to order beers and drinks. Let's visit some of them:
   
   
   • Caña: A small glass of beer from the tap. You order a "caña" and they will give you whatever they have on tap.
   • Clara: ½ caña ½ sweet carbonated water (something similar to 7-up or sprite)
   • Clara con limón (Turbia): ½ caña, ½ lemon (Lemon Fanta, for example)
   • Botellín: A bottle of beer. Normally a small size, 1/5 of a liter
   • Tercio: a larger size bottle of beer (1/3 of a liter) “Tercio” means “a-third” which refers to one-third of a liter, the size of a bottle of beer.
   • Jarra: “Una jarra de cerveza”, a pitcher or jug of beer.
   • Pinta: A pint of beer
   • Litro: A liter of beer, sangria, or other mixed drinks, typical in liter-bars.
   • Chupito: a shot. “dame un chupito de….” (give me a shot of…)
   • Copa/Cubata: mixed drink
   • Cóctel: cocktail
   • Refresco: a soda


8. How to order: English tends to be a really polite language. We usually start off asking for things by saying “Can you please” or “I would like..” and although these things can literally be translated, you are in a new country so when in Rome, do as the Romans do! How do Spaniards order something? Well, lets just say that if you translate it directly to English, it is not very polite… They use the command form of the verb and don’t usually say please or thank you.

   “Dame 2 cervezas…” - Give me two beers
   “Ponme 2 cervezas…” – “Put me” two beers
   “Quiero 2 cervezas…” – I want two beers
   “2 cervezas…” – 2 beers (The simplest way to avoid using verbs..)

9. How to pay: First, sorry Americans… most places only accept cash. So get used to carrying it with you. In a bar you would probably say:

   “¿me cobras?” – “will you charge me?”
   “Cuánto te doy?” – “how much do I give you?”
   
   In a restaurant you would likely want to ask for the check:

   “¿me traes la cuenta? – “can you bring me the bill?”
   “¿me traes la cuenta? nos traes la cuenta cuando puedas?” – ¿can you bring us the bill when you can?

10. Practice talking in Spanish!!!! I do not instigate nor endorse nor suggest the use of alcohol in Spanish learning but, out of personal experience, I can most definitely tell you that if you are going to go out at night and you are going to drink, well then you should take advantage of your increased courage to practice your Spanish skills! You will find that you are less embarrassed and less worried about making mistakes. Again, I am not telling you in any way that you should drink alcohol, all I am saying is that if you do then you should take advantage of the opportunity to practice your new language with new people.