# Spain cultural literacy



## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

We are now making preparations for my 4 children to attend public school in Albacete, Spain starting in September. Their ages are 3, 6, 9, and 11 and they all attend bilingual schools so are in decent shape with Spanish already, although they have mostly had Latin American teachers so it will definitely still be an adjustment.

I am realizing that in addition to the language, there is a ton of other stuff they should probably know about Spain prior to arrival. I am hoping people here can tell me some things that would be helpful for kids to know prior to starting school. Academic, cultural, political, historical, sports, etc. 

A few examples that are already on my radar:
-what they know as español is called castellano
-kids learn cursive at a much younger age (we are working on it)
-division is done differently (I figured it out)
-pens are called bolis and schools are called coles
-vosotros form of conjugation

What else should they know to be prepared?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

I'm from Canada and I was lost as to the education system here. We have the same education as in the US. So I looked for an overview of how it works here and found this excellent site. The links at the top (study in Spain) and bottom are fab.

Spanish Education System | Comisión Fulbright

Here it is in a nutshell on the main page:

​_"Secondary education in Spain varies significantly from the U.S. high school system. After completing Primary Education (first through sixth grade), students go onto four-year Obligatory Secondary Education (ESO). In Spain, education is only obligatory until 16 years of age, when ESO finishes. 

After ESO, students have several options if they choose to continue their education. They may continue on one of two tracks: Bachillerato (traditional college prep track, similar to junior and senior years of high school) or Professional Training (Vocational or Art School). In June, when the final year of Bachillerato ends, students take the national university entrance exam (PAU) and apply to university programs based on the weighted average of their exam results and their GPA for the Bachillerato cycle. 

The college application process is much less extensive in Spain since most high-school graduates will seek admission to the public university in their home city or region. It is important to highlight that most Spanish applicants are not accustomed to thinking about where they will attend university until the second half of their senior year. As a result, many Spanish applicants for undergrad studies in the US will find it useful to take a gap year to prepare for the TOEFL and SAT/ACT."_


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

School subjects: **** (short for "Conocimiento del medio") = Sciences; Plástica = art class; Lengua = Spanish language class; Mates = Math; "Reli" can be short for Religión class.

* chandal = track suit (for Educación física); cartera/mochila = backpack; flauta dulce = plastic recorder for music class; profe = profesor(a); control = quiz; peli (película) = movie; cumple = cumpleaños; dictado = dictation; the letter V is pronounced"oo bay" and the letter W is "oo bay doble"

* They use the past participle a lot here, as in "¿Te ha gustado?" "¿Qué ha sido?" Maybe your kids are used to that, though.

* Telling time: They often use the 24-hour clock here, e.g., "13:00" instead of "1 p.m." "La tarde" starts at 2 p.m., and up until that is considered "la mañana." Using "menos," as in 10:50 a.m. = "Once menos diez."

Albacete specific info: * Your boys will immediately be asked which team they like: Real Madrid or Barça. * The suffix -ico / -ica is used a lot as a diminutive, as in "¡Qué cosica más bonica!" * "zompo" (pronounced "thompo") = top. "Peonza" is also used. It sounds quaint and old-fashioned, but many kids still play with tops here.

* A final random thought: Nocilla = a brand of hazelnut chocolate spread, like Nutella, often used in sandwiches. The first time I heard it, I thought the person said "morcilla" (blood sausage)!



kdsb said:


> We are now making preparations for my 4 children to attend public school in Albacete, Spain starting in September. Their ages are 3, 6, 9, and 11 and they all attend bilingual schools so are in decent shape with Spanish already, although they have mostly had Latin American teachers so it will definitely still be an adjustment.
> 
> I am realizing that in addition to the language, there is a ton of other stuff they should probably know about Spain prior to arrival. I am hoping people here can tell me some things that would be helpful for kids to know prior to starting school. Academic, cultural, political, historical, sports, etc.
> 
> ...


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I don't think you need to "prepare", although I can understand where you're coming from. And I don't think you can. There will always be things that surprise you and that you don't know.
Your children already speak Spanish even though it's South American and of course there are quite a few differences, but finding out those differences is part of the adventure. By having a good level of Spanish they are already streets ahead of most British children who come here. If you don't know what a "bocata" is or "el juego del pañuelo" or who "Miliki" is _no pasa nada 
_
Having said that Brangus has given you some good leads!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

As far as sport goes, soccer (fútbol) is Spain's religion. There is fierce rivalry between the top three teams, which is as much about politics as about sport. A Barcelona vs Real Madrid match is known as _el clásico_, and Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid is _el dérbi_. The national side is known as_ la selección_ or la Roja; it won the last two European cups and the last but one World Cup. There is a European Cup championship starting in June.

Spain is also obsessed with basketball (baloncesto) and keeps _almost _beating USA in the Olympics. But you will know that already ...


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

Thanks so much for all these tips!

I definitely realize that they can't be fully prepared and will be constantly figuring out new things, but I obviously want them to have as smooth a transition as possible, so knowing some of this stuff in advance is helpful. For example, they need to know that people call Spanish _castellano_ so if someone asks them the first day, "Hablas castellano?" they don't think they are talking about some other language and say, "No." And knowing they will be asked right away about football teams is helpful too. I guess until they have a preference I'll suggest they say, "I don't know. Which do you think is best?" Politicians in training.

We don't follow basketball at all here so didn't realize there was any sort of Spain/USA rivalry. Unfortunately the sports my kids are most into (baseball and ice hockey) are practically non-existant in Spain, but they have played some soccer (aka football).


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

kdsb said:


> Unfortunately the sports my kids are most into (baseball and ice hockey) are practically non-existant in Spain, but they have played some soccer (aka football).


Never give up on anything!

I worked with a Finnish guy that played ice hockey regularly in Madrid, he even played with Bernd Schuster when he was manager of Real Madrid!
Admittedly it may be easier to partake in "specialist" sports in the capital than in Albacete, but you never know.


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

Overandout said:


> Never give up on anything!
> 
> I worked with a Finnish guy that played ice hockey regularly in Madrid, he even played with Bernd Schuster when he was manager of Real Madrid!
> Admittedly it may be easier to partake in "specialist" sports in the capital than in Albacete, but you never know.


I looked into a bit and did find a few cities that had hockey programs, but since it's not a very popular sport it seems to end up involving a lot of travel, and we won't have a car, so it didn't really seem like it would make sense. And the gear is pretty intense so we wouldn't want to travel with it or have to buy it all again. They like soccer well enough so will assimilate.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

kdsb said:


> Thanks so much for all these tips!
> 
> I definitely realize that they can't be fully prepared and will be constantly figuring out new things, but I obviously want them to have as smooth a transition as possible, so knowing some of this stuff in advance is helpful. For example, they need to know that people call Spanish _castellano_ so if someone asks them the first day, "Hablas castellano?" they don't think they are talking about some other language and say, "No." And knowing they will be asked right away about football teams is helpful too. I guess until they have a preference I'll suggest they say, "I don't know. Which do you think is best?" Politicians in training.
> 
> We don't follow basketball at all here so didn't realize there was any sort of Spain/USA rivalry. Unfortunately the sports my kids are most into (baseball and ice hockey) are practically non-existant in Spain, but they have played some soccer *(aka footbal*l).


No, Football is Rugby, soccer is played by failed Rugby players


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

bob_bob said:


> No, Football is Rugby, soccer is played by failed Rugby players


Don't confuse the issue! Rugby is a minority interest game is played by men with odd-shaped balls. You won't find it is Spain unless you look very hard.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Don't confuse the issue! Rugby is a minority interest game is played by men with odd-shaped balls. You won't find it is Spain unless you look very hard.


yep - although we do have organised beach rugby here - more a fun exercise thing than a serious game though



bob_bob said:


> No, Football is Rugby, soccer is played by failed Rugby players


Well the Spanish call it football / fútbol

So I guess we'll just have to play along.........


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> Don't confuse the issue! Rugby is a minority interest game is played by men with odd-shaped balls. You won't find it is Spain unless you look very hard.


Rugby is played a lot in Catolonia, i think because Perpignan is close and they have a good team that plays in the European league. Perpignan is still very Catalan even though it is in France and the French love rugby, even though they're not very good at it.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> Don't confuse the issue! Rugby is a minority interest game is played by men with odd-shaped balls. You won't find it is Spain unless you look very hard.


We didn't have to look very hard at all this afternoon - we switched on our TV which was on an Andalucian channel and what should be on but a rugby match.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

If they have been used to South American Spanish, some of which is much more pure than the language used in Spain, they will find that the usted/ustedes forms are very rarely used - here it is the tu and vosotros forms. Having said that, there is one of our neighbours who uses Vd/Vds and she is 90.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

There are quite a few rugby teams in Spain. Marbella has one.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> Don't confuse the issue! Rugby is a minority interest game is played by men with odd-shaped balls. You won't find it is Spain unless you look very hard.


Minority interest game!!! whats the food like on your planet, just because Spanish boys are not up to real football don't dismiss it 

Thankfully Soccer was banned at my School and I enjoyed the true game of football.

That said, I did enjoy going to ice hockey and baseball when I was in Canada  I still have a Toronto Blue Jays cap


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

bob_bob said:


> Minority interest game!!! whats the food like on your planet, just because Spanish boys are not up to real football don't dismiss it
> 
> Thankfully Soccer was banned at my School and I enjoyed the true game of football.
> 
> That said, I did enjoy going to ice hockey and baseball when I was in Canada  I still have a Toronto Blue Jays cap


How can you call it football when half the time they are carrying the ball in their hands?

Yeah, my OH is Welsh too and played it at school, but these days he prefers proper football. He still watches the Wales games in the Six Nations but he has the decency to shut himself in his room and watch it on his PC.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Isobella said:


> There are quite a few rugby teams in Spain. Marbella has one.


What nationality are the players though?

My point wasn't that it doesn't exist in Spain, but that it's not part of Spanish culture.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> If they have been used to South American Spanish, some of which is much more pure than the language used in Spain, they will find that the usted/ustedes forms are very rarely used - here it is the tu and vosotros forms. Having said that, there is one of our neighbours who uses Vd/Vds and she is 90.


They still use _ustedes_ for the informal second person plural in my part of Andalucia. You rarely hear _vosotros_.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> What nationality are the players though?
> 
> My point wasn't that it doesn't exist in Spain, but that it's not part of Spanish culture.


No idea of nationality but a guy who works in a tile shop plays for them and he is Spanish. 


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Spain


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

kdsb said:


> I am realizing that in addition to the language, there is a ton of other stuff they should probably know about Spain prior to arrival. I am hoping people here can tell me some things that would be helpful for kids to know prior to starting school. Academic, cultural, political, historical, sports, etc.


Your children will probably have two occasions to wear costumes to school: Halloween and Carnaval, in February. For Halloween, stick with outfits of the ghoulish variety (vampire, witch, devil...). The time to be whimsical (such as a cartoon character, princess or cowpoke) is Carnaval.

If any of your kids have started to read music, they will find that at school they use _solfeo_ ("do re mi...") instead of the letter system.


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

kdsb said:


> Their ages are 3, 6, 9, and 11


The 9-year-old might be surrounded by classmates who will take their first communion in the spring -- an important rite of passage involving a lot of religious preparation on the part of the students and spending on the part of the parents. Kids *will* be talking about it at school.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Brangus said:


> The 9-year-old might be surrounded by classmates who will take their first communion in the spring -- an important rite of passage involving a lot of religious preparation on the part of the students and spending on the part of the parents. Kids *will* be talking about it at school.


You're right the kids will probably be talking about it, but I presume you're not suggesting kids should do their communion to integrate!
My daughter never did Religion at school and the teacher she had in primary told us she'd feel left out, different from all the rest. It was the most compelling reason she could come up with. Nothing about she'd be missing out on a part of her formation.
I told her that my daughter was already different by having a Basque father and English mother, by not having Reebok trainers, because she was exposed to two languages and because I wouldn't allow her to watch the cartoon Dragon Ball. 
I _felt_ like telling her that she should be concentrating on the things the students had in common not what might pull them apart. 
I _felt_ like telling her that we are all different in some ways and a lot of these differences should be celebrated, and not hidden away.

Of course what she _really_ meant was that if my daughter wasn't with the religion teacher at this time of the day then _she_ would have to be with her; she'd be missing a "free" period...

My daughter didn't go to church (Neither did her friends unless they were preparing the great day). She did go to a few communion parties and had a great time. All she missed out on from our point of view was a few tacky gifts and a day of being throughly spoilt 

And to edit that, being the only girl out of 9 grand children in both countries, she's had her fair share of spoiling


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Brangus said:


> Your children will probably have two occasions to wear costumes to school: Halloween and Carnaval, in February. For Halloween, stick with outfits of the ghoulish variety (vampire, witch, devil...). The time to be whimsical (such as a cartoon character, princess or cowpoke) is Carnaval.
> 
> If any of your kids have started to read music, they will find that at school they use _solfeo_ ("do re mi...") instead of the letter system.


In some schools the children are told a theme or what to wear.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> In some schools the children are told a theme or what to wear.


In the primary schools here, there's often a school-wide theme for the Carnaval costumes, with each class or year having a theme within that theme. They will usually also make part of the costume at school, too.

I remember a mad rush around the shops & markets by parents one year, when all the girls had to have yellow tights or leggings & the boys had to have red! They made head-dresses at school. There was a farmyard theme iirc. 

They also parade through the streets on the nearest school day to Carnaval


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

Thanks for these additional tips! We are not planning to bring any costumes with us so will work that out when we are there. But we usually do go for the family-themed cartoon characters so will wait and get a sense of what kids are dressed up in there.

Good tip on communion too. We are not Catholic so definitely won't be integrating into that tradition.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

kdsb said:


> Good tip on communion too. We are not Catholic so definitely won't be integrating into that tradition.


Our town has two primary schools - one state school and one state-subsidised Catholic school. They are fiercely competitive when it comes to attracting recruits. I saw a poster for the state school proudly proclaiming that the child would get a proper secular education. I hope you find one like that.


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> You're right the kids will probably be talking about it, but I presume you're not suggesting kids should do their communion to integrate!


No, I wasn't recommending communion and am not Catholic myself. :flypig: Years ago when I moved to an area of the U.S. with a large Jewish population, I found it helpful to buy a book on Judaism in order to understand the locals better, but it wasn't necessary to convert.

On the subject of Religion class, a Japanese Buddhist friend of mine once pointed out that when you live in a culture with a majority religion, you can't fully understand that culture without understanding the religion. Still, whether to sign up for the class at school is a very personal choice.

I've heard that kids here do three years of catechism study at church prior to their first communion, by the way. No wonder they have a huge celebration at the end.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Brangus said:


> No, I wasn't recommending communion and am not Catholic myself. :flypig: Years ago when I moved to an area of the U.S. with a large Jewish population, I found it helpful to buy a book on Judaism in order to understand the locals better, but it wasn't necessary to convert.
> 
> On the subject of Religion class, a Japanese Buddhist friend of mine once pointed out that when you live in a culture with a majority religion, you can't fully understand that culture without understanding the religion. Still, whether to sign up for the class at school is a very personal choice.
> 
> I've heard that kids here do three years of catechism study at church prior to their first communion, by the way. No wonder they have a huge celebration at the end.


Although it's got nothing to do with the thread...
OH (Spanish, catholic family, educated in private catholic schools by some cruel and hardened priests) and I (C of E primary school, attended sunday school at a Baptist church) decided together that our daughter should not take part in the subject called "religión", mainly because it wasn't religion, but indoctrination into the the catholic faith.
I very much wanted her to be familiar with the bible and its "characters". I consider it basic cultural knowledge, and essential to be able to finish a crossword! However, what they were being taught at school was not the bible and its teachings, but how to be catholic, and if you weren't catholic you were "wrong"
I don't think the kids round here do 3 years of catechism, but it is a long time and a great commitment on the part of the kids and the parents. However, the hypocrisy is astounding as well, or at least that's the way it looks to me. As soon as the communion is done, the vast majority never step a foot inside the church again. I've seen it in the family, my daughter's friends and neighbours. And the kids talk about it like that from the beginning, "Only a few more weeks and I'll be done. No more going to church!"
Related, but not about communion...
In my husband's family the older, and some of my generation are extremely devout. We have special masses for special birthdays for example when someone reaches 50 or 80. MIL goes to church at every opportunity she can and in the past has attended retreats etc. There is one nun and one priest in the family, who are lovely people and have never taken me to task for not bringing my child up in the faith, but it amuses me that because I'm not catholic and indeed not religious that they presume I am totally ignorant about the bible. On one occasion for example the priest tried to tell me the Good Samaritan story. It's like if you're not catholic you're a religious numpty


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Football /rugby*



Alcalaina said:


> How can you call it football when half the time they are carrying the ball in their hands?
> 
> Yeah, my OH is Welsh too and played it at school, but these days he prefers proper football. He still watches the Wales games in the Six Nations but he has the decency to shut himself in his room and watch it on his PC.


Yes, I felt the same when Arsenal was playing.


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Religion*



Pesky Wesky said:


> Although it's got nothing to do with the thread...
> OH (Spanish, catholic family, educated in private catholic schools by some cruel and hardened priests) and I (C of E primary school, attended sunday school at a Baptist church) decided together that our daughter should not take part in the subject called "religión", mainly because it wasn't religion, but indoctrination into the the catholic faith.
> I very much wanted her to be familiar with the bible and its "characters". I consider it basic cultural knowledge, and essential to be able to finish a crossword! However, what they were being taught at school was not the bible and its teachings, but how to be catholic, and if you weren't catholic you were "wrong"
> I don't think the kids round here do 3 years of catechism, but it is a long time and a great commitment on the part of the kids and the parents. However, the hypocrisy is astounding as well, or at least that's the way it looks to me. As soon as the communion is done, the vast majority never step a foot inside the church again. I've seen it in the family, my daughter's friends and neighbours. And the kids talk about it like that from the beginning, "Only a few more weeks and I'll be done. No more going to church!"
> ...


Well coming from Mexico I can truly relate to your comment.
I was harassed into baptising my daughter into the catholic faith by my mil.Supposedly the very elderly granny wanted it as her last wish. It always irritated that my husband didn't just tell them to fxxck off, but his attitude was, it is only a coupke of hours, who cares. Well, I did, but we did it and at one point the priest asked if I agreed with it having seen my fury, and 
I said ni modo, it is the family whom he knew well.
Funny thing was that my son who was just past seven wasn't 'done' at the same time


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Justina said:


> Well coming from Mexico I can truly relate to your comment.
> I was harassed into baptising my daughter into the catholic faith by my mil.Supposedly the very elderly granny wanted it as her last wish. It always irritated that my husband didn't just tell them to fxxck off, but his attitude was, it is only a coupke of hours, who cares. Well, I did, but we did it and at one point the priest asked if I agreed with it having seen my fury, and
> I said ni modo, it is the family whom he knew well.
> Funny thing was that my son who was just past seven wasn't 'done' at the same time


I am very thankful that I wasn't pressurised into getting married in a church or baptising my daughter (although I suspect my daughter has been baptised on the sly by family members possibly more than once!). I do think it's absolutely wrong to get married in church or to have communion because it's prettier or it seems more important, or because a relative in the family expects it. 
Had to look up "ni modo". It seems like it's Mexican for "¿Qué se va a hacer?" or similar?? Seems appropriate in your circumstances


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