By billienkatz
"Me pone un cafe con leche para llevar" is a saying you rarely hear in a cafe or restaurant in Barcelona, unless of course, the person saying it is speaking in a botched 'spanish' accent, and is American. This also may or may not be the summary of my abroad experience, in which, drinking coffee while walking, in class, outside of a cafe, or in a cup to-go is probably worse than FC Barcelona losing to Real Madrid.
Meals in Barcelona are extremely grounded within the family, which is the most central structure of Spanish life. As a result, meals are elongated processes (something I like, yet had to adapt to), you are never rushed to pay the check, and every bite and sip of the meal is consumed within the restaurant. Then, there's me, and the rest of the American study abroad students. I live off of 1-2 cups of coffee every morning at home, and during orientation for my IES program when they explained that coffee wasn't allowed in class, I took it as a personal attack.
I found an alternative solution to the weak instant coffee that was available in my apartment - cafe con leche. This drink uses espresso and hot milk, and combines to give the caffeine kick a person like me needs to be functional during my 9 AM classes. Un cafe con leche para llevar, which is translated into "a coffee with milk to take away" became my morning mantra, and since it's just a tiny cup of espresso and milk, I'm able to finish my cup quickly before entering the IES building.
Now that I am more comfortable in my host city, I decided that my coffee needs were more important than the stares and dirty looks I was receiving from my locals, as I walked down the street with my 'take-away' cup. Maybe this is culturally incompetent of me, and I know that my cross-cultural psychology teacher would not be proud, but this is a cultural faux pas I make day in and day out.
Me gusta mi cafe,
Billie