‘Kids are kings here’: Expat in Spain on culture ‘shocks’ – ‘Spaniards are loud’

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Antoanetta moved from Los Angeles to Spain. The jewellery designer now discusses her ex-pat life on her Youtube channel, Antoanetta Now.

The ex-pat spoke about the biggest cultural shocks she experienced when moving to Spain.

She said: “This is not a video about shocks in a bad way, but some things that are just unusual.”

The first difference she noted was “Spaniards are loud”.

The American ex-pat said: “A lot of people say Americans are loud.

“With our behaviour, when we go to another country there’s something about American behaviour that appears big and little obnoxious. But, with Spaniards, it’s all about the voice.

“The decibels of the voices are so high.

“When you are at a bar or a restaurant when they order something, it just pierces through the crowd, to the waiter, in order to get the order.

“They talk very loud, one talks over another and there is no problem. Maybe it’s the Meditteranean culture. They are warm and open and very passionate about things.”

Antoanetta also discussed her perception of a difference in culture when it comes to children.

“Kids are kings here,” the ex-pat said. “There is so much attention paid to the kids.

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“When you are at a restaurant, the waiters and waitresses play with them and bring them toys.”

She claimed children will play much later than in the US, where she is from.

She said: “At the same time, the kids play until midnight or 1 is in the summer. They are wild, they run everywhere.

“There are a lot of playgrounds between the buildings and they meet there to play.

“Compared to America, where I’ve seen faces lit from an iPhone or an iPads, the children and quieter. The kids grow up quickly.”

She said, too, that she has often seen children in bars and out late with parents.

“Here you can see a kid in their stroller at the bar at 2 am, with their parents, and it’s normal,” she said.

“Maybe the kid is getting used to noise because that’s their future.

“The parents’ social life doesn’t really stop when they have a child. Everything continues.

“They take good care of the child but at the same time, they take good care of themselves too. So, everything is very smooth and organic.”

Antoanetta also discussed COVID restrictions in Valencia. 

She claims the region is “strict” and locals, ex-pats and holidaymakers must carry proof of vaccination with them where they go.

She said: “Here (in Valencia) they are very strict and the cases are super low, but we’re still having a lot of restrictions.

“To visit the country you need your certificate of vaccination, your PCR tests and then everywhere you go, you would need that.”

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