When you go to a new country, it’s natural to compare what you see with what you experience at home. This has certainly happened to me since I moved to Spain. I spent the first few days – er weeks – just trying to figure out how things are done. Here are 7 ways Northern Spain is muy different from the United States, but to name a few off-hand: 

• How to order at cafés. Most don’t have menus on display. They have the food on display, and I had no idea how to ask for it when it wasn’t labeled. Turns out, the simplest solution was the right answer. Even the locals point and say “give me this one.”
• When to pay. You usually settle up after you’re done – not before. From what I’ve experienced, it’s common to pay for coffees and food at cafés after you’ve finished and are ready to leave. It might just be my interpretation, but I feel like it surprises servers if I try to pay right after I order.

But more often than I find myself saying: Hmm… That’s different from how we do things in the United States, I think about my version of normal and how it might stump someone from another country.

Here are 10 things we think are totally normal in the United States that tourists from other countries might find odd:

1. Opening a tab at the bar

It’s normal to open a tab at a busy bar in the U.S. You don’t think twice about handing your credit card over to a bartender so you don’t have to count out cash for every drink you order, if you even have cash at all.

So it might seem strange that I haven’t opened a tab since I’ve been here. Because most bars don’t accept plastic, I usually pay for what I’ve ordered right when they give it to me or settle up when I’m ready to leave.

Now imagine how it might be confusing it might if you’ve never even heard of a tab before, and a bartender asks you if you want to open one. You might just say yes if it’s loud and crowded and English isn’t your first language. But after you hand them your credit card … they don’t bring it back.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Where did they take it? What are they doing with it? How do you get it back?

Something that seems so normal to us might be disarming to a person who doesn’t speak the language fluently enough to ask. I mean, if someone took my card in a foreign country, I’d be a little concerned.

2. Craft beer

Bars in Spain have a big beer selection when they have more than one tap. And I’ve heard that in Switzerland, you order either a light or a dark.

So a tourist from Europe might think a ‘beer’ is a safe and simple order for their first experience at an American pub.

HA! If you’re anywhere besides a backwoods bar, you’re going to get an eye roll if you order ‘a beer.’

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

“Umm… Which one?” the bartender will ask you impatiently. “We have like 10 on tap.”

He or she will then rattle off in rapid fire the different brews and then stand there looking annoyed while you decide. And by decide, I mean try to rewind and translate what she’s just said. Eventually, you’ll just sputter out the name of the only one you remember. It might be Bud Light or it might be some expensive high-proof IPA when you don’t even like hoppy beers.

3. Basic services are only open during ‘business hours’

Standard business hours rule daily life in the United States.

• Need to go to the dentist for your bi-annual teeth cleaning? You better take off work.
• Have to mail a package to your little old grannie? You need to wait in line during your lunch break.

In Logroño, hair salons and barber shops open until 10 p.m. It’s strange to see a waiting room filled at the dentists’ office after 7 p.m. But this is the norm here. Because of the siesta, stores open back up at 5 p.m. and stay open later. You consistently see people running errands after dark.

The 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. grind can really get in the way of your errand running, especially if you’re not used to it. So visitors might be surprised that they have to take care of their to-do list during the middle of the work day if they want to get anything done at all.

4. Tipping

This one is obvious. Everyone knows that tipping customs are a major point of contention depending on the country you’re visiting. As soon as servers in the United States get a table of foreign travelers, they see their tips disappear.

But the tipping culture is really something that might come as a surprise to a tourist in America … if they haven’t done their research before arriving. The fact of the matter is that tipping isn’t compulsory in some European countries. And even if it’s done, it’s mostly a gesture – not a form of payment.

The difference is that servers in Europe make a living wage with their earnings. And who wants to pay more when you’re not used to it?

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I know we in the United States think things are pretty affordable there. But – news flash! They’re not.

I think it’s a lot less expensive to eat in restaurants in Europe. Granted, I have limited experience. But if a fancy seafood menu del dia in San Sebastián – a comparatively expensive city in Spain – is a flat fee 25 Euro and it comes with an appetizer, main course, drink and dessert – let’s get real. You’re paying about the same to get a burger and a beer in Boston with tax but not a tip included.

5. Strict rules around drinking

I can’t imagine how annoying it would be to visit the United States as a foreigner before the age of 21. If you’re allowed to drink wine and beer in your home country at the age of 16, it doesn’t make sense that you can’t have a single sip in America.

Still, the rules are rules. It just may make us look like a bunch of Puritanical stiffs.

6. Everyone carries water around

We’re strict about when and where you can drink booze, but we don’t have any norms around water consumption. In fact, visitors from other countries might think we have a strange condition that causes insatiable thirst.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

People may think it’s strange that we regularly carry around more water than a camel on a hot summer day in the Sahara. You don’t want to get dehydrated you know. If you’re running errands, walking your dog or going on a drive, you don’t want to forget your water bottle. And then we gulp down giant glasses of water with every meal.

It’s almost like we don’t when we’re going to come across water next and we have to fill up every time it’s available. I brought my Nalgene to class with me one day and the students acted like I was a crazy person.

7. Minimum deposits to open a bank account

I know this sounds highly particular, but it’s something that could throw a person off in a foreign country! When I’ve opened bank accounts in the United States, they’ve always required me to have a minimum deposit – something like 200 – 300 bucks.

Not here in Logroño. The people over at BBVA created a bank account for me and didn’t ask me to put a dime in it to get it started.

I know an empty bank account isn’t all that useful, but I needed to open it for a direct deposit required by the teaching program. Before I went in, I realized I might need to withdraw more money from my American account (losing $$ in the transaction fees) just to make a minimum deposit amount. But … they didn’t ask for it.

When I left the bank with my empty account in hand, I couldn’t help but think that someone who isn’t familiar with U.S. financial institutions might be annoyed by this.

8. Set menus at every restaurant with a million options

One of the first things I noticed in Spain is that most casual restaurants don’t have menus. Sure, you’ll sometimes see a sign for a menu del dia with specific items on it, and some places have menu cards upon request. But it’s not like every deli and lunch place in the United States, where there is a giant placard behind the counter listing out the 30+ different options for sandwiches, wraps and salad combos.

Most of the cafés and bars here keep the food out on display on the counter. You look for what you want and order it. If you want something but don’t see it, you can ask and they might make it up for you. This was confusing for me at first because I didn’t know what everything was.

But on the flip side, I can’t help but think it would seem strange for people who aren’t used to it to go into a restaurant and read through dozens of specific options to try to find the one that best aligns with what they want and then use whatever weird name the restaurant’s concocted to ask for it. It would seem simpler to just say what you want and see if the restaurant can do it.

9. Restaurants closing their kitchens at 10 p.m.

Why do Europeans have a habit of showing up at restaurants right before the kitchens are closing? Probably because they usually eat dinner at 9 p.m.

Seriously, even kids. I’ve asked my students about their daily routines and they all say they eat dinner at about 9 p.m. And then they go to bed a little after 10 p.m.

So it might be a gastronomic disappoint visitors that the best you’re going to do after 10 p.m. (unless you’re in a major city) is take-out or bar food.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

10. You can buy food EVERYWHERE

What do hammers and Cheetos have in common? You can buy both of them at the Home Depot.

For some reason, every single store in the United States carries a range of snack foods  – home goods stores, sporting goods stores, crafting stores, bookstores, drug stores – just in case you’re stricken with insatiable hunger while you’re out running your errands. Why do we treat everything like we’re stocking up for a tornado? I don’t know.

From what I’ve seen in Spain and Italy, food is found where you’d expect it: At grocery stores, in bakeries and butchers, at candy shops and convenience stores. You can’t buy Skittles in the checkout line at the pharmacy. You won’t find potato chips in the checkout aisle at the music shop.

To people visiting the U.S., this whole food-everywhere thing will, at best, come across as convenient if they’re famished, and at worst, explain why Americans consume so much junk food.

Have you traveled and noticed customs that seem strange? Are there other things you think we take at face value that visitors might find odd? Let me know in the comments!