Hello friends! I hope you’re ready to learn about a new country because today we will take a look at how some kids live in Spain!

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Meet 9 years old Martin

This is Martín, a 9-year-old boy who lives in Madrid, Spain!

Since school starts at 9 am, Martín wakes up at 8 am. He greets his parents and younger brother by saying “Buenos días” which means “good morning” in Spanish. For breakfast, Martín and his little brother, Lucas, have churros and a glass of fresh chocolate milk made with Cola Cao, which is a sugary chocolate powder very popular in Spain. Martín’s parents have coffee and a tostada for breakfast. A tostada is a slice of toasted bread topped with olive oil and tomato.

Since school is quite far from Martín’s apartment, his dad, Francisco, has to drive him to school every day. On their way to school, they pass in front of the Prado Museum which holds paintings from Pablo Piccaso and Salvador Dalí, two of the most famous Spanish artists! 

While Martín is at school, his mother, Sofía stays at home and practices Flamenco, she is a professional flamenco dancer and will have a presentation soon! When she practices, Sofía wears a pair of comfortable sweatpants, but during presentations in front of hundreds of people, she wears a large red dress and high heels!

After Martín leaves school at 2:30 pm, his father drives him home where everybody gets together to have a family meal. Martín’s father, who is a cook, prepares paella, a traditional Spanish dish with rice, beans, olives, vegetables, shrimp, and clams. Martín loves olives, and he counts them as he puts five of them on his plate: 1 (uno), 2 (dos), 3 (tres), 4 (cuatro), and 5 (cinco).

Martín is a very polite kid and he likes to say “buen provecho” before everyone starts eating. This means that he wishes everyone to enjoy their meals!

After that delicious meal, Martín and his family take a mid-afternoon nap called “siesta.” Almost everybody in Spain used to take this traditional nap, but nowadays fewer people do it. Martín’s family, just like many people in Spain, still likes to have a well-deserved rest in the afternoon!

After a long rest, Martín and his family get ready to leave because today they are going to visit Martín’s grandpa, Antonio, who is a bullfighter or “matador” in Spanish!  

Martín and his family arrive at the bullring known as “arena de toros” in Spain at 6:30 pm right before it starts. At the center of the round arena, Martín can see his grandpa taunting a huge bull with a red cape called “capote.” Every time he tricks the bull with his cape everyone in the arena yells “Olé!”

Just a couple of hours later, when the event is over, Martín and his family go to a family-friendly bar to watch a soccer game, known in Spain as football. Almost everybody in Spain loves football and since today the Real Madrid football club is playing everyone at the bar is pretty hyped.

Martín’s dad and grandpa are drinking beer and his mom is drinking a cold red drink called “sangría” which is prepared red wine and chopped fruit. The name of this drink is similar to “sangre” which means “blood” in Spanish and it’s called like that because of its blood-like red color!

Martín and his brother Lucas are drinking juice but Martín’s favorite thing about this place is the famous “tapas”, a variety of delicious finger foods and snacks that are served as appetizers in bars. Some of these tapas are cheese cubes, olives, chorizos, which is a kind of sausage, and Martín’s favorites: spicy chips, known in Spain as “patatas bravas.”

Then, at 9:30 pm,  Martín and his family eat one of Martín’s favorite dishes for dinner, a Spanish omelet, known in Spain as “tortilla española” and “tortilla de papas.” It’s basically a potato omelet and it’s super popular and traditional in the country.

Although it seems already quite late for dinner, is very common for Spanish people to have dinner at 9:30 pm or 10:30 pm. Actually, Martín, his family, and pretty much everyone he knows goes to bed quite late!

Meet 10-year-old Lucía

Now this is Lucía, she is a 10-year-old girl, who lives in Galicia, Spain with her mother María!

Almost every Friday after school, Lucía and her mom like to go to the beach to relax and play a little. Since Galicia is full of small comfy villages instead of big cities, it’s easy for them to have peaceful afternoons while enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean.

After spending a couple of hours on the beach, Lucía and her mothers like to take a walk on the nearest town’s square, surrounded by classic buildings with classic architecture and where sometimes they can find fairs with live music and rides. Most people in these villages are super friendly and every time they see Lucía and her mother walking around the village they say “¡Hola! ¿Cómo estáis?” which means “Hi! How are you?” in Spanish!

On the next day, Lucía and her mother celebrate a BBQ party with some relatives, known in Spain as “churrasco.” Since summer days in Galicia are warm but rarely too hot, they have no problem having a fun day outside. 

After a long day of fun, Lucía likes to see through her window and admire the beautiful night sky where a lot of stars can easily be seen due to the absence of bright city lights!

Well, friends, that’s just a little about Spain and Spanish lifestyles!

¡Adios, amigos!