Alcohol & Drinkin'

I can drink here, legally, and it’s about time I address the topic of alcohol and Spanish attitudes towards drinking. I’m not going to try and sugarcoat or censor the amount of alcohol present here in Spain, Barcelona, and Europe in general. It’s everywhere, and in all honesty, saying that the alcohol flows like snowmelt in a spring river would simply be a huge understatement at best. Beer, wine, and hard alcohol, are so easily accessible and readily available that sometimes I have found it more difficult to find water than an alcoholic beverage. One time, in fact, I was at a restaurant where a bottle of water actually cost more than a beer.

            In Cádiz, on our way to school, we would walk past old men drinking beer and wine as early as 10 am, and we were shocked at the way they appeared to have no desire whatsoever to even pretend that it was 5 o’clock somewhere. There is a fully stocked bar in nearly every restaurant and cafeteria, including on my university campus. In fact, every department has their own cafeteria where many students enjoy beer at lunch, or before class. On top of that, while the drinking age is 18, from what I’ve observed, it is certainly not strictly enforced, and drinking outside isn’t usually punished, but encouraged.

            When I first came to Spain and noticed what I misinterpreted as an apparent dependence on alcohol, I asked a few people what they thought about the concept of alcoholism. After asking around, I discovered that the Spanish don’t really have a concept of alcoholism. So, I began to wonder, “Why do they drink so much alcohol?” and more importantly, “Why can’t I just get a nice, tall, glass of chocolate milk?”

Here in Spain, it turns out that alcohol isn’t really for getting drunk. In reality, being obviously drunk is a sure-fire way to be spotted as an American or stick out as a foreigner. It’s not like people don’t get drunk here, but the Spanish don’t usually go drinking with the sole intention of getting smashed. I’ll be honest. As many of you know, college weekends at an American, albeit, Californian university, have programmed college-students like myself to think that alcohol is for getting drunk. If you have alcohol, you drink it, and you drink it to get plastered. Many times, you try and drink it in the quickest, most efficient way possible. Leave it to college students to figure out some pretty clever ways to get plastered. Keg stands, beer bongs, shot guns, shots, drinking games and every other stereotypical college speed-drinking competition gets people drunk. And while you might be with other people, the focus of the situation was never just the people you were with, but the alcohol itself, and in hindsight, it’s almost sad. From what I can remember, I never once sat down and ‘enjoyed a beer’ with someone, because frankly, it’s kind of difficult to enjoy a 30-cent can of piss-water, much less choke it down through any sort of drinking apparatus created by some drunk engineering student.

Here in Spain, alcohol is a social tool, not a social requirement. Think of alcohol as more of a social lubricant rather than the fuel to the collegiate party-mobile. In fact, the slogan for the Catalonian beer, “Xibeca,” is “alcohol ets per compartir” which poignantly translates to “alcohol is for sharing.” Also, the Spanish don’t usually drink the giant mugs of beer like you see in German drinking halls, but “cañas” or small glasses usually accompanied by a meal or a tapa. Spanish alcohol ads don’t tell us to “drink responsibly,” like American advertisements, because apparently, it seems like they just don’t really need that warning. Spaniards have described alcohol to me as an excuse to enjoy time with friends, and to relax, rather than ‘rage’ and get ‘hammered.’ While getting furiously inebriated can be fun, embracing the Spanish way of drinking provides an interesting viewpoint to reflect on American attitudes towards alcohol and alcoholism. Alcohol, here in Spain, and in typical Spanish fashion, is yet another way to strengthen relationships, make friends, and ‘celebrate life.’ As an American college student, and with a 21^st birthday a few months away, this might be one of the more relevant lessons that Spain has taught me so far. And with that said, I’ve realized how well I can write when I’m drunk. Don’t worry mom, I’m just kidding. But seriously, someone sit down and have a beer with me.

Ben and I enjoying Cañas of beer while we wait for our food, back in Cádiz.

Me, and my friend from Cádiz, 'investing' in our friendship. I borrowed that extra beer from a friend for the sole sake of taking a picture, I swear. Unfortunately, I can't speak for my friend, he's just double-fisting the night away.

Word of the Day: Beber - To drink

Mañana voy a Paris, y beberé vino con mi amigo. Tomorrow I'm going to Paris, and I will drink wine with my friend.