Hobbits in College

Ok, this post has been a very long time in coming, but since I referenced the term "Hobbits in College" in previous posts, and have since become more and more convinced that this term describes Spanish culture and schedule very well, I must explain.

First, we will work with the first part of the term "Hobbits."
For those of you who have read either "The Hobbit," or "The Lord of the Rings," by J.R.R. Tolkien, or have at least seen Peter Jackson's adaptation of the latter, you will be somewhat familiar with hobbits. If you are not familiar with any of the above works, I am sorry, and suggest you stop what you are doing this instant and go get familiar with them.

Now that those ignorant of hobbits are gone, I can continue.

Hobbits, as most of you will know, are fond of food, sleep, and generally the easy-going lifestyle. So are Spaniards. In fact, the only thing in which Spaniards differ with hobbits on in regards to sleep is that they go to bed around 4-5 hours after the normal hobbit would tend turn in (more on this later). In regards to food, the hourly schedule of meals is very similar indeed to that expected from a respectable hobbit.

At around 7:30 or 8, the Spaniard begins to get up. Since he does not need to be at work by 10 (or if he is unfortunate enough to have bank or other corporate job, 9am), he can have a leisurely breakfast of coffee and some element of bread, possibly a croissant. He may have this breakfast at home, or in a café on the way to work.

Between 10:30 and 11:30, the Spaniard will have realized that it is getting on in the morning, but that lunch is still rather far off. Therefore, reasoning that all work and no play makes Juan a dull niño, he will ask one of his coworkers, "hey, why don't we pop out for a breakfast?" This is the second breakfast a tradition possibly started because many people could not manage to rouse themselves in time to eat breakfast before going to work in the morning. However, the intelligent Spaniard will make use of this tradition whether or not he has breakfasted already. After all, while breakfasting, one is not working, and that is what matters.

After second breakfast, the Spaniard puts his nose to the grindstone once more for a few hours, getting off work between 12 and 2pm. Lunch is a tremendous affair, equal if not greater than the North American evening meal. Afterwards, stuffed and drowsy, work is out of the question, and so a siesta is in order. After a nap or just lounging around, the Spaniard heads back to work between 4-5pm. Most businesses open again by 5pm, and continue until 8 or 9pm.

Between 9 and 11pm, some form of dinner will be had, not nearly as large as the afternoon meal, but enough to tide you over until breakfast the next morning. Then it's time for bed between 11 and 1, sometimes 2am.

As you can see, the amount of food that is consumed is spread out throughout the day it include 4, sometimes 5 "meals," that is, social interactions that involve food as their nucleus. This is the "hobbit" factor in "Hobbits in College."

The college factor is the sleep schedule. Most of urban Spain does not go to bed until at least midnight. Individuals will of course present special cases on both sides of the extreme, but 1am is a very respectable time to go to bed, with some real party-ers staying out until, as they say here, "1,000 o'clock," which means basically anytime after 3am. Then said party-er will stumble into bed, catch between 3 and 5 hours of sleep, then go to work and rely on the afternoon siesta to keep him from dying.

So there you have it, the enigma explained. That's Hobbits in College; that's Spain.