Siesta.

It’s one of the first things American students think about when contemplating studying abroad in Spain.

The idea of a daily nap after lunch before resuming normal activity is virtually irresistible. Who wouldn’t want to siesta every day?

Let me break the news to you: virtually no one siestas in Spanish cities anymore, except the American foreign exchange students.

“But why?” you may whine.

It’s simple — there’s no time left in the day. Spain and its larger cities are just like any other in Europe: they’re very productive.

To be fair, in some smaller towns, people may still siesta. I would not be surprised to find an abuelita turning in for a couple of hours in a town in Andalucía, a region in the south of Spain.

However, by and large, siestas are being left behind.

But you, my fellow Penn student, can help keep the tradition alive, right in your very own domicile. Schedule your classes with a break between 12 and 2. Invest in quality window dressings to block out the afternoon sun. Eat a food-coma-inducing lunch.

Once you’ve got all these elements, jump in or, rather, casually sidle into bed. Take that nap.

Pretty soon, you’ll be the envy of all your friends. They’ll want to sleep away their afternoons instead of stressing it away (in the manner of a Wharton sophomore taking the core, for example).

Naturally, the trend will take off nationwide.

What’s the point of this, you might ask. Naturally, it’s to reinforce the idea that a siesta is no longer practical in today’s world. Just imagine all the billions of dollars/euros/pounds sterling that would be lost if businessmen both of the sketchy and non-sketchy variety took two extra hours off every day. Then how we would get all that tax money to pay for the Iraq war? Oh wait… we still don’t have that. Shit.

The moral, then, is to not let stereotypes sit as truth in our minds. As much as I hate to say it, some people in Wharton do have souls and some engineers do know how to pick up the ladies.

That said, I’m going to siesta right now.

Tags: Add new tag, Siesta!

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