Living in a Spanish apartment building feels less like living in separate flats and more like sharing one giant house with a hundred of your closest strangers. You smell what everyone’s cooking, garlic sizzling from one kitchen, fried fish from another, maybe even a late-night pizza delivery wafting through the hallway. You hear everyone’s conversations too, whether you mean to or not. Sometimes I’ll hear a doorbell ring and jump up, only to realize it’s not mine, it’s my neighbor’s, two floors down.
At first, all of this felt like noise. I remember in my first year, every sound felt like it belonged to me: the doors slamming, the kids crying, the abuelas gossiping on the balcony. But now, I realize it’s not noise at all. It’s a community.
The same neighbors you pass on the stairwell are the ones who give you a smile and a “buenos días” every morning. The lady with the little dog, you see three times a day? She might as well be family by now. The man who waters his plants on the balcony while humming loudly? He’s practically the soundtrack to the building. Living in Spain has this built-in rhythm of shared space and shared life, and the apartment building is just one example of it.
In my first year here, I was too caught up in culture shock to notice the beauty of all this. Everything felt loud, different, overwhelming. But now, in my second year, I feel more comfortable, like I’ve graduated from “confused foreigner” to “still learning, but holding my own.” I know to bring my own grocery bags to Mercadona, or else I’ll be juggling vegetables down the street. I know that jaywalking is basically a national sport, and it’s only acceptable if you look both ways twice and do it with confidence. I even know how to time the elevator, so I don’t get stuck waiting forever when my neighbors are having a chat between floors.
Being back in Spain feels good. It feels grounding. And this time, in my new city, I get to apply everything I learned in Gandia with fresh eyes. It’s funny how the little things, a smile from a neighbor, the familiar buzz of apartment life, the rhythm of daily routines, make you feel like you belong.
So here’s to living in Spain, where apartment life is one big family affair, and the whole building really does feel like your house.
Love always,
American Girl Meets World
