Culture shock?

I've always been told that transitioning into a new culture produces this strange phenomenon called culture shock. I learned about all of the expected stages of this process before I came here and have been waiting for the big bolt of culture shock to hit me, but I'm thinking that it may work differently than I originally expected...

My time here in Spain has been quite the experience. I have never once been bored because there really isn't an opportunity. For all of the talk of the "relaxed Spanish culture", the siestas in the middle of the day, and the "slower pace of life", I am surprised to find that my experience has not matched up with that. Yes, Spaniards are a very relational people, but that does NOT transfer into a more quiet or relaxed lifestyle- only a shift in priorities in the midst of the craziness of everyday life.

For example, in the States, one's schedule is extremely important and tends to drive the actions of individuals in relation to times with friends, family, or church. Here, it's different. People have their schedules, but if they happen to run into someone on their way to something on their schedule, the person comes before the schedule. It's often a challenge to readjust my mindset, but this has been good for me.

One Sunday afternoon, I left lunch with a friend to head home. I had some ideas of what I could accomplish when I got home, but nothing really definite (that seems to be the best way to do things). I stopped at a mall connected to the metro station to pick something up and ran into a young couple from the church. They invited me to join them, and instead of rushing off to the next thing (which is what I would have had to do in the States since everything was always scheduled), I sat and talked with them for almost an hour. That time with those friends was wonderful and really connected us for future growth in the friendship. Not being tied to my schedule was a real benefit that day...

With this relationally motivated culture, my biggest transition has been knowing when to turn down opportunities to socialize. I feel like I should accept every invitation to do something, be out with friends every weekend, and be extremely intentional about developing the friendships that I do have. But, I'm finding that I am still not accustomed to the different schedule here and can't possibly keep up with all of that. Staying out until 3AM on the weekends just doesn't work for me yet, and all of the walking tends to drain me too. The idea of culture shock may never hit me full force, but little by little, my eyes are opened to how much of a foreigner I really can be in this culture that often seems so close to what I know. This journey truly is a cultural experience as a I learn more about my own culture and this new culture that I am now calling my home...