ON SPANISH EFFICIENCY

At 3:51AM, I received some good news via a very loud app notification on my phone: the free 32-inch television our bank promised us on July 7 is now available for pickup. 

Some obvious questions arise: (1) Why is our bank giving us a free television? (2) After the 105 day wait, why the urgent need to announce its arrival at 3:51AM?

The answer to the second question is anyone's guess, but as for the first, our bank was running a promotion when we opened the account: upon receipt of the first direct deposit, they would send me either a smartwatch, a tablet, or a television. I chose the latter. And then I direct deposited. And then nothing happened. The TV became something of a running joke in our household — the totally unnecessary free gift that was surely never going to arrive. Until suddenly, in the middle of the night, it did. Typical, Spain.

Spain gets a bad rap for being a "mañana culture" — why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? — but at least here in Barcelona, that hasn't really been our experience. We're consistently impressed by the efficiency and meticulousness of this place. For instance, round-the-clock construction crews were deployed to fix the insane pipe explosion that devastated our block and waylaid our move-in; it was fully repaired within 4 days. On any given walk, you encounter multiple conserjes (doormen) dutifully hosing down the sidewalks or sweeping the streets. Hoards of city workers are tasked with washing municipal garbage bins with antibacterial spray and grooming the beaches with pride and care. Public transit is clean and punctual. Things seem to run as they should.

Now that said, there is definitely a uniquely Spanish way of getting shit done. It often seems to involve a request, followed by a prolonged black-box period of being totally incommunicado, and then satisfactory request fulfilment at the precise moment you've lost all faith. You asked; I'll get it done. It might not be tomorrow, and I might not acknowledge that you asked, but I'll do it. My American self was waiting for confirmation that my free TV was being processed, and maybe an interim status update about its progress. But my expat self should have realized that it would come, in its own time, and that providing any other information would have been entirely gratuitous. Why take time away from working on a problem by talking about working on a problem? Our adapted approach: ask...and then have faith.

And on the topic of efficiency, kudos to Spanish law enforcement: our first speeding ticket, complete with photographic evidence, arrived yesterday via certified mail. We were going 110 kph in a 100 zone — or 6.2 mph over the speed limit. (Not pictured: Lead-Foot Aaron in the driver's seat.)