Twenty-five years ago, my boss at the time coined the phrase “Spain’d” which gave rise to the noun known as “Spaining.”  What is a Spaining? It is an event of being inconvenienced because US and Spanish cultures are so very different.  For example, the repairman who told you he would be there in the “afternoon” shows us at 730pm.  Or the castle you planned to visit is closed that day due to a provincial holiday. 

I had been on Spanish soil less than an hour when the first opportunity for a Spaining presented itself.  I had made plans to take the free airport shuttle from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4 and catch the cercanías train to Atocca where we would catch our train to Córdoba.  I stopped at an information desk to ask directions to the free shuttle, and, in an attempt to be helpful, the woman proceeded to tell me that I didn’t want to take the train.  She said that the bus was a better option.  As we walked away from the desk I told Kim “we’re not getting on any damn bus!”  

We found the shuttle and the journey went just as planned.  First Spaining averted, but we’re got 12 days to go.