Leisure Activity

Botellón

Before I arrived in Barcelona, I did not know about the botellón. I quickly learned about it after a few weeks here. Spanish students told us that if we want to drink before going out that we should come down to the main street and drink with them. I thought this was a strange concept. In America, we have what we call a pregame and that, more than often, takes place inside. Nobody would dare risk drinking in the streets were a cop could see you. So when the Spanish students said this, I was a little hesitant because I did not want to get in trouble with the cops. The students assured us that it would be fine. When we arrived, there were many students standing around just talking and drinking. Nobody had any  glass bottles or cans of anything. Everybody was drinking from a big Fanta or Coke bottle so it did not seem like they were drinking any alcohol. I was still nervous because I kept thinking I was going to get in trouble. Everybody seemed like they were having a good time just drinking and talking. I noticed a big difference between the botellón and the American pregame. The botellón seems to going along with the Spanish culture of socializing. Just as their dinners have a very important social aspect to them, the botellón seems to have that great social impact as well. In America, the goal of the pregame is to down many drinks. Just as an American dinner seems to focus more on the food than the people, a pregame main goal is to get drunk. It would be very common to see people chugging drinks at a pregame but this was not evident at a botellón. Also, it was very enjoyable to be outside during the botellón. There is something about the outside that made it more relaxing and fun. It is much better than many people cramming into a room and trying to drink and talk over the music. All in all, the botellón was a very good experience and I wish that I could bring that concept back to do it in America.