Hello, Gentle Reader! I know it’s been a while, but I hope we can get reacquainted promptly. For those of you who are new to the Valencia At Last family, welcome! I’m Christopher, and I am so happy you are here. I hope we can make some memories together as I share what I am experiencing as an immigrant to Europe, to Spain, and to Valencia, my adopted city!

Many people focus on the new year as a time for starting new habits, but I have found that springtime suits me best. I’m simply more energized by the onset of sunnier weather and warmer days than the chilly gloom of midwinter. Springtime is all about growth and renewal, and I have so much to share about my life here in Spain!

Who am I?

Let’s start with a check-in. I’ve been living in Spain since 2021 and I have grown so much in the last 3.5+ years. I am an online science teacher for a school based in the US and now work in that capacity full-time instead of as a contractor like before. I also have a companion website, www.CleverExpat.com, where I share my organizational expertise and help others make the move abroad. Over the last few years, my Spanish has improved significantly, although I know that language learning is a task that will continue for the rest of my life. Even though I have been here a while, I am always discovering new corners of Valencia to explore!

With that, I want to tell you about one of the newer creative adventures I have embarked upon: sewing. This is a skill that has always fascinated me, and finding clothes that fit my body here in Spain is a great motivator to make my own. Over the last few years, some of my clothes that I brought here have started to wear out, making the timing right for a new hobby.

New hobby in a different language and culture

I decided to start sewing while I was out to dinner in late December with a friend and my husband. We started talking about new endeavors for the upcoming year, and our friend said he was taking classes in Valenciano in January. (FYI, Valenciano is a local language and is closely related to Catalan, which is spoken all along the central and northern coastal regions of Spain.) My husband said that he, too, wanted to learn Valenciano. When the conversation turned to what I wanted to accomplish in 2025, I said I wanted to learn how to sew.

All three of us are taking classes in the same place, a church located in downtown Valencia. The church’s outreach mission historically to provide education to the community, especially for women new to the country. As the world changed, so did their outreach efforts, and now there are more courses available at a very low cost (60EUR for a whole year of instruction). The range of classes is quite impressive, including home skills like cooking, sewing, garment construction, crocheting and knitting, language skills like Castilian Spanish, English, and Valenciano, and family and elder care skills, like in-home elder care.

How it started

At the time, I had never taken a sewing class before and didn’t know what to expect. I started watching YouTube videos about beginning sewing practices. I purchased a good sewing machine. I looked for super-beginner projects that would familiarize me with my machine and working with fabric. I was definitely surprised when the first trimester of the course was sewing by hand! I’m almost finished with a hand-sewing sampler of different stitches and sewing styles.

I learned much more than sewing, however. The classes are all taught in Spanish, and everyone else in the class was from Latin America. It’s a dynamic, friendly, and chatty group, and the instructor is a volunteer with a kind demeanor but obviously a master of sewing in many different techniques. Since the course is held in three trimesters, and I was starting in the second trimester, the focus was on hand sewing. This trimester, however, I’m finishing my hand sampler and we are moving on to using the machines in the classroom. There are three or four electric machines in the classroom, and the rest are pedal-operated machines. I’m honestly kind of excited to learn how to use a pedal-powered sewing machine!

You may ask if my machine has been gathering dust since January, but I assure you, it has not. I also started a machine-oriented sewing class at a local tailoring shop. A friend and I signed up for classes there, and I have really enjoyed the process. I’m getting even more practice speaking Spanish in this class, and I’m really quite pleased with what I am learning. Much of the time, it’s one-to-one instruction during my weekly four-hour classes, and I’m able to make so much progress each class. We have developed a pattern for a favorite, if getting threadbare, shirt. I’ve made a prototype shirt as well out of an old sheet. We’ve adjusted the pattern to fit more effectively. I’ve been able to apply my hand-sewing skills to my projects. And overall, I am enjoying every minute of both classes.

Cultural differences

But there is one other learning that comes as a cultural observation. From the US, I am used to sewing supplies that are readily available, available for me to pick and choose, and I simply take what I want to buy to the attendant or the register. That is NOT the way things are done in Spain. Here, there are two types of stores: fabric (tejidos) and notions (mercerías). (By the way, if you don’t know what sewing notions are, those things are the non-fabric part of garments, including buttons, zippers, thread, hooks, and straps, as well as sewing supplies like pins, needles, and tapes.) So one morning when I was feeling particularly brave, I went into a fabric store and chose a fabric for my first project, a simple tote bag.

Here’s what I missed: I must be assisted. Here in Spain, sewing culture was a kind of protected space for women that was focused on learning new skills, collaborating on projects, and social interaction. So when I, completely unaware of this culture, showed up and took the bolt of fabric to the register to be cut, I broke the rules. I was supposed to take a number and wait for the attendant, who would consult with me about what I needed. Their role is to help me select the fabric, cut the fabric, and help me finalize my purchase.

Next, I went to a nearby mercería to buy thread and some other supplies for my project. Again, I broke the rules. I picked up a pack of pins and some thread and went to the register. I made the same mistake. I was supposed to tell the attendant what I wanted and they would advise me on what they had to suit my needs. For both of these businesses, waiting my turn was important, and no rush was expected of the attendants, who are often already helping other customers.

Lesson learned, Spain. I have since applied my understanding to subsequent visits to fabric and notions stores, and have had better results. I have made one more step toward these types of cultural interactions. It’s a process that I can appreciate. I’m trying to fit in here, and understanding the rules means I must be prepared to change my expectations to fit Spanish expectations, not the other way around. Nobody likes that foreigner who demands that things be done their way.

Looking forward

So, Gentle Reader, I’m glad to share this with you. In the future, I’m hoping to share photos of some of my creations. I just bought some new fabrics (and followed the rules!) and I’m excited to transform them into creative projects, all while learning a language, making friends, and practicing new skills.

One last note (and thank you for reading this far!): If you know someone who wants to move abroad and doesn’t know where to start, has lost motivation, or needs help with the process, please refer them to my other website, www.CleverExpat.com. I coach people on their expat journey and and teach classes with a colleague who lives in France. I would appreciate the referral!