Playing at night by Delphine Bolduc

When I came to Spain for the first time, it was in Madrid. I arrived there during the night so I went for a walk. What I saw while walking in that city at night shocked me. The Sun was already down for a long time and children of about five years old were still playing at the park. I could not understand how. In Quebec, the french province of Canada, young folks of that age go to bed early. When one is around that age, he usually goes to bed at seven pm or so, because if a kid stays up later, he is way too tired to go to school, learn well, and do his homework properly. So eleven! For me, it was something inacceptable. But then, I came back to Spain to study. And after having lived here a few months, I now completely understand. I understand that I was being ethnocentric. The rhythm of life here is really different than the rhythm of life in Quebec. Here, you can take your time. Napping is not seen as laziness. Young people here seem to have so much more energy than the kids in Quebec, even at eleven pm. I now feel that it is completely correct to go play at the park at that time of the day. If they have the energy to stay awake later, why would they restrain themselves?