Spanish tourists rage as they realise Australia doesn’t have black out curtains

An international campaign is mounting on TikTok, with growing calls for Australia to fix a shameful inadequacy in its culture..

Forget Universal Basic Healthcare: Australia needs universal adoption of blackout blinds.

 

One Aussie expat recently made this case quite spectacularly on social media, sparking an international TikTok enquiry into whether Aussies are alright.

After becoming accustomed to Spain's blackout "persiana" blinds, he says he can't believe he ever lived without them.

In Spain, black out "persiana" blinds are practically standard issue on every house. Picture: James Booth

Now back in Australia, he has gone on a hilarious rant explaining why Australia is living in the not dark enough ages when it comes to curtains. 

And many Spaniards in Australia agree. 

"I need universal unilateral adoption of persianas worldwide," he said.

"Don’t know what you got till you don’t": A young Aussie with experience living overseas says Australia should adopt "persiana" curtains en masse. Pictures via TikTok (@coreyyy.exe)

"So I got back from Spain recently and you know what I miss most?"

He explains it wasn't the food or the beer. It was the curtains. A special kind found in most Spanish houses called "persianas."

This style of curtain is also common in Portugal, Greece, Italy and France. 

Australia is being slammed by European tourists - especially Spaniards - for being not up to scratch in one key area...

"It's this type of blackout blinds that are on like 90 per cent of residential buildings and they make it night until you don't want it to be night anymore. You get to decide."

@coreyyy.exe

how tf did i live without them before #españa #spain

♬ original sound - corey

He said it's particularly cruel given how early our sunrises are in Australia. 

"Sunrise here is at 4:40am. Brother I don't go to bed at 8:30pm. And most people I know don't either. So why are we just letting light pour into our eyeballs every morning and just end up getting messed up sleep?"

See also: No.1 rule for avoiding embarrassment on Spanish beaches

"Give me the reins to my own circadian rhythm. Let's be real, the Spanish are the real biohackers here."

He makes a good point. I experienced this myself when I lived in Spain. Having enjoyed the bliss of full on blackness, I think persianas should be standard issue worldwide. 

See also: 26 things Spain does better than the rest of the world

It clearly resonated with other expats, too, with many Spaniards and Aussies jumping into the comments section to show their support for the growing #persianasparaaustralia movement.

Australians are missing out on a basic human right that Europeans take for granted: the ability to sleep in... Picture: English Stack Exchange

"Persianas are my roman empire. I've lived abroad and I couldn't stop thinking about them," one expat wrote. 

"I've lived around the world and it's the one thing I missed the most after my mum," another added. "Those who don't get it haven't experienced having our persianas."

See also: I'm an Australian who's lived in Spain for 3 years, and these are 12 mistakes I often see tourists make when they visit

"My dad (American) still talks about them," another claimed. "He misses them every time he visits and has to go back home."

In other comments, Spaniards Down Under said it's the thing that irritates them most in Australia. While some Aussies hit back in defence of our flimsy curtains (saying things like: "It’s all great [having persianas] until you wake up not knowing if it’s day or night") the general consensus was that this really is something we should adopt. 

See also: Little known 'serviette rule' every tourist breaks in Spain

While you could understand a slip up like this somewhere like England, in a country as sunny as Australia it's baffling we don't jump on the persiana bandwagon.

Wake up people. Or rather: don't. 

Originally published as Spanish tourists rage as they realise Australia doesn’t have black out curtains