Aussies are stunned by how Europeans cut their pizza

Forget double parking on roundabouts and blowing smoke in your face on cafe terraces, this is Europe's true crime against humanity.

A warning has been sounded for any Aussie thinking of visiting Europe - and Spain in particular.

That's right: if you're thinking of visiting the land of ciggie-huffing and oily-almond eating, there's one habit that will send you into a coma.

Spain is great. But it has its quirks

That habit? Cutting pizza with scissors. This crime against nature was put on blast recently by an Aussie who is living in Spain in a video entitled, "Unveiling the dark secret of Spanish culture."

@coreyyy.exe

do I conform to their ways..? #spain #españa

♬ Creepy and simple horror background music(1070744) - howlingindicator

In the clip, posted to TikTok, where it has racked up 371 thousand views, he shows a pizza being dismembered by a pair of scissors, asking his followers "do I conform to their ways?"

While he received plenty of support in the comments from outraged Aussies and Americans (see: "I've lived in Spain for 15 years and I'm still not ok with this"), some Europeans came to Spain's defence. 

An Aussie called Corey says cutting pizza with scissors is the "dark secret most people don't know about Spanish culture." Picture via TikTok

"I didn't understand American's reactions to this until I saw someone using a pizza roller for a tortilla de patata," one wrote. 

"Listen, its practical, it works, it’s Italian approved. This is more of a REST OF THE WORLD issue," said another.

Others pointed out that if you want to eat your pizza in Europe like a true local, this is what you need to do. Just remember to have a pair of "kitchen scissors" as the Euros do, as opposed to "general purpose scissors" which you occasionally use for food (which would be truly gross).

As someone who has spent a couple of years in Spain myself, this got me thinking about a few more of the things that blew my mind in Spain. Have at them below.

1. Holidays

In Granada, you can go to the beach and the snow, in the same day.

While many Australians are obsessed with going overseas (despite us having a huge variety of types of holidays at home), I found people in Spain are a lot happier to holiday domestically. This is helped by Spain having great hiking, beaches, history, culture, sporting events, nightlife and snow.

2. How hard it is to find work

Finding casual work is really hard.

It's a pretty safe bet that as a backpacker coming to Australia, you'll be able to pick up work washing dishes or pulling pints. However, in Spain, unemployment is much higher so most travellers will struggle to pick up work.

3. Driving 'rehabilitation' courses

Fancy being taught how to drive by someone who thinks the system is silly? You're in the right place.

In Spain, you can get demerit points back on your driver's license if you sit through a two day remedial course. However, as football journalist Sid Lowe brilliantly put it in a Rincon Cultural episode of The Spanish Football Podcast, sometimes they are an absolute joke.

Of the experience, Sid said: "You turn up and you feel like a convict, everyone [is] asking everyone else, 'what did you do?'... As the day goes on you discover some people... really have done some quite bad things." 

"It reminded me of when you go to a parents meeting at a school, but rather than it being the teachers telling the parents what's going on, basically it becomes an opportunity for all the parents to complain and to sort of shout and debate and everyone is having their own conversations and the teacher is standing at the front, largely being ignored, until the point where the teacher starts joining in (saying), 'Oh that's right you shouldn't get points for that and 'that's terrible.'"

4. Fashion

In Spain, wearing slippers outside of the house is a no, no.

In Australia, wearing Ralph Lauren means there's a good change you're a menace to society. In Spain it means you're posh. 

5. Getting service at a restaurant

Clicking your fingers might be a bit much as a tourist, but putting your hand in the air is perfectly acceptable.

In Spain it's not completely uncommon to yell "niño!", while waving your hand in the air to get the waitstaff's attention. In Australia this would get you a death stare. Likewise when ordering food there's no mucking around with "could I please have?" - instead it's "ponme" (literally "put me" but it translates to "I'll have") and this is not seen as rude at all, it's just standard. If you want to come across as polite upon arrival in a bar, but have been waiting a while to get served, just raise your arm and use this magic word phrase: "Cuando puedas" ("when you can").

6. Share plates 

In Spain, especially when you go out into the countryside for a big family meal, it's common to have big plates in the middle of everything from chickpeas to soup, that everyone picks at, double dipping time and time again with a fork or spoon.

7. Double parking 

Hazard lights on; it's time for churros

Whether it's on a roundabout to pick up churros from a street vendor or next to the tobacconist to grab a newspaper, Spain's love for throwing the hazard lights on is truly amazing. 

Originally published as Aussies are stunned by how Europeans cut their pizza