Not long before I was due to fly out to Spain to begin an
internship at an English language newspaper based on the Costa del Sol, a
terrifying thought suddenly struck me; how on earth do you dress professionally
in a hot climate? I took myself post-haste to the ‘office’ section of Primark
in the hope of creating a respectable ensemble or two that would not leave me
dripping with sweat. This was unnecessary for two reasons: Firstly, I seemed to
have forgotten that Spain is in fact part of the developed world and was likely
to have discovered air conditioning, and secondly, this was the first of many
times that my British take on professional etiquette would be entirely out of
sync with that of our fiesta-going Mediterranean amigos...
