Living in Spain for almost 3 months now, I have learned a lot about Spanish culture, but I have also learned a lot about the culture in the United States. I have learned what other people think of America, what makes America unique, and cultural differences that other countries think are odd about America. Here are a few things that I have learned about the United States since living in Spain…
- Personal Space
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Americans really like their personal space. Coming to Europe, I never thought about this, or I guess that I assumed that it was normal for all around the world. We greet each other with handshakes and refer to our surroundings as our “personal bubble” and get uncomfortable when random people invade it. In Spain, it is very common to touch people, for example dos besos, and get really close when conversing with one another. Additionally, it is not uncommon for Spainards to bump into you or sit really close to you on the metro. This could be considered very rude in the United States. In the United States, when someone accidentally touches you, they often say “Sorry”, however here it is almost never acknowledged.
- Punctuality and Clear Directions
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Growing up in the United States, I never thought about American’s concept of time and directions. Going to university here, all of my professors mentioned on the first day how Americans differ from the Spaniards. For example, they think that it is strange that Americans show up to class 10-15 minutes before it starts. Additionally, they mention that they will provide clear instructions and limits for papers and projects in class because that is what Americans prefer. From their perspective, Americans are very punctual and like specific directions for doing things, such as number of pages for a paper or what aspects a class is going to be graded on, by percentages.
- No stress on learning languages
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Being in Spain, all of the young people speak English. They are required to take English all throughout their school years and are tested for college. In addition to taking English in school, students are required to take a third language, such as French or German. In America, it makes me quite sad that learning another language is not a priority, especially since we are a nation of immigrants that speak a multitude of languages. Although English is the global language for business, it would be beneficial to learn another language. Public high schools in New Jersey only require two years of a language. I feel bad when all of the students speak English really well and my Spanish is not up to par with their level of English.
- Bad Public Transportation
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Doing most of my traveling in Europe by train and bus, I have learned how reliable public transportation is here. On the flip side, I have learned how unreliable it is back in the United States. For example, I have never taken the bus from New York to Boston or vice versa, simply because I know, from word of mouth, that it almost always takes longer than 4 hours due to traffic on both ends of the route. Traveling by bus here in the Iberian Peninsula, we arrive exactly on time to our destination since the roads between cities are so clear of traffic.
- Individualistic Society
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Another aspect I learned about American culture is how individualistic our society actually is. In class, students are always trying to get the top grades because they are rewarded for it. Valedictorian, awards, scholarships, and college acceptances all play a part in this aspect of our culture. Here in Spain, the students do not care what grade they received relative to the rest of the class. Instead, they only care if they pass or not. In America, students care about the grade they get and always want it higher, even if they are already passing. This is due to the GPA system which exhibits how competition is promoted between students because this number is put on your college applications, transcripts, and resumes. The individualistic society puts peers against one another, instead of working with each other.