Anyone who has known me for at least a week should at this point have realized that I am... a little.... obsessed with the television show, BONES. As I watched an episode entitled "The Girl in the Mask," I began to contemplate what views Spanish society has of our culture. At the center of this episode was a comparison of American and Japanese culture. While watching this, I began to realize how little I know of modern Spanish culture. When I go to Spain, I don't want to insult someone because my behavior is not acceptable in their culture. In America, there are often controversies over culture. For example, derogatory terms are used against many races and religions. Differences in clothing, among other forms of appearance often spark fights. I believe the only way I am going to survive in any culture, whether it be a faction of American society or that of another country, I must study their different habits and unique forms of communication. This past year, I have had the luck of learning some customary differences between Spain and the US through my Spanish class. I was also informed at my orientation that one of the classses in which I will be participating in Spain is focused upon customs. One useful piece of information I picked up from this orientation was this: In America, if we are asked whether we would prefer to have one dish over another, if we have no opinion we might simply reply with "I don't care." In Spain, saying "I don't care" is "No me importa." However, such a response as this is taken offensively. In Spanish culture this translates to mean that one does not care for their cooking at all, not that either dish is ok.
I found this website very interesting, in that it explained some of the most prominent differences between the US and Spain from a first hand point of view: http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/information/spanish_cultural_commentary/
Over the next month I plan on completing further research on the subject of cultural differences and when I return will doubtless have many experiences to share.
33 days!
That was a really interesting website. When I went to Germany last summer, we were told similar differences between the two cultures. Thankfully, I did not commit any faux paux, that I know about. There will be awkward moments, but you will survive. Good Luck in Spain!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am truly excited for this trip, my dad is making the final payment today. I'm expecting to say something in Spanish that comes out in an extremely odd way, but I do hope I don't insult anyone. Now all I need to do is study some more and practice as much as humanly possible.
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