Why Travel to Spain?

Uhm, why NOT travel to Spain!?

These aren't need-to-knows, but they are nice-to-knows.

Strictly Business

These are some common courtesy things you should know when and if you ever travel to Spain for business, or even for pleasure.

1. Always greet people (familiar or not) in public. For exmaple when entering a store or restaurant, greet someone by saying:

"Buenos dias" = "Good morning"
"Buenos tardes" = "Good afternoon"

And when leaving always say "goodbye," which is "Adios."

2. The comfort distance in Spain is much closer than that of America. Don't feel awkward if someone is in your personal bubble. Understand that that is typical for people in Spain.

3. Hand gestures while talking is a part of their language. Don't feel offended!

4. It is not uncommon for men to give lengthy stares at women, blonde foreigners especially. Whistling is now considered rude in Spain.

5. It is considered rude to not finish all of your food at a restaurant.

6. For business, meetings and conversation are good over coffee or a meal.

7. Gifts are appropriate after a successful business transaction has been completed. If you receive a gift, open it immediately in front of the person.

8. For Spaniards, if you're late, you're on time. They run up to a half hour behind schedule.

9. Dress to impress!

10. Business cards should be two-sided. One side printed in English, the other in Spanish. Hand your card to a Spaniard Spanish-side up.

Do NOT do the "A-Okay" sign.

If you tell someone how great their 'servicios' were.. prepare to be laughed at.

Just don't do.

Information Link:
http://www.todaytranslations.com/doing-business-in/spain

Religion in Spain

I already talked about the churches and the Catholic religion a little bit in my previous post, but I wanted to research on the other religions a little more and elaborate.

I came across a student exchange website where they map out pretty much anything a student will need to know when traveling abroad. In this case, they're covering religion. Most of the following information will be coming from there. Here is the direct link:
http://www.spainexchange.com/travel_spain/section-7.htm


They acknowledge that the primary religion is Roman Catholicism, nearly 97% according to the site. Interestingly, the reason the percentage is so overwhelmingly large is because in the 1400s, the king and queen demanded that everyone be Roman Catholic, and if you weren't you had one of two options: a) switch your religion and become a practicing Roman Catholic or b) you would be killed or exiled from Spain. Nowadays, other religions are permitted to practice freely, which brings me to my next point.

Nearly 300,00 muslims live and practice their religion in Spain. These group of Muslims were known as the Moors who came over from North Africa very early on and ruled Spain for years.  Spain is also approximately made up of 12,000 practicing Jews.

In reading this, I also discovered more about Catholicism in Spain. Apparently, there are several cities (Santiago de Compostela** and Romeria del Rocio) which I am assuming are considered holy, because people used to migrate to them every year. The journey is an extremely religious one, in which they acknowledge the saints they believe by wearing seashells and other things, based on the story of how the saints came about. It doesn't say if this is still tradition or not, but I had no idea Christian/Catholics did that at all, so I found that rather fascinating.


While in Spain, and noted in many sources online, when you enter any churches, cathedrals, or sanctuaries, it is required that you are to dress nicely. Even if you are just a tourist, if you are not wearing acceptable clothing you will not be admitted. In an article by justlanded.com (From a book called Living and Working in Spain), they note this.

One of the big religious holidays that I was actually lucky enough to experience first-hand in Spain is Easter. Easter is one of the largest public celebrations in Spain. I was overwhelmed with the turnout and attention that everyone gave to the parades, and how participative everyone was. During 'Holy Week,' all of the cities take part in several celebrations, often daily. They include anything from parading through the street to theatrical reenactments. Holy Week consists of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Lent, and Ash Wednesday. Lent is a period of fasting and sacrifice for 40 days. It is practiced by the Catholics and is a very usual tradition in Spain.

Here's a short YouTube video that gives you an idea of what the Easter celebrations may look like in Spain:

Also, below are two photos I took during the Easter procession while I was in Spain:

Christmas is another large ordeal for the Spaniards. I've found that Spain is historically extremely religious. Catholicism is rooted deep within their culture. During the few days surrounding Christmas, families eat plenty of meals together. Whychristmas.com described several traditions that the Spanish take part in for Christmas time and also New Year's. The following are the few I chose to be the most popular and most similar to what we celebrate in America.

1. Christmas Eve service is followed by parading through the street with torches and people playing instruments and singing Christmas songs.
2. Seafood is one of the most popular dishes for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
3. December 28th is similar to America's April Fool's Day. This is to reflect on the history of King Herod ordering many babies to be killed, in an attempt to kill Baby Jesus. They call this day in Spain "Dia de los santos inocentes."
4. The New Year is brought in with eating 12 grapes, one for each strike of the clock at midnight. They believe that with each grape you eat, it will bring you luck for each month in the coming new year.


Justlanded.com link:
http://www.justlanded.com/english/Spain/Articles/Culture/Religion-in-Spain

Whychristmas.com link:
http://whychristmas.com/cultures/spain.shtml

Spain in Photos

While I was in Spain, these are some of the pictures I took. I think that these really capture their culture and history. When I was there, I completely fell in the love with everything about Spain.. the culture, the language, the people, the cities! I hope to go back, heck, maybe even take my photography business over there!

Above is a picture of the classic Spanish architecture. I was not only a Spanish student during this trip, but an architecture student as well. I love the little details, and they were all over every single building there! It's so different from central Columbus, obviously.. I think I enjoyed the fact that almost everything was 3 stories or higher. It made me feel like I was in a big city, and the colors and stones and details just pulled it all together. The architecture was like nothing I've ever seen.

This is a typical scene on something called "La Rambla" in central Barcelona. La Rambla is essentially over a mile-long flea market, more or less. You will find anything from artists, to pet stores, to local gardeners, to even these pure entertainers! It was so fun to walk down the street and shop and see all of the different things people had to offer.

This photo was taken in Segovia, which is one of the oldest and most preserved cities in Spain. It is so rich in history and culture. This is the Roman Aqueduct that stretches across the city, and is made entirely of these stones---no glue, no cement, no paste, no pillars, JUST the rocks. The purpose of this was to bring water from the outskirts into the city. The picture doesn't do this piece of architecture justice, and the fact that it is still standing and probably fully operational is what amazed me.

I learned very quickly that Spain is predominantly Christian/Catholic. Everywhere we went, you could walk to a church in any direction. We toured a lot, and after about the tenth one I was still amazed. The churches there are designed so beautifully. The interior architecture, the religious detail, and the size more than anything amazed me. Below is a picture of a church that was built into the side of a mountain. The cross on top of the mountain for the church could be seen through the winding valley probably 20 miles before we even got close, if that gives you any idea as to how big the church was once you got inside. One word: AMAZING.

This is a picture of the average landscaping outside of the palaces in Spain. This is now a tourist attraction, but this just blew my mind. And it wasn't just this tourist attraction, it was like this for every place we went!

This is one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken. A couple walking hand-in-hand on a cold, cloudy day through Barcelona. If this doesn't capture what the relationships are like there, then I have no idea what could. I mentioned earlier that not all families are very affectionate, but I learned the the older generations seem so happy together, and unlike America, Spain has a slightly lower rate of divorce. According to cdc.gov, America is around 50% (6.8 per one thousand marriages, and 3.4 per one thousand for divorces) for divorces, whereas Spain is only 3.14 per one thousand according to typicallyspanish.com. I was unable to find the marriage rate in Spain.

America's stats came from this website:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm

Spain's stats came from this website:

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_10616.shtml

Social Customs!

Some of this blog is researched, however the cultural aspects are also partially based off of my own personal experience. I spent almost two weeks in Spain five years ago, and I also hosted an exchange student for a month two summers ago. With that kind of exposure to the culture and the country itself, I picked up on differences very quickly, and it was an experience I could never forget.

One of the first things I learned is that families in Spain are the differences in the family life. Here in America, it’s not uncommon for families to kiss each other before leaving, or saying ‘I love you’ on a regular basis. Families often sit down for dinner and spend time together. In Spain, that is not necessarily the case. Families aren’t nearly as verbally or physically affectionate as Americans. They are not rude to each other or friendly, by any means. It’s just a different type of relationship.

There’s also fine lines between relationships when it comes to greeting. For new acquaintances, you should greet them with a ‘Hello, how are you?’ This is often accompanied by a kiss on the cheek if you are greeting a lady. For men, they will firmly shake hands. For familiar friends or family, men will embrace each other in a hug, whereas women will kiss cheeks. (Hampshire, 2010).

Among searching the websites, there was only one gesture that seemed to be inherently rude in Spain. That was to motion someone to come to you with the index finger. It is seen as rude and offensive and should be avoided so that you are sure not to offend. (Haynes, 2004).

Most websites explain that tipping in Spain is not a custom like it is here in the United States. In fact, Spaniards take advantage of our feeling of obligation to tip and put signs up by jars in bars asking for tips (Corrigan). Ironically enough, it is only in English for the foreigners to read. Despite the fact that some Americans are aware of this, they still don’t hesitate to leave a tip, and it’s not rude to not leave one, if you so choose.

When my exchange student came over for the summer, I learned even more about the difference in customs. She commented on the closeness of my family, as I discussed earlier. She also talked about how neighborhoods in Spain do not really exist. Most everything is high rises or apartment buildings, more or less. She thought it was very cool that we all had our own yards, and my family had a car for everyone that drove. In Spain, she told me, rarely do families have more than one car. It is common for one parent to drive to work, or for them to carpool, but the teenagers and young adults rarely drive anywhere. The cities are so busy, somewhat similar to New York City, that the metro system has been put in place and is conveniently available to them. One more thing she found extremely different was the fact that our restaurants offered to let us take our leftovers home. She was amazed, and despite her being intrigued by this, she refused to take home her food. I could tell that it made her uncomfortable, and that is just another thing that boils down to values and customs by culture. The more I talk to people in Spain, or visit it or research it, I find the differences more widespread across the board. I am absolutely fascinated with the differences, and amazed that a culture can be SO different. I’ve learned to be much more open-minded to other cultures and I’ve learned to appreciate my own and the privileges I have here in America.

Bibliography:

Hampshire, D. (2010). Living and working in spain, eighth edition, a survival handbook. (8 ed.). Retrieved from http://www.justlanded.com/english/Spain/Articles/Culture/Social-customs-in-Spain

Haynes, J. (2004). Communicating With Gestures. EverythingESL.net. Web. 2011. http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/body_language.php

Corrigan, D. Tipping in Spain -- Should you tip in Spain? About.com. Web. 2011. http://gospain.about.com/od/spanishlife/qt/tippinginspain.htm