Culture Shock: Myth or Fact? by Marielee Colon

When we think about Europe we think about culture, history, weather, architecture, food, nightlife, and more. Do we think about nude beaches? Not usually. The 10th of September I went with We Love Spain on their Portugal beach trip to Carvoeiro. I knew what to expect. Nudity at beaches is common, its a part of their culture but to my surprise everyone was completely covered up. As the day went on the shade started to creep up on the area in which my friends and I were laying down. We wanted to tan so we decided to move. There was an open space big enough for all 5 of us so we moved there. As we’re putting our things down, I notice that the women in front of me is topless. I expected this so I shouldn’t have cared but it was weird. There are plenty of beaches that allow nudity in the US but I have never been to one. This was different.
She was in the company of two men and I was thrown off by the fact that the men she was with or anyone else for that matter wasn’t staring at her with googly eyes or making sexual comments. Which I knew wouldn’t happen because again it is a part of their culture but I still expected it. Well they sparked up a conversation the moment they heard us speak English. She began telling us that she’s from the UK and it was extremely awkward. Not because she’s from the UK but because I was laying on my stomach and had to look up at her as she spoke… she’s topless. I have never had a conversation with a topless women at a beach, well with a topless women in general but she was completely unbothered. She was in her element. She was free. She was confident. I loved it! If she doesn’t feel weird being topless than why should I feel weird for her? After a while I even forgot that she was topless. I adjusted quickly and it became natural to me even though its not very common in the states.

Encountering Gypsies in the form of musical groups By Natalie Garza

My second night in Sevilla I was able to start living the dream, drinking my first legal glass (pitcher) of sangria, and listening to a trio of singers out on a patio near the center of the city. I was enthralled with the "authentic" experience I was getting with this Spanish music to accent the beautiful cobble stone streets and old buildings around me. After enjoying a few songs and applauding the people kind enough to play for us, the trio came up to our group of clueless Americans and began forcefully asking for money. After saying no a few times, we gave in as we did listen to them and felt bad for not supporting a local artist. After the night ended I began thinking about this odd experience and realized that although I loved hearing the group play, I had not sat at the restaurant to listen to them, and in fact they placed themselves in front of us after we had sat down. This was not necessarily a desired outcome of sitting down for a glass of sangria, but instead, a decided outcome by the Gypsies.
Encountering Gypsies in the form of musical groups is now a frequented activity when in the street or more often sitting at a popular restaurant. This is something I have never experienced in the U.S. Aside from street performers I would say that it is almost unheard of for someone to place themselves in your view and decide that you owe them money afterwards.
Culturally I think there is a difference in personal space and bluntness between the United States and here in Spain, and this can be seen as an example through the Gypsies. In the U.S. I think it would come across as very rude to have someone intrude on a dinner, and it would anger restaurant owners to have someone begging for money in their establishment. The social expectations when having dinner or walking in the street seem to be more closed off in the U.S. and people prefer to be left alone, whereas here in Spain people may feel less violated if an interaction like that took place. This has been one of the more difficult lessons to learn here in Spain, because it feels very awkward and strange to say no to them, but one must realize that to a certain extent tourists are a target, and you cannot give money to everyone.

Please Stop Saying “Thank You” By Kenzie Mayer

When thinking of cultural differences and adjustments between the United States, and more specifically, my life growing up in the Bay Area in California, and Sevilla, Spain, I constantly notice a contrast between the use of “please,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome.” I consider myself to have good manners, but I would never call myself overly polite nor would I think that saying “thank you” would ever be frowned upon. My first couple weeks in Spain at my first homestay, I was a little confused with how the mother of my host family cooked, served the meal, did the dishes, etc. and the rest of the family helped minimally and, more noticeably, never expressed gratitude. Having their lunch plate placed in front of them, eating a delicious meal, and getting their food cleared away was all met by silence. I’d often express my gratitude after a meal and mumble “thank you” when it was first served. I did it because I was accustomed to it back at home, and it took a couple days for me to understand why I felt so strange every time I did: no one else said anything!

After moving homestays, my new family called me out the first night. My use of “please” and “thank you” had reached the quota very quickly, and my host dad told me “tonight, you’re fine, but tomorrow, no more ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous.’” Confused, I asked “why not?” Afterall, I was grateful for what they were doing, and my background had ingrained the importance of telling and showing people that you appreciate what they are doing for you. He said it was because we were family and it wasn’t necessary. I didn’t fully understand. I still said “please” and “thank you” to my family all the time back home. I had never thought of them as exhausted phrases.

Over the past month, I’ve realized the social roles, relationships, and manners that underlie the limited use of these “polite phrases” that are so much more common in the U.S. Gratitude does not need to be constantly vocalized, and I now know that I should limit saying “please” and “thank you” especially while out in public because it can come off as annoying. Calling Spaniards rude because of this difference would be a bit ignorant because I would be egocentrically using the U.S. as the base frame of comparison, but it is fair to say that I notice more casual, repeated manners in the U.S. than here.