There are not a lot of Black individuals who live here, by Hamida Hassan

I’ve been in Spain for the last two months and so far I love it. The people are friendly and
welcoming. I’ve traveled to Madrid, Cadiz and Granada outside of Seville and the architect in
these cities are incredibly beautiful. I can not get over how detailed they are. The kids at my
internship are fascinated by me. When it comes to group conversations at my internship, each
group literally fights over me which I completely love and adore. But something strange that I
notice in Spain is that there are not a lot of Black individuals who live here. Most of the Black
here like myself are either tourists or students from the United States. Yes there are a few
darker Spaniards but if you take them to the United States they would be considered as a light
skin vs dark skin. I sometimes get referred to as “Moreno” meaning brown in Spanish. In many
Spanish stores there are many advertisements and posters of Black people used. This is weird
because as I mentioned there are not a lot of them. But also in the U.S black people are the
minorities there but they are not in the advertisement in the stores as much as White People.
Which makes sense because there are more White people in the U.S than Black people. But
this is not the case in Spain. It’s completely the opposite I’ve been to Zara, Lefties, Humana and
a few more that are all stores that I wouldn't find in the United States. It makes me happy to see
something different in Spain but it is strange.

Outspoken Spaniards by Amaka Imoh

While walking around Spain, I’ve come to notice that their way of interacting with their phones is much different than in the United States. No, I don’t mean they use their phones more or less so than Americans: I have noticed that Spaniards tend to be more vocal on their phones. Spaniards talk on the phone more than Americans. Additionally, they use voice notes and voice messages much more.

I started observing this on the metro. In America, most people will just have headphones on and sit quietly until their respective stops. The only people that really talk are friends that are riding together, and those conversations are usually light and softly spoken amongst the group for fear of being a nuisance to other passengers. However, during my first few weeks in Spain, I noticed how common it was for Spaniards to openly have phone conversations. I’ve seen them talk on the phone and send a series of voice messages to one another, and it never seems to bother the other passengers. Everyone mostly ignores it. Spaniards talk on the phone all the time: while walking, while riding the metro, and I’ve even seen someone have a conversation while in the middle of a workout at the gym!

I’ve also noticed that Spaniards text less often when they walk when compared to Americans. Voice messages are the more common mode of communication while walking. Instead of looking down at their phones and text while walking, I’ve seen many Spaniards simply hold their phones to their mouths and speak their messages. Honestly, I feel like this system of communication is much more efficient, and much safer, since it leaves room to pay attention to where one is walking. Maybe it’s time for Americans to speak out more as well without the fear of public judgement.

How’s Spain?

That’s the question I’ve been asked the most in the last 2 months. Yes, been here for almost 2 months. To answer that question, please read...

I would say, so far so good. Love the sun, love the city and love Phoenix (haha, who knows will know). To start, I’m a unique case (maybe) among all of the exchange students here. Indeed, I’m “double” abroad... Therefore, I’m comparing three different cultures here. It’s really got the point where I’m confused what CULTURE I represent to be honest. Spain feels like home when I’m back using Celsius and Kilometer instead of Fahrenheit and Mile. Spain feels like home when grades turn into number instead of letter. Spain feels a little bit like home when I see a lot of people who aren’t students, daily (although Sevilla is nothing compare to Hanoi, Vietnam in term of population). However, like any other exchanges, culture shock kicked in when people having lunch at 2pm as known as 14h and dinner always after 8pm as known as 20h. And yeah, “viva la siesta” is a huge deal here when almost “tiendas” is closed between 14h and 16h.

Language, oh my..., I give myself a big credit of being able switching 3 languages daily. Although my Spanish isn’t good enough to understand everything my host mom say but come on guys, give me a break. I’m trying my best!! I believe I should have been more serious about Spanish to be honest. I also admit my Vietnamese is a little bit broken since the begin of living in Spain (according to my mom, she’s been complaining about my Vietnamese usage). I can tell because my writing skill when typing texts definitely has a little issue. Sorry mom... I’m not planning to crazily learn Spanish fluently but I will do my best to take advantage of this semester abroad in Spain in order to improve my Spanish. Anyway, English is still my main driver daily.

Lastly, I want to say thank you for reading this and hopefully at least this note answers partly of the main question. I’m doing great in Spain and I’m grateful for this opportunity which gives me chances to experiences a whole new culture in a whole new continent as a student. As usual, I have a quote to share: "Wherever you go, go with all your heart”. I really hope you can have a chance like me to travel the world and when you do, please be open to new thing and I promise you, IT IS GREAT!

Cultural Differences in Greetings: Spain and the United States, by Madeline Bird

The personal bubble of space that is designated to each person either shrinks or entirely disappears when you step foot on Spanish soil. The Spanish culture is saturated with physical contact and close quarters which is the complete opposite in the United States. The American greeting is a handshake- the handshake allows each individual to keep their distance while still being friendly and saying hello. The Spanish greeting is “dos besos”, which means two kisses. Dos besos brings the two people very close and allows each person to give an endearing kiss on either cheek. The two friends or newly introduced acquaintances are, by default, closer because of the lack of personal space in this greeting. The United States and Spain are overall very similar countries, however, the United States has an extremely individualistic society whereas Spain has more collectivist practices; we can see the contrast in the two societies reflected in their different types of greetings.

My Experience: I am American and am quite used to my personal space as well as the handshake as the common greeting. Often when I am introduced to new Spanish people, I reach out my hand to greet them and introduce myself and then remember- while they stare at my hand like I am very strange and I have a mini panic attack- that dos besos is the way to go! I am working on perfecting my execution of dos besos, as I have had a few very awkward encounters, including but not limited to, going to the wrong direction. Soon, I will be a master of two greetings as I am slowly being enculturated into the Spanish way of life.