Social life in Spain, by Ashley Carbonier

Social life in Spain From my experience here in Spain, I increasingly have noticed how different the social scene is and how Spaniards interact with others. I have made a lot of comparisons to the US and the cultural and social norms of where I live back at home, and it has been interesting to notice and analyze the differences between the different cultures. Here in Spain, people go out on weekdays and spend time with their friends drinking at tapas bars or restaurants, and it is seen as abnormal to go to another person’s house or apartment to hang out or spend the night. In the US, going out on weekdays really isn’t that common, except maybe if it's for a casual dinner, and socializing is spent a lot more in the home, where I invite my friends over a lot and we have sleepovers, make dinner, etc, and it typically is not accompanied by a drink, and typically occurs more on the weekends. I have also noticed that it is respectable to kiss people on the cheek two times when greeting someone, even strangers that they are meeting for the first time; if this was done in the US, people would be very caught off guard and it would be seen as something very strange. This topic of socializing relates to the topic we discussed in class about how we can define “normal” and what is considered to be normal and abnormal. It really all depends on the culture and environment you grew up in, because for Spaniards, these actions and social habits are seen as normal, and they would probably view our social habits in the US as abnormal, and vice versa for people in the United States. We have to recognize that our views and what we constitute as abnormal and normal comes from our own personal experience, and this doesn’t make social actions or practices universally right or wrong. Rather, we need to accept that what might be abnormal for some, may be normal for others, and this will allow us to become better global citizens and engage appropriately with others. 

Article link: 

https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/spanish-culture/spanish-culture-etiquette