Communication With Another Culture

Communicating With Another Culture

By: Ellen Kay

In my experience at my first home-stay, I had the opportunity to converse with the daughter Cora. We had many conversations so its hard to specifically talk about one encounter. Though I chose her for this topic because she and I are pretty close in age and I could get to know her lifestyle a little better and it was interesting to compare our young adult cultures. When I first met her, like many of the people in Spain, I was greeted with a kiss on both sides of the cheek. This was new to me because I'm really much more of a handshake person. She was very open with me in conversations right off the bat, we were able to discuss topics like american politics, boys, and racism with ease even though in America thats not necessarily something so easily talked about. 

In Spain, I have learned that it is common for them to be open on some topics we just don't openly express in America. One of the first conversations that I had with Cora was over dinner when she asked Sarah and I what time we go out at home and what time we come home. She was shocked when we said 9:30 pm and most bars close around 2-3 am. She said they normally don't come home from being out until around 8 am and never leave to go out before 11 pm. She also spoke of the racism she experienced growing up, that kind of helped me to realize that it's not just America with these issues, its the whole world. This was so interesting to me because I was able to then recognize that there was so much to still learn about this culture. 

I didn't only get the chance to have conversations with Cora but also got to talk with her friend and boyfriend as well. They were very friendly people who asked a lot of questions to keep Sarah and I talking the entire time. This seemed a little bit different to me than the United States because most people don't openly ask questions about the personal life of a stranger. I'm not sure if thats just my high school shyness coming back but the many of conversations that we did have felt more like conversations with a good friend. Cora and her friend discussed the dialect of people from south Spain. They said that their accents have changed the language a lot and they have a lot of their own terminology. This was funny to me because of the difference in dialect in American regions and how when I even came to Purdue from Pennsylvania I was a little bit thrown off. I got to learn quite a bit from Cora and a lot about our age group which I am very thankful for.

I have a good amount of advice for anyone conversing with someone from Spain and it goes as follows. Don't fight the space bubble, the people here have no problem showing affection and get much closer to you, you'll probably make them feel awkward if you back away. Be open and honest, if they are asking you questions you wouldn't typically be asked thats probably because those subjects aren't so controversial here and they are genuinely looking for an answer not a motive. Finally, if you are conversing with them in English (like I was) speak slow and try your best to use descriptive words, not everything translates so easily and its important to have patience and you'll both get more out of the conversation.

America in Barcelona

America In Barcelona:

My time in Barcelona has given me the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and many from different European countries. More importantly, I have been able to recognize the way that all travelers in foreign countries somewhat portray their own culture as well. For myself, I have always been taught to grow up as a proud American. In every history class I have ever taken, I was taught that we are such a wonderful country because it is all the cultures represented in one nation. I still consider myself German and Polish all the while knowing almost nothing about those cultures. Though, I love America I don't necessarily think we hold onto specific heritage or cultural representations of where we came from. Being in Spain, I have experienced many more authentic different representations of cultures, which feels a lot more like how the melting pot should feel right before melting. 

I don't believe that here in Barcelona they believe the "America The Great" or "Melting Pot" opinion we have of ourselves. For example, a few of my classmates and I went out for a wine tasting fest where we go tent to tent getting a new glass of wine. A very animated (slightly drunk) woman from Barcelona came up to us and was very friendly, she talked about how great Barcelona is and obviously we agreed. She then said she doesn't like to speak english (only when drinking) and more or less said she hates America. She wasn't being rude and I can't say I wouldn't agree with her. European culture is so much different Americans must seem needy and pushy (ex. "Can I have the wifi", "No hablo espanol", and my favorite "Really no air-conditioning?") 

To be entirely honest, I don't know if Americans have a positive or negative influence on Barcelona. If I had to assume I would say it is positive (even though they all are just as confused as we are about our presidential candidates).  A lot of our fashion and Hollywood trends come here and are well liked. Even my host family's daughter watches Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Orange is the New Black. However, negative connotations are recognizable as well. For instance, while shopping in Girona,  (soon after the Orlando attack) the cashier asked us where we were from. When we said America, he responded with "Oh you guys have problems with guns." I don't necessarily agree or disagree with him but he may just say that because of how much our media hypes up gun control when this stuff happens. In Spain, I have noticed police walking around with machine guns and don't know if I should assume that is because of  their gun violence or for preventions of it here. This makes it hard to tell if its an opinion in comparison to Spain or misinterpretation depicted by our media.

 I think that the opinions that the people here have about Americans might rely more on personal experience and involvement rather than the way their country views us as a whole. I have had mostly positive interactions with locals but I am doing my best to be mindful of their culture and respectful towards the differences. So to all Americans reading this, don't ignorantly attempt to represent your culture and remind yourself to be respectful to the cultures surrounding you because they are what we really came from.