Culture Clashes

I just want to take a minute and comment on some of the differences I have noted in Spanish culture versus American culture. Today in my Reading and Writing Comprehension class we talked about popular Spanish phrases. These were not the kind you would think of though, they were phrases dealing with race. For example, "Engañar como un chino" aka "To lie like a Chinese person." or..."Beber como un cosaco" aka "To drink like a Russian soldier." After the teacher had gone through all of the different phrases on the worksheet she passed out, someone asked her if these phrases were ever considered bad or offensive in Spain. She quickly answered no, they are never considered offensive, they are merely common phrases people use here.

To many people in our class, this was kind of shocking. It's a hard thing for me to wrap my head around that fact. Maybe it's just a part of our culture that we have to be "politicamente correcto" or maybe it's a different way of thinking. To me, if I were Chinese, I think I would be offended, but to our teacher, it just seemed like any other saying one might use. The fact that race was involved mattered little. It makes me wonder if our culture is overly sensitive or more culturally open and considerate.

It's little things like this that make me actually appreciate my own culture more. Something Spain is also dealing with right now is an influx of immigrants from Latin America. In many ways, there is a lot of prejudice and racism aimed at them. At a certain level, though, it is accepted. Although in the United States, there is a certain level of racism and prejudice, it seems like our culture is also more accustomed to immigrants, and more aware of the good things we can learn from other cultures. Especially the younger generations in the United States are more open and interested in learning about cultures outside of their own.

Here in Spain, that is something they are still learning to do in many ways. Sunday night I went with my roommates to the "Desfile de la Hispanidad." It was basically a parade where every Latin American group was represented. There were musical artists, dancers, musicians, etc etc. The people filled the streets and came together to celebrate their culture.

It was a really cool thing to see, but this is something relatively new to Madrid and Spain in general. One of my roommates made a comment about how cool it was to see how the people of Spain are growing because the only way to truly come to understand and accept a different culture is through education. Much of what we saw Sunday night was how Spain is growing and learning to understand the different cultures that have moved into this city. To me, it was something really cool to experience and witness. Although each country and culture was very distinct from the others, they came together and celebrated one another.

Being in another country has really helped me to see how the United States is unique and appreciate it more. Although there are things about our country and our culture that still frustrate me, it is refreshing to see the things that we do get right.