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What my Spanish teacher thinks about Americans

My Spanish teachers Alma and Aracely are bubbly, energetic, intelligent, and have been friends and coworkers for nearly a decade. Each day I have four hours and private lessons with Alma in the mornings and two hours of private lessons with Aracely in the afternoons. While the days can be long and grueling, their lighthearted nature and positivity help me push through on days when my brain can’t seem to function right.

Because my lessons are just me and teachers, we converse in Spanish the entire time. Of course, sometimes they explain new vocabulary or grammatical rules, but most often we are putting language into practice through conversations and discussions on a wide range of topics. Through these conversations I have come to learn more about my teachers as well as share aspects of my life with them. Through this process I have also come to understand their perceptions and stereotypes about Americans.

While my Spanish teachers have met a lot of Americans throughout the years who have come to take lessons at Maximo Nivel, those Americans all have the same thing in common: money to travel to Guatemala. In most conversations that we have about Guatemala and/or the U.S. it is clear that my teachers think that Americans are wealthier, more educated, and more individualistic than Guatemalans. While this stereotype certainly fits many Americans, particularly those who study at Maximo, as stereotypes always do, it fails to tell the full story. I also see why my teachers hold these beliefs and agree with some of their assertions. There are significant discrepancies in education, wealth, religion, culture, corruption, and economy between Guatemala and the U.S. however looking at the two in such black-and-white terms as one being “better” than the other (which is often the sense I receive from my teachers though it has never been explicitly said) misses the mark.

A auto stereotype I hold about Americans that has often been reaffirmed when I meet other Americans traveling abroad and/or connect with non-Americans is how ignorant we can be. A large part of this ignorance is influenced by the global reach and attention the U.S. draws that many other countries lack making them less represented in global/national media, news, and education. My experience in the Masters of Global Affairs program in which over 50% of students are international students, has revealed to me how much global awareness I lack and has pushed me to engage more intentionally as a global citizen. The SLA grant and my month in Guatemala has been a great way to practice being a global citizen and I am so grateful for the opportunity to increase my awareness of Guatemala through living with a host family, learning from local teachers, reading Guatemalan texts, visiting historical Mayan landmarks, trying local foods, and more.

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Post #5: Analyzing Cultural Dimensions

The dimensions of Hodstede’s 6 dimension model for national culture that I think differ the most between Costa Rica and the United States are the “Individualism-Collectivism”, “Achievement-Nurturance” (aka masculinity-femininity), and “Short & Long Term Time Orientation” dimensions. 

One of the first incidents—or more accurately, collection of incidents—that keyed me in to the difference in time orientation between Costa Rican culture and the US’s when I was introducing myself to others and engaging in small talk with strangers, they rarely ever asked me about what I was studying in University and even less what my future plans were or what I wanted to do with my degree. This was a bit of a shock to me, as in the US I found almost everyone asks each other about their jobs, career, and studies, especially since I’m currently a college student and thus it is a huge part of my life. However, even among other college students my age in Costa Rica the topic of what we were studying, our academic interests, and our career plans was rarely something the Ticos in the conversation brought up. This general lack of discussion about career in Costa Rica made me realize that Americans, in general, hold career and success as an important aspect of one’s identity. In contrast, when Ticos wanted to get to know me they asked more about where I was from and things that Americans may consider more “surface level”—where I had visited in Costa Rica, what I was doing there, what I liked about the country—that upon reflection were simply more pertaining to my interests and what I was doing in the present moment, or in the recent past. As such, I feel that overall Costa Ricans tend to have a more short-term time orientation that focuses on the past and present moments. This understanding helped me to adapt better to small talk conversations in the country, but also to really reflect on how I view myself and what I center my identity around. 

In a similar vein, I also found that, in general, Costa Ricans tended to learn more towards the “nurturing” side on the achievement-nurturing scale than the very strong “achievement” orientation of US culture. For example, in my internship there have been very few hard deadlines, specifically outlined tasks, and small assignments; the general expectation is more one of exploration of topics and being an assistant to other students as opposed to focusing on me achieving specific goals or producing a certain amount of work. Likewise, in my Spanish class my assignments tended to be more exploratory—I could pick what I wrote about or how I structured my work—as opposed to detailed instructions I needed to follow. While this lack of structure and organized productivity left me feeling a bit lost, disoriented, and disorganized, I feel it was also a good exercise for me to have to not only be a little bit more self driven, but to also recognize and appreciate the value in slowing down and placing less emphasis on constant and high quantities of productivity. I feel I had a better work-life balance during my time in Costa Rica; while this could be attributed to the fact that I had less coursework on my plate, I also believe it was due to the more laid-back attitude of my workplaces and a wider cultural tendency to focus on relationships, academic exploration, and collective collaboration as opposed to high levels of productivity at the expense of free time and humanistic priorities. 

Lastly, the collectivistic mindset of Ticos felt like the starkest difference between my host and home cultures. Overall, I’ve found that the structure of everyday life here in Costa Rica is more family-oriented than it is in the US—most families eat dinner together every night, young adults tend to live with their families through college and into their 20s while working in the workforce, I join my host family (and my friend’s host family) for meals with their extended relatives multiple times per week, many people get married and start families at younger ages than couples in the US, and it seems that most people tend to live very close to the areas where they grew up and where the rest of their family lives. This is a significant contrast to my life in the US, where I live at least 20 minutes from my aunts and uncles (while most live in other states or in another country), people stop living with their parents at 18 to go to school, living with parents during college or after is generally felt to be something somewhat strange and odd, most of my meals at home are prepared or bought and then everyone eats in their own time, and friend and family gatherings are usually planned on a monthly, not weekly, basis. At first the Tico tendency to always be around and with others in family life was a bit overwhelming, as I was not used to always being around people at home (except for when I live in my dorm at school). However, I’ve come to really appreciate the family-oriented nature of life here in Costa Rica; I’m a very social person at heart, and find myself generally more happy and with a higher level of mental clarity and motivation when I am around people and more active in my social networks. Being close to my host families’ family all of the time, going on excursions with other Costa Rican university students, and always having someone around to talk or sit with is, I believe, made possible and easier here in Costa Rica because more importance is placed on collective living and keeping familial relationships closer (both literally and figuratively). There are benefits and drawbacks to both more collective and more individualistic lifestyles, but after spending time in Costa Rica—which, I think in comparison with other cultures, could be said to be fairly moderate with a slight lean towards collectivism—I’ve realized just how intense individualism is in the American lifestyle. Although it may be more difficult for me to live this sort of collective lifestyle in the US because (a) family and friends tend to live geographically further away and (b) such collectivism isn’t built into the fabric of everyday American life, I hope to try to orient my life more towards community and the collective because I have found it results in a happier, more joyful, and overall more enjoyable quality of life for me. 

Although the Hofstede model of cultural dimension is not perfect, it has been interesting to reflect on my experience in Costa Rica through its framework and I think is helpful in orienting cultures relative to each other, if such a thing can be quantified. 

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Aprendiendo sobre estereotipos 

Surprisingly, the biggest stereotype I’ve encountered about Americans is that we all love fast food and generally have bad dietary habits and health issues. The eating habits of Americans has been a conversation topic multiple times during dinner with my host mom as well as in class. I can understand this view given that there seem to be very few fast food places in Salamanca, and the ones that are here are American. I would agree that generally, Americans do eat more fast food than the rest of the world. However, this does not automatically mean we are all unhealthy or have overall unhealthy diets. 

At the house I am staying at dinners are usually “international” plates. The international take on American food is limited to hamburgers and hot dogs. While it’s true Americans do eat hamburgers and hot dogs, I just wish these dishes didn’t have to be the defining hallmarks of American cuisine, which in reality consists of food from many different cultures and places. Growing up I ate my fair share of cereal, mac and cheese, and yes, hamburgers and hot dogs, but I also remember my family enjoying food like longaniza, pancit, lumpia, chicken adobo, and siapao just as much if not more than “typical American food.” While within my house there was a clear influence from the Filipino side of my family, living in Texas you’re also bound to get exposure to food that has been influenced by Mexico and Latin America. 

While I am quick to point out stereotypes about American food, I also have to acknowledge that I had my own assumptions about Spanish food. I honestly thought it would be very similar to the Mexican and Latin American food I had tried in the past. Imagine my surprise when I heard we would be eating a tortilla for dinner and a plate that, to me, was more so reminiscent of a potato omelet was brought out  (I’ll post a picture of a tortilla española below). Least to say, I haven’t found the food in Spain very similar to Mexican and Latin American food at all. This incorrect assumption probably came from the information I had about the colonial and language connection between Spain and Latin America. 

Stay tuned for more posts! A video about some sites in Salamanca, el convento de las dueñas y el convento de San Esteban is soon to come:) 

Right to left: Tortilla española, typical breakfast, churros con chocolate, and tapas. Me encanta comida:)

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The Final Day, Antiquities to Modernities (And a Shukran)

This Thursday was my last day at the Academy, and I took my final exam and said my goodbyes. After that, I had all of Friday and then traveled Saturday at 4:00 AM, so basically Friday was my last day. And to be honest, it was one of the best days here. I think to do it justice I will have to detail it all through means of a schedule.

First stop of the day: The Ful cart.

Ful is a hearty fava bean dish that is a common breakfast in Egypt, and to begin the day, I went with my uncle and cousin, and we walked to a cart close to my apartment and ate breakfast there. People normally eat ful alongside good hear pita bread and sometimes eggs, with onions as well. A really quintessential start to my last day in Cairo.

Second Stop: The New Capital. Al3assima Alidarraya is the new capital of Cairo. Currently it is just a couple years old, and the president, President ElSisi has begun moving all of the governmental buildings there, and the plan seems to be that people will begin to live there in the next two years. Now, it is pretty empty, but you can see how quickly the capital is building and it is really an incredible experience to witness history in the making.

 In the new capital, we visited the new Orthodox Church Cathedral, which is the largest church in the Middle East. What was incredible about this visit in particular was that the Cathedral is still not completely finished, they are still painting all of the icons inside it. So, there is sill tons of scaffolding up, and my family and I were the only people in the church. We were ableto meet and talk with the artist as ell, which was an incredible experience. Also, in the new capital, I saw the new Iconic Tower, which is the tallest building in the continent of Africa, and next to it we drove through the banking and governmental districts. The city is so modern and cutting-edge that it almost has a dystopian feel to it. Below are some pictures showing it, with the first one being the entry gates into the city.

Third Stop: Old Cairo (Masr al Adeema)

To end the day, I visited Old Cairo, also known as Islamic Cairo, which is characterized by some of the most historic parts of the city. It is a heavily religious district, home to many ancient mosques and churches alike, and I was able to visit both. First, we visited an old monastery that we prayed in together. Then, we took this little open air taxi called a “Tok-Tok” to another church, the Church of Mari Gergis, St. George. There I saw St. George’s quarters and even his cell where he was tortured. Finally, we took the Tok-Tok again to a mosque, and my little cousin and I went in to have a look. This was the first time in my life to visit a mosque, as I am not muslim, and it was a very interesting experience.

Overall, I feel like this is the best way to finish my time in Egypt. Within the same day I was able to marvel at both the new age Cairo with all of its development and advancements, and then I was able to appreciate the beautiful Old Cairo with all of its chronicled and rich history. Egypt is truly a gem of the world, characterized by both modernity and antiquity, and I have been able to experience this first-hand this summer. My time in Egypt has really been a life-changing experience, one where I was able to contextualize much of my youth, and even much of who I am as a person. These two months stimulated growth not only in my language, but also in many virtues and other facets of my life, particularly bonds with my family that could never have strengthened like this otherwise. This day showed me a reflection of my life, I should be proud of my heritage, and also excited for all of the incredible possibilities that my future holds, just like how Cairo seems to be growing as well.

Sign-off and Shukran (Thank You)

I want to thank many people for this incredible summer. Firstly, the CSLC and the SLA grant. Everyone in the CSLC has been of tremendous help during this journey, particularly in getting Cairo as my location. I am the only ND student here in Cairo, and am the first student since 2011 to be in Egypt. I worked hard to get this location approved by the University, and I am proud that I kept pushing, and I want to thank everyone at the CSLC for their constant support, particularly Dr. Blad-Miller and Ms. Mary Davis. Secondly, I want to thank the Arabic department and my professors, for they fostered in me the flame of learning this beautiful language, and encouraged my pursuit of summer study through recommendations and such. Thank you Professor Bualuan and Professor Bronson for everything. I am extremely proud to represent both Notre Dame and the Arabic department in Egypt for the first time in 12 years, truly an honor whose worth I realize fully now. And finally, and most importantly, thank you to my family in the States, and particularly my family in Egypt. To my grandma, Teta Hoda thank you. Also to my cousins Youssef and Nada, My aunts Mona and Lola, and uncles Amir and Raja, thank you all for making this the best summer of my life and reminding me what a strong net and loving family God blessed me with. I love you all more than you will ever know and more than you can imagine. I will see you all very soon, mark my words.

There is a saying in Arabic that translates to, “He who drinks from the Nile must return to it.” I have drunk from the Nile, and I have a feeling that Egypt and Cairo lies in my future, and I pray that I return soon.