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Blog Numero Uno

The cultural incident that I experienced in Siena happened when I went to the local gym to try and get a membership. I challenged myself to speak Italian as much as I could before I got to the gym just to ensure that I was in the right mindset before entering. I have found this technique useful as it helps me have a sort of template before entering a foreign situation like a language interaction. When I entered, everything was going fine until I incorrectly conjugated a verb when discussing the membership. It was like a switch had flipped in the mind of the man I was talking to about the membership. He began speaking slower with me and then eventually switched to english. 

This was a difficult moment for me because it showed that no matter how much I may know the language, there would always be a cultural barrier between me and the native italians. It was as if he was seeing me through another lens after that moment. I will continue to learn about the culture, especially the Sienese culture, in order to be able  to understand these types of interactions more fully in the future.

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Blog Post #4: Feeling sombre talking to un hombre

For me the most difficult part of speaking Spanish has always been obtaining the courage to actually communicate with native speakers, a fear born of insecurity that I have been fighting in Costa Rica. So you could imagine my frustration when I try to communicate with someone and they switch to English. This past weekend, my cohort and I visited a beach on the Caribbean coast, a roughly four-hour drive from San José. We checked into our hotel, and our director told the concierge that we all speak Spanish. After we all went to our rooms, I returned to the front desk to buy a water bottle. Although I asked in Spanish, he responded in English for the rest of the conversation—I guess I sounded unsure or I messed up the question. At that moment, I just felt embarrassed. My initial evaluation was: he thinks I don’t speak Spanish. I’m here to practice my Spanish communication and I can’t even ask for a stupid water bottle? 

Of course, upon reflection, I know I am complicit in creating my feelings of frustration. I could have asked him to continue in Spanish or simply kept speaking the language instead of switching to English when he did. I’m not ashamed of my Spanish abilities; rather, I’m ashamed that I didn’t persevere through the situation and chose the easy route instead. I know there was no malintent: as a hotel concierge in a tourist location, he is likely used to speaking English and thought it would be helpful rather than upsetting for me. 

Although this incident seems to be more of a clash of expectations rather than cultural beliefs, I still found it useful to reflect in this manner, to think through my emotions once I no longer felt suffocated by my irritation and embarrassment. 

In Costa Rica, I am learning more than just Spanish: I am learning to give myself permission to make errors and, when I do, to forgive myself. While I have made so much progress in speaking Spanish with strangers (un saludo to my Uber drivers)(Spanish conversations sooooo good I have a 5.00 star passenger rating), sometimes moments like these feel like a regression. I know I don’t need to speak like a native (and frankly, I don’t have the ability)—I just need to speak. And really, that’s enough.

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Post 4 – Reflecting on Cultural Differences

One day a few weeks ago, I was riding an elevator with my friend after getting lunch. It was just the two of us and one other couple – a man and woman who were holding hands, standing very close, and eventually kissing (rather intensely) right in front of us. As the only other people in a relatively small, confined space, my friend and I were kind of uncomfortable and tried to look away politely. 

It took me a while to tune into this (this particular incident was in my third week of classes), but public displays of affection are much more common in Spain than in the U.S. In fact, in this same day, my friend and I had at least two more interactions in which a couple was making out in front of us, seemingly unbothered by our presence (or anyone else’s). My initial reactions were usually of discomfort or even a bit of distaste, waiting for someone to tell the couple to “get a room” as they would in the U.S. 

However, I think this particular example simply reflects a larger trend toward openness in Spanish culture, with less of a division between public and private. In fact, a couple weeks later, I went to the beach with friends and was surprised to see so many women completely topless on a pretty crowded beach. Reflecting on the moment in the elevator, I can see how it does encapsulate this broader aspect of culture. Having been raised in the U.S., I’m accustomed to a slightly more private culture, where certain things (like physical romantic affection) are generally accepted to be inappropriate in public. If anything, it’s usually only teenagers who engage in PDA, whereas here, I’ve witnessed couples of all ages. Having thought about it more, I realize that my expectations were just misaligned for what seems to be a more relaxed, open society. 

While I haven’t yet verified my interpretations of public affection specifically, I have heard the same reaction from other Americans in Spain, and it’s consistent with my earlier experience (one that was confirmed by my teacher) where I learned that people here are also much more comfortable with staring. While I might not mind a few more boundaries between what you do in your own home and what you do in public, I think it’s beneficial to recognize and accept this openness in Spanish culture (in all of its manifestations), as it greatly influences many aspects of life.

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Reconciling New Perspectives

As soon as I open my mouth here, people immediately know I am not a local just because of my accent and the first question is always where are you from. I’m proud to say the USA, which certainly plays into one heterostereotype I’ve heard which is “Americans are overly patriotic.” But whenever I ask someone about their perception of America, the first thing out of their mouth is always, “Americans are fat and only eat fast food.” The thing is most of the people I’ve met have never even been to America, so this statement must solely be based on tv shows, movies, and media.

While there certainly are Americans who fulfill this stereotype, I would argue that most countries have overweight people. But perhaps it is the fact that our big fast-food chains have gone global, like McDonalds, that other cultures are under the perception it is all Americans eat. I really haven’t enjoyed reflecting on this heterostereotype because as an athlete I highly value living a healthy lifestyle and truly believe that there are many Americans who are health-conscious. I think with any stereotype it exists for a reason and if you go looking for it in a culture you will certainly find it, but that doesn’t mean it holds true for everyone.