Last night I went out to eat with my intercambio Carlota and 3 of her best girl friends. We went to a nice little restaurant called pan de azucar (sugar bread), and little by little i started noticing the great cultural differences. (well, all at once, but now they don't seem as strange to me.)
1-- their style and clothing, whew, no comparison. They're always dressed nicely and their European style is distinct from that of America (ejemplo example: H&M versus Abercrombie and Fitch/American Eagle)
2-- their eating style, what's normal for them: tapas, appetizers, no one orders a full meal to themselves. They all order good small dishes to share, and the food is accompanied by great conversations.
3-- No one appears to be on diets. The skinniest girls are drinking real coke and fanta (pop), not diet sodas. However, their portions are much smaller, and Spaniards seem to eat good food, but not too much of it. (My hermanas sisters here in my house will usually have french fries for dinner or fried cheese sticks, but they eat small portions of bad food, which is why they're skinny).
I didn't even realize it was quarter to midnight by the time we left (we sat down to eat around 10). This is also something that would never happen in America, much less during the week when people have work and school the next day. Americans are much more focused on speed and efficiency, and I've come to notice that we don't fully engage ourselves in social situations such as dinner, and tend to keep work and business on our minds.
I don't want to judge and compare the two cultures, but am observing everything in a neutral manner, trying to learn the different mindsets responsible for the contrast in lifestyles common to the US and Spain
The difference in cultures and importance of time, efficiency, and family life is a part of a project I'm working on in my business spanish class, which has helped me to better understand the differences. I find the history of the Spanish and North American concepts of time are based in the type of development of each country.
In the US, our culture and work ethic have strong roots in the industrial revolution, and therefore place a strong emphasis on time, efficiency, and advancements in technology (time is money, the early bird catches the worm, time lost is never regained, a stitch in time saves nine). In North American business culture, it is important to stick to schedules, have a specific time for work and time for fun, as well as stress punctuality to demonstrate responsibility and efficiency. The American time is focused on the present and towards the future, as they usually believe that with time and hard work, they can control the successes of life. This attitude also is demonstrated by the importance we place in statistics and technology, and our faith in them. We believe that one can achieve all their future goals if they dedicate time, energy, and the resources y research, etc.
Históricamente Historically, en many parts of the Spanish world, the people have only recently adopted attitudes and concepts similar to los estadounidenses (those of the USA), which neither says they are better or worse, just different. With respect to time, traditionally Los Hispanos haven't placed much importance on punctuality, towards the future, or strict schedules. Hispanic countries were traditionally societies principally agriculturales in which the slow rhythms and planting cycles and the harvest have dictated the profitability and life styles. The agricultural workers worked days from sunset to sunrise, and what they did not accomplish during that time they simply left for the following day. They did not obsess so much with time or following the clock, which is common of industrial societies. Consequently, today there are still remains of this mindset and way of perceiving life and responsabilities. Also, the Catholic Church has had a great influence on the traditional life in Hispanoamérica, and has communicated the strong message of fatalism and resignación, with a saying of <<it will be if god wants it to be>>, a phrase which also reflects that being human also has its limits.
((sorry if some of this was in spanglish-- i was directly translating it from my business spanish textbook, but I found this very true and interesting and wanted to share it with you all))
Anywho, just got back from classes for the day a little while ago, had a great conversation with my madre here about life in Spain, culture, food, etc.
and now time to eat some lunch before studying with my friends in a bit.
besos!!
That makes a lot of sense... I kind of wish I was over there!
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