Topic of the month (TOTM) - Cultural Stereotypes

Hello again everyone!

I have a lot of things to say this month, so what I am doing is splitting my blog post into several smaller entries. One will be for the Topic of the Month, where I answer the questions I was asked in class, and I will also use this post for answering questions from the comments on my previous post. The other will be more like a diary of what I have been doing in the last month.

I noticed on my previous post that I was getting a lot of people commenting several times. At first I thought this was a computer glitch, but then I saw that sometimes the comments were ever-so-slightly different. I think this might be people trying to comment and the comment not appearing straight away, so they rewrite and try to post it again. If this is the case, can I please ask that you do not do this!

The reason the post does not appear immediately is because I get sent a notification saying someone wants to post a comment. I get to read and approve this comment before it appears. So the comment will appear once I have had the chance to read it and make sure it is acceptable. This also means that I have to read every comment that appears on the blog, so I know I have read all of your questions, which will hopefully mean I answer them! If you have waited a couple of days and still cannot see your post, then it might be worth trying again, but otherwise, just give it a bit of time and check back later to see if it has appeared.

Spanish perceptions of the British and vice versa - Cultural Stereotypes

Do Spanish people wear a lot of red?

The answer to this question would be quite simple: no more than the British do.

However, I have extended the scope of this question somewhat to talk about something that I have noted since my arrival. The people who I see out on a daily basis do tend to dress really well. This is not something I had expected to notice, but in general, women and men walking around the city or on campus have a style which appeals to me.

The only trend I have seen that I do not like so much is a tendency for double denim, as the weather steadily gets colder. However, this is just a personal preference, and some people make it work well. It also means that the denim jacket that I bought before I arrived will now get a lot of use as I won't feel like I stand out when I wear it!

As a result of shops stocking clothes which I find attractive, (something that does not happen very often in England) as well as lower prices than at home, I have been shopping and bought quite a few items of clothing. Some were definitely needed, as I have been getting through all my short-sleeved tops very quickly, and other things were more of an impulse buy.

Now seems an appropriate time to write some Spanish which will have some very familiar words in it I hope! 

Desde mi llegada aquí, he comprado un bolso para llevar mis cuadernos a la universidad cada día; unas camisetas de varios colores, un par de zapatos apropiados para el laboratorio y unos calcetines tobilleros para estos zapatos; un cárdigan verde oscuro; tres faldas estampadas, una muy larga y una corta con un diseño geométrico y la otra de longitud media con rayas blancas y negras; unas polainas negras, y una chaqueta elegante de color gris.

What do Spanish people think of British people?

I think the most common thing I have heard since I started talking to people here is, "You speak Spanish very well!" This is not meant to be a boastful statment. In fact, it has quite the opposite effect on me, and makes me rather self-conscious. This is because they say this after I have only managed to utter about three words. It has been something which frustrates me because then I have to explain that I was privileged enough to start learning Spanish at the start of Year 5 and that I had the benefit of several brilliant native speakers as teachers. I can therefore only suppose that when they say I speak Spanish well or that my Spanish is good, what they really mean is, "Oh my goodness, you're English and you can say some words in another language without sounding ridiculously English!"

This has triggered a lot of discussions about the quality of the English teaching in Spain. It seems that the vast majority of students start learning English when they start school. They are taught by Spanish teachers, and appear to find our spelling very difficult. This leads to them finding pronounciation very difficult. A few times I have been listening to my friends speak English, and they are saying words that make no sense to me.

The first example was my supervisor in the lab, he was talking about the "pree-est" and I had no idea what he meant until he clarified: "cura", and I realised he was saying "priest".

Another friend at dinner was talking about "fru-idges", and it was not until I heard her say "fresa" that I realised she was saying "fruits" and not "fridges".

I explained that they should not worry so much about bad pronunciation as we do it in Britain too. I told them how when I was eleven, and I kept on reading the word "sub-tle" on food packaging without knowing what it meant. It was not until I was reading it out loud to my mother that she told me it is pronounced "suttle" that I made the connection between a word I had only ever heard spoken aloud and the unknown, printed word in front of me.

As well as thinking that generally we do not speak Spanish, it seems that the Spanish think that those of us who are Caucasian British are very pale, and turn very red when we come to Spain because of the sun, which never shines in Britain. Unfortunately I am unable to break this stereotype as I have inherited the chalky skin of my Cornish and Polish ancestors and thus am the palest in the department.

The final few stereotypes that the Spanish have about the British are to do with our personalities: they think we are very apologetic and very polite. I have to say it is something I have noticed since being here, that I say "lo siento" a lot, whereas the more common thing to say is "perdón", and nowhere near as frequently as I say sorry. I am resolving to try to say "perdón" instead, because I think it sounds odd to a Spanish ear when I say "I am sorry for it" all the time!

I also find myself saying "gracias" a lot more than my peers. This is definitely in part due to the fact that I have a lot to be thankful for, with people helping me out or doing me a favour or treating me. However, I think that Spanish is just a language where they do not use euphemism or delicate language very often, so sometimes if I translate directly in my head, things can sound very direct, and sometimes harsh.

A good example of this is when I said, "no quiero decir cosas equivocadas" and my supervisor told me that while what I had said was technically correct, it sounded weird. It was probably the equivalent of saying, "I don't want to say anything erroneous" in English, which while correct would sound odd in an everyday conversation. Instead, they use the word "mal". To say "you've done it wrongly", they would say "lo has hecho mal". To me, this sounds like a horrible thing to say, because I can't help but translate word for word and the result is "you have done it badly". There is a subtle (there that word is again!) difference between the two in English which does not exist in the same way in Spanish. A final example is using the work "querer". We might have been told by our parents when we were learning to speak (and some of us when we were older...) that "I want, doesn't get!" But it appears in Spanish, that is exactly what "quiero" gets, and in a shop, it is common to hear "quiero uno de..." instead of "I would like...please" or "please may I have...". This is another case of direct translation, and I will have to work to adjust this in my head. I think it will be easier as time goes by, and I am more used to being surrounded by the language.

Questions about the weather:

When I posted my last entry, I had many responses asking about the weather. This seems like another good time to write some Spanish.

Después de mi primera entrada al blog, hacía mucho más frío que la semana anterior. Varias veces hubo lluvias y tormentas con truenos y relámpagos. Ahora, mientras estoy escribiendo esto, está lloviendo, y pondré una foto de la vista desde mi laboratorio como prueba de que está lloviendo en España. Sin embargo, la mayor parte del tiempo, las temperaturas están alrededor de los 25-30 grados y sólo en los últimos días han empezado a bajar.

What looks like it might be a pool is usually dry, and if you look carefully, you can see someone with an umbrella by the hedge in the centre.

The British perception of the Spanish:

I think one of the most common stereotypes about Spanish people is that they are all about "fiesta and siesta". In my month here, I have to say that I have found this to be a rather unfair judgement of everyone. In my lab, the average working day is 09:00/09:30 - 18:30/19:00. On the timetable for classes, there is a definite chance of having a class that finishes at 20:00 and in the next month, I will start another course. This is an applied analysis course, and I will have to be in the lab from 08:30 till 12:30. I will speak more about an average working day in a later post, but I can tell you there is no siesta in the middle of the day for most students!

The second aspect is definitely true, however. The Spanish love to party, but they do it in a very different way from us, with a very different time-frame. For more information on this, see my other post.

The end of my first full month

It has been very busy since I last wrote, and a lot has happened in the interim, so I will try to give you a brief overview of an average weekday and then tell you about some of the fun things I have done.

An average day

I start my first lecture at the University at 09:30; Análisis Industrial y Medioambiental, and then I have a half hour break at 10:30 for "almuerzo". I do not usually bring anything to eat during this break, so I just go to the cafeteria with my friends, who might have a small sandwich or a snack which is a bit like a breadstick, but flatter and nicer, with sunflower seeds in the dough. At 11:00 we go to the second lecture which is Ciencias de las Materiales. I am very lucky because I am quite enjoying the courses themselves, and I will have to do an hour of each almost every day until Christmas. I am lucky that both of the lecturers speak relatively clearly, although one of them does talk really quietly so I have to focus very carefully on what he is saying. My friends are quick to make sure I have understood if something really important (like the exam) is mentioned!

After this I go to the lab with Paula, who is, luckily, in both of my classes and with the same research group for her final year project. In the lab I just get on with my work, until about 18:30, stopping for a lunch break from around 14:00 till 15:00.

With Paula

When I leave the lab I go back home to my flat where I cook dinner and chat with my housemates about our days and other topics like education and world problems. Having such a large diversity of nations represented with only five people in the house means there are often a lot of different points of view which makes most conversations more interesting. We do always speak Spanish to each other, unless there is a word we are really struggling to remember or describe, and then we look it up. I have a list on my phone of random vocabulary that I have picked up.

After dinner I might speak to my friends and family via Skype and by then it is quite late and I have to go to bed.

Weekend activities

In the first weekend Meike invited me to go on a walking tour of Valencia. This was free, but everyone gave tips at the end because it was so good! The old city is full of interesting history and the architecture is stunning.

This is a picture inside the Mercado Central, I was trying to show how big it is, but this is not even all of it. It extends really far to the right, with all the fresh fish in a wing at the side.

About as fresh as you can get - these are live eels for sale.

This is our tour guide showing us the roots that are key to a Valencian drink "Horchata", which is like almond or soy milk. It is made by soaking the chufa nuts and then blitzing them with more water, this mixture is strained and sweetened with sugar. It is traditionally served with fartons, which are a sort of long bread stick, a bit like a brioche.

The entrance to a house that was owned by a very wealthy family the two men either side of the door symbolise the two rivers around Valencia. The Virgin Mary above the door was revolutionary...literally. She spun around, so when the members of the family were in the house, she faced inwards to look over and protect them, and when they were out of the house, she faced the street, to ensure their safety whilst going about their business.

When an architect's team was digging to build foundations, they discovered the remains of the Roman city. Being a good and honest architect, he reported it, and now this shallow, glass-bottomed pool means anyone can look straight down onto history. It also reflects the modern buildings around it beautifully.

Plaza de la virgen - The main square where our tour started and finished. The Church behind the tree has a large Star of David over the entrance, because wealthy Jews helped fund the building of the church, and this was what they requested in exchange for the money.

The next Friday was a day off, and I was lucky enough to be invited to go on a trip to the mountains with some people in my lab group. After a two hour drive, we were in a small Spa town called Montanejos, and we went for a walk along the river. It was honestly breathtakingly beautiful and my photos don't do it justice. The river water was an amazing clear turquoise-green, and there were lots of people swimming. We turned up onto a mountainous track and walked until we couldn't go any further. One thing I noticed was how fresh and delicious it all smelled - there was rosemary growing all over the place. I wish I could have picked some like other hikers were doing, but it wasn't the easiest thing to transport, so unfortunately I didn't get any. We went and had lunch by the river before wandering around the town and going for a coffee. Then we got back in the car and had an hour-long drive to a small city called Onda.We went up to the castle, which had some really stunning views, and probably some fantastic history, but we didn't stop in the dingy museum for long.

The walk down to the river

The view across the river. This photo is not good enough to capture the beauty of the landscape.

Fish swimming in the clear river

The "dead end" where the path hit the river and we had to turn back.

The view of the castle from the road.

The view from the castle of the town below

After that weekend I had my first proper week, when I started lectures. On the Friday evening, my supervisor invited me to join him and some others from the lab. At about 22:30, everyone decided it was time to eat. So we went to a restaurant and ordered some tapas...

On the left is "sepia" - cuttlefish, which was delicious and delicate, on the right is "morro" - fried pig snout, it tasted fine, just like very fatty pork crackling, but still had some hairs in it, which put me off having more than one piece!

The next day I went to the Mercado Central on my own, because I love anything to do with good, fresh food. It was also a good opportunity to practise my Spanish with people who did not know that I am English, and I am pleased to say that, in general, it went well.

The view into the river bed garden which passes under the bridge leading into the old city.

After another full week of a normal university timetable, I was invited to a party on the Friday. The way the Spanish do parties is very different from the British. We met at a tram stop at 21:00, and went to buy some provisions for the party. At about 22:00, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. The price for three savoury dishes plus a small dessert of ice cream, and a coffee was 6€. I was astounded, but then again, I was also shocked that the sweet and sour sauce they placed on the table had a tiny fly in it...
We finished eating dinner at midnight, and then went to the house, where there was a group of people who were friends of the other housemates in the flat. I had a good time talking to people, although a lot of it was in English, because there were lots of Erasmus students from various countries who are not very proficient in Spanish. One girl from Germany said she thought she would be fine coming to Spain with a good level of English, and she was quite shocked at how few Spaniards speak a high level of English. This all goes to show how much English is taken for granted as a global language, but it just is not the case. It is a good demonstration of why we need to have more language classes in schools, and understand that the world is far more accessible when we speak to the natives in their own language!
I left the party at 03:00, and I went home to bed, because I was exhausted, but for others, it was just the beginning.

Extra

Last week I received an email asking if I would be interested in giving private English tutorials. To cut a long story short, I had an informal interview with the parents of 12 year old twins. The meeting went really well, so next Tuesday I am going to meet the twins and we will see how the session goes. The tutees have been told that I do not speak any Spanish, so I will have to pretend that I cannot understand them if they try to communicate with me in Spanish.


I am finishing my sixth week here in Spain and I think I am settling in quite well, considering how different everything is. The routine of my week is definitely helping in that respect. My next blog post will probably not be as long, because fewer things will be brand new, so it will probably just be all in one.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my first month in Spain. Here are some other photos:

This is the best ham in Spain, apparently. It comes from the village of my Spanish housemate, and I have to say, it is really delicious.

Paellera - We had a chemistry Erasmus student talk. Students who had gone away last year and returned gave presentations about their research projects, and we all had paella afterwards. The dish must have been at least a metre across.

Vicky, who does the same classes as me, made these "cake pops" they are simply Oreos, crushed and mixed with cream cheese until you have a kind of dough that you can roll into balls. They were so good!