Human Condition in Spain

September 8, 2010

I was sad to leave Spain, especially Barcelona.  It was so strange going on the ship the next day and waving away to this wonderful country, knowing that our first port was over with.  Being in Spain allowed me to meet a lot of great people, both locals and other Semester at Sea students.  My time in Spain provided me with the opportunity to see things differently and how a particular society with so many similarities to my own world in San Diego could also be so different.  Unlike many of the ports we will be visiting in the next few months, Spain was an easy transition for many of the students in Semester at Sea.  There was not much of a culture shock and some of us, including myself, did not have problems communicating with the locals.  I did not feel too much like a foreigner and could almost blend in if needed.  As sad as it is to admit, many people in the countries we will be visiting are not too fond of Americans.  In fact, some may even spit on Americans, but that will have to be addressed at a later port.  It becomes frustrating when locals ask where you are from and the last thing you want to say is the United States because you don’t want to automatically be judged.  In Spain it was more neutral and could have gone either way if you said you were from the US.  I didn’t stand out since “white people” are actually common in Europe; therefore they weren’t always quick to judge.  The way tourists, particularly US citizens, are perceived in the varying countries can possibly be better understood when analyzing the human condition in each country.  Each port of call varies on the scale of human rights from very free to no freedom at all.  Human rights is just one factor when analyzing the human condition of a country but it can also tell us a lot about the people and why they may act a certain way.  For this particular blog, I am going to examine the human condition in Spain and share with you what I found to be different and similar to life we are familiar with at home. 

Many of the local people I met in Spain were very similar to other Europeans I have met in the past, however, it did differ than the places I have been because of the Spanish flare.  After meeting some of the locals whether at restaurants, bars, or just walking around town, it seemed like many were middle class.  I did not run into many people that seemed to be completely wealthy but instead all had the c'est la vie sort of attitude and kept to themselves.  However, I did run into many people who I would assume were poor.  Both on the streets of Barcelona and Cadiz, I found people sleeping in parks (not casually but instead as if it were their home), begging on the street, and, as I mentioned in a previous blog, gypsies who had nothing acting mentally crazy while walking on the street.  When looking into a country’s Gini coefficient (measuring inequality with 0 being perfect equality and 1 being total inequality), Spain is the most equal out of all our ports of call with a coefficient of .32.  Compare that to the United States.  We in the US are third in inequality out of our ports of call with a Gini coefficient of .48.  This most definitely correlates with our rising gap between classes and difference between incomes of the top one percent of our nation compared to the rest of the country.  I mean the top one percent in our nation is making 28% more than the middle percent of the population.  Inequality is a huge issue in the US and I do notice it more back at home than during my time in Spain.  I think Spain’s Gini coefficient accurately reflects my observations on the economic human condition in the country. The majority of the people all seemed to be at an economic level where basic human needs plus a few luxuries were sustained. 

In addition to the economic condition of the Spaniards, I also observed the human interaction through my contact with the locals and how people were treated in general.  I found Spain to be a generally friendly place.  People greeted one another by exchanging kisses on both cheeks with neither age nor sex having an impact.  It was just normal.  Also, I felt very welcome during my time in Spain, however, I did feel more comfortable in Cadiz then I did in Barcelona.  Don’t get me wrong, I completely enjoyed Barcelona and I now consider it one of my favorite cities I have been to, but the way people interacted there was different than the way they do in Cadiz.  Because Cadiz is simply a port city, not many people go there to vacation.  Therefore, tourists aren’t as common, possibly making the locals a little friendlier especially when the tourist speaks Spanish.  I found that the locals actually enjoyed speaking to me in Spanish and would prefer if I spoke that instead of English.  Although my Spanish wasn’t perfect by any means, they respected the fact that I was trying and would communicate with us more when we spoke their native tongue.  I actually found myself being complimented at times on my horrible Spanish because I was making an effort.  Barcelona was a little different than Cadiz when it came to speaking Spanish and respecting tourists.  Maybe it is because Barcelona is swamped with tourists all throughout the year, but I did not feel as respected there as I did in Cadiz.  Locals again were nice but whenever they wanted they could pull the whole “I don’t understand your Spanish, I only speak Catalan” card.  After being pick pocketed at a club in Barcelona, my friend from Semester at Sea who is from Guatemala was trying to help me find my things.  We went up to security and tried to talk to them (Irene speaking the whole time since Spanish is her first language), yet they told us they didn’t understand and we would have to call back the next day.  Other times I found the locals to be extremely kind and speak the same Spanish we know.  It honestly depended on the individual and if they liked you or not.  Overall, I felt as if my experience with the locals was very positive and I enjoyed getting to know them.