Anyone from Spain? (movies, living, rich)

[Leovigildo]

Skate

In Spain people are more reserved when facing strangers.
Americans are easygoing in comparison.
As to this woman behaviour with you, who knows?
Maybe she had a bad experience with some American, maybe she's insecure....
Maybe she's from a little town somewhere in Teruel, Spain and she prefers people with whom she can communicate as in her town...
We are not used to receive invitations from strange people and some people react with suspicion, were're not used to "community life" in the American sense of the word.
There's a great degree of mistrust in some areas, for example, small towns, big cities. Not fear, it's just that people want to avoid gossip, favours and intromissions in your privacy.

[Leovigildo]

Originally Posted by HighlandsGal

Well, I am not Spanish but I do have experience with the Spanish culture. We hosted an exchange student for a year (she was from Madrid) and then in college I studied abroad in Spain (in Malaga). From my experiences, Spanish people are a bit "strange" socially. For instance, our exchange student was wonderful and fit right in during her time here. However, once she moved back to Spain she rarely kept in contact. I visited her once two or three years after she lived in the U.S. and that is the last I have seen/spoken to her (this was over a decade ago now).

Likewise, the family I lived with in Malaga was wonderful. So helpful and nice, I really felt like part of the family at the time. Once I got home, I wanted to keep in touch via writing/email.........but it wasn't reciprocated and I often think of them and wonder how they are doing.

I wouldn't take it too personally.......I think it is at least partly a cultural thing. Like the other posters mentioned though, Spaniards are very different from Spanish-speaking people from Mexico, the Domincan, Puerto Rico, etc. The language is a lot different.

-------------

Highland

I have family and friends that studied their last HS year in the States living in a host family, and afterwards all of them received constant visits from their former hosts in their houses.

I'm talking about the entire family, room and board, and really, it's a pain after the first time...

So now I guess that many people cut relations, others don't.

[summersb]

From a perspective of a spaniard living in the US:

- In general, spaniards are very sociable. Just think about meals: we take several hours, talking, chatting. We never eat in our cars or drink coffee alone. Eating is a sacred time for socializing. However, it is a big country, and there can be exceptions.

- We spaniards tend to have a harder time than others when it comes to the english accent. This makes us embarrassed when talking in public (when I first got to the US all I could say was yes and no, now my friends think I am one of the most sociable people they know). This is why we find a huge relief when we can speak spanish with others. I'm sure you could relate if you move to a non-english speaking country.

I hope this helps. I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with race

[noela]

Spanish = Caucasian

[summersb]

Originally Posted by noela

Spanish = Caucasian

Yes, I was quite shocked (and upset) when americans (who are white) would make comments to me like "I don't have the dancing moves you do because I'm white". My answered was: "And what do you think I am? Do you consider italians or portuguese not white? Well, news for you, we share the same race".

Now, after 7 years, I just try to be tolerant... except for when some people start laughing when I tell them I am as white as they are. Then it is very tempting for me to ask them to google it... and stop their ignorance...

Anyway, people in america (and any other country) have to understand that spaniards, since we are children, we study the races in the world, and we are taught to be as white as our portuguese or italian neighbors. To be more precise, we are caucasian, so it can be really offensive for us when somebody classify us as something else (non-white, hispanic, etc) Unfortunately, it happens all the time...

[Nosferatu]

Summer

It's just ignorance. In fact, Spanish are white and "Anglos" are "iffys" if they can't prove direct lineage to the Old World.

For example, a lot of them have Indian or Black blood (35 and 40 percent respectively).

Spanish are classified as Hispanic, I guess it all comes from hatred of Catholics, hatred against the Spanish Empire or from those strange religions they have there.

Not only that, they classify Hispanics all inhabitants of Latin America, as if all the people living there were blacks, Indians and mestizos.

[noela]

Well, I for one refuse to be classified under the "hispanic" label. We're European, most of us are fully Caucasian (w/o Semitic roots -which are all over Europe-, for example). If a label intent on describing ethnic origin mixes native (South-)Americans, mestizos, blacks and white Europeans all together, it's ridiculously useless.

[Nosferatu]

Noela

It would be fair it the Census were to include AA and American Indians in their "Anglo" classification.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

It is not personal, I am sure. If I had to guess, I would say the Spanish woman is just not confident with her English. I think if you spoke to her in Spanish, she would react differently. People have a natural instinct to help, and if she heard you speaking Spanish, not perfect, she would try to help you, perhaps be a little more open.

A good way to befriend her would be to talk to her, make a deal... you teach me Spanish, I'll teach you English. Give that a try.

[noela]

that's not too helpful