Differences in Etiquette

I have to say that I find it amusing when I travel to other places and am sometimes offended by their manners (or lack thereof) or mannerisms. It's a very dominating (almost imperialistic, eek!) mentality to have, but I almost feel when the locals don't act or do things the way that I am accustomed to back in the U.S., then they are the rude ones. Nevertheless, once I jump off my high horse, I remember that this is their turf, and no matter how irked I may get, I suppose (in a begrudging sort of way) that I have to accept things as they are. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do (or push them out of the way as they do back in the states O:)).

I am totally not condoning violence in any way, but adjusting to a new way of life can take some time. Nevertheless, there are times when I enjoy taking part in the Spanish lifestyle. For instance, back in the U.S., neighbors (unless you knew them) rarely said hello to one another. Even if the person has known me since I was a child, 9 times out of 10 a 'hello' would be left unsaid. In Spain, people seem to be a lot more friendly in this aspect. I hear 'hola' all of the time and it seems to make plain sense to be cordial to people that you live within close proximity to (but there are those few exceptions o.O). Young and old, they never fail to throw the greeting my way. Once, as I was entering the elevator, and the door was closing, a woman quickly opened it up in order to say it to me. Could've been a case of mistaken identity, but it still felt nice. 

Nonetheless, nothing lasts forever, and in other instances, such as eating in some restaurants, the service is not really what you’d expect. Now, I’m not trying to sound like some snooty snob, because that’s not me at all, but dining out can be an experience. The waiters often take their time when coming to your table and I am not used to the waiter not coming to the table mid-meal to ask “is everything okay with your food?” It probably has something to with the fact that they don’t get tipped (no rule of mine) and therefore aren’t relying on your money in order to pay next month’s rent…but a little smiling wouldn’t kill ya (uh oh, back on the high horse again lol). Just because I think it’s right doesn’t necessarily mean it’s so. It just means that it’s different from what I am accustomed to.

Another apparent difference is the level of PDA displayed! Couple after couple professing their love for one another, sometimes stopping in your path in order to steal a kiss. While my mush-meter can almost reach its limit sometimes, I also find it refreshing to see people actually “into” one another. You can even find loads of old men and women still holding hands (with the other hand tightly gripped on their walking canes) strolling down the block and hopefully still feeling young at heart. They can at least attest that love is a real thing ::sigh:: (haha, okay, mush-meter is about to break, let’s stop here).


Anyhow, I am sure there are loads more differences, but I’m not here to complain, I’m merely here to share a perspective. I just have to remember to be open-minded and respectful and who knows…maybe when I return back to the states I’ll think their ways are backwards ;)