How Others See Us

My blog assignment for this week entailed asking people in Seville what they thought of the United States and of Americans. During my weeks here, I've had small conversations whereby attitudes and perceptions about Americans slowly became more aware to me. I'd say my first experience of this in full, was when for another class I'm taking, I needed to ask a Spaniard, what they thought of Americans and what sort of stereotypes have they heard of relating to people from the U.S.

The person I seem to get the most answers from is my roommate Nicholas who is 18 years old and is originally from Ronda (A town about two hours away by car) and goes to the same university as I do, Pablo de Olavide. When I asked him to describe what he has heard about Americans, he told me that much of the comments about Americans revolves around their lifestyle. Some in Spain view Americans as overly capitalistic, superficial, and materialistic and always so focused on getting the better car or the bigger house. He stated however that he does totally buy into this view of Americans and simply values people based on how they act and not where they're from. For me, this view is what I needed to here because ultimately I'm just another student here in Spain and my being from the United States does not have to shape how others think of me.

(Though there was a funny incident when another student, Hugo, who lives in my residence, learnt that I was from the town of South Park, Pennsylvania, he laughed a bit and I did too because South Park is usually only associated with the animated comedy on Comedy Central called South Park. I was glad that at least one person in Spain can get a laugh out of my being from South Park!)  

Another source from which I've received intriguing insight into the cultural differences between people from the United States and people from Spain is from Elisa Guidera who is not only the resident director for the Seville office of Spanish Studies Abroad but also is the instructor for my course taught at the centre Spanish 343 Cultural Realities of Spain. Through this course, new insights into these cultural differences were better outlined. For example, in Spain it is not uncommon for young adults to remain at home with their parents or live close by, reflecting the importance of a close-knit family in Spanish culture, whereas in the United States, much emphasis and pressure is placed on young adults to move away from their parents and be independent. Tying this to my earlier interview, there is a perception that American society is individualistic, concerned only with their own success regardless of family connections but this overlooks both in Spain and in the United States, shifting family and social dynamics which in both countries are leading towards redefined social relationships into so-called "modern families". Overall, the perception of the United States is founded a belief that there a gross over-emphasis on economic advancement which can lead to an overlooking of other aspects of life including relationships but Spain too is entering a time where there is more of a forcing apart of usually tightly knit families in the wakes of economic concerns and a greater degree of liberalization in social policies which are redefining how people see themselves, and how they see and are seen by others