Hello,

I will leave for Spain in a week. Any additional safety precaution for a solo chinese traveller in Spain. I think it's impossible for me to fake myself as a local!

Thanks.

It is impossible...just plan ahead with lots of common sense. Your situation is improved if your command of Spanish is admirable, "chinese-looking or not". You should find helpful people in normal, everyday situations, but be prepared for possible "profiling" at places like the airport, etc. Roll with it, and remember, although Spain has changed into a more diverse society in the last dozen years, the positions of power are still held, for the most part, by "Spaniards" (hoping you understand my point).

Enjoy your trip...and I'm sure you'll gain all sorts of insights for those in a similar situation in the future!

It is possible since we have a considerable Chinese comunity here. You will have to adapt to their way of dressing (not very elegant I must say) and leave in your hotel the big camaras and the maps. But yes if you dress like them you could pass as a local Chinese.

Andrés

Thanks. So I guess I wouldn't fake as a local chinese sucessfully.

And just curious can europeans and americans distinguish chinese, korean, japanese......

funny, i have been reading this message board the last two days and was planning to put up a message wondering if i (as a korean) would have any problems in spain. apparently phy has beaten me to the punch. I will be going to madrid for the first time at the end of september and plan to be there for a month to two months. I don't know the language well so i will be taking courses at don quijote. what should i expect from the locals. I did make friends from madrid a year ago but they were visiting the US.

I did a search under ethnic safety as this subject came up before reference both black and asian - the attached link will lead you to a number of threads - some more relevant than others - but many worth reading as far as general safety precautions are concerned. Hopefully, you will also be able to locate the specific thread I mentioned (I couldn't spot it quickly).

http://www.madridman.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi

Hi, I am currently in Spain. I will be here for 9 months(univ of sevilla). I came from madrid a few days ago. I would say that there are quite a few asians in madrid.I would caution you to be prepared for the staring that you might encounter. Madrid is a pretty progressive city and I found it easier to meet spaniards there. I am currently in the south of spain where there is some animosity towards black either because of the immigration or the the fact that some people have not gotten past the invasion of the moors.I am staying in a middle to upper middle class area with a senora. I have found that the stares come mostly from older people who sometimes look me up and down like I am nothing. The younger generation will be more interested in you. It is possible that you might not encounter anything at all. What is most important is that you appreciate the place. This past week has been a lot of fun we went from madrid to toledo, cordoba and now I am spending the rest of my time in sevilla. Good Luck!

MATADOR,

Moors were white northafricans, not blacks. Do you know how Zinedine Zidane look like?. The moors that came to Spain looked like him.

http://www.altosport.com/z/zinedine-zidane/pictures-2.html

http://www.altosport.com/cgi-bin/preview.pl?/z/zinedine-zidane/s-000133-im-001689.jpg,0,0,0

Phy, unfortunately, 99.9% of Spaniards won't distinguish between Chinese, Japanese and Korean people. We're still quite ignorant about asian cultures.

You'll be fine in Spain if you follow your common sense . You'll be here as a tourist and most asian tourist in Spain are japanese (an easy target for pickpocketers as they're consider ingenuous and with a high income).

Regarding blacks and moors, yes, ERT, you're right: moors that invaded Spain were as white as Zidane.
That would be another topic but I find the term "African-american" perfectly PC but highly inaccurate, refering to black people, as north africans (tunisian, algerians,...) are white. So if Zidane's family had inmigrated to America instead of France, would he also had been an African-American?

I hate to burst your bubble, but even though the moors were predominantly arab a large number were also black.Thi is from a reliable source who taught history formore that twenty years. My dad. I am in sevilla and I would say that many of the girls here have arabic features. I can say this after having been around many arab friends.