Hi everyone,

I was just thinking about Spaniards impressions of Americans. No one even guessed that i was from the states and that was a plus. I never wore shorts and dressed nicely during my time in Madrid. i remember this one girl who said that she was tired of the American being the hero in the movies and the rest of the world being the bad guy. I guess i could kind of see that. Also, i remember a guy in the restaurant who i was speaking to in Spanish and he kept answering me in English. I have studied spanish for 10 years and i speak it well (at least i think so). Do you think that he thought my Spanish sucked or that he wanted to practice his English. I have to go with the latter. i would love to hear more about your experiences with the culture of Spain (I know that this is a broad topic)

Hola,

I have some comments on being an American in Madrid. I work in Advertising and I was transferred to Madrid for 2 years at the end of February. I do not speak Spanish (even though I grew up in Long Island NY and was living in Brooklyn before I came here) and have never spent any significant time abroad. After about 4 months, I can say these are my impressions:

What I like:
I love the weather. I lived in Cocoa Beach while going to Grad School and learned to hate Winter.
MOST of the people are great, My Land Lady does not speak any English and treats me like one of her own.
I love the atmosphere in Madrid (all the old buildings and streets and all the history).
Everything is SOOOO Cheap!
What I dislike:
The service is horrible almost wherever you go. I cannot tell you how many times I have walked out of restaurants or stores because no one wanted to help me.
Because I am not fluent in the 4 months that I have been here, I am considered and been called Lazy American many times.
Everyone raves about Spanish food, but I do not like it. I would give my right arm for fresh Pepperoni or Mozeralla or a huge Snapple Ice Tea.
I feel bad/bothered by the huge amount of Gypsies that are on the street begging.
Everyone assuming NYC and Brooklyn is the Crime/Homeless Capital of the world (seen more of it in Madrid).
No Dryers.

Taking into consideration above, overall, I like it here and will cherish the experience forever. The one thing I want to emphasize to everyone is that visiting is a whole world of difference than living in a place. I am learning that.

Best Regards and hope to see everyone at the Madrid Dinner Group on Saturday (I will be the one trying to order a Snapple with Dinner)

[ 06-28-2001: Message edited by: jmp110372 ]

Brien, i wouldn't take it personally that the man was speaking to you in English. He probably really wanted to practice.

That is my boyfriend's pet peeve though. He considers it really rude, and because of that (and knowing it really bothers some people) I am a lot more careful about that now. I used to be so excited to speak Spanish or French, it didn't occur to me that the other person might think I was implying their English sucked.

:p

Nicole- I usually let people know when their English sucks...right after they critique my Spanish.

Actually, I've never had more than encouragement from Spaniards, so I've never had to opine on a Spaniard's English. I also remember the greatest day of my Spanish-speaking life in 1989, when a Spaniard asked me what part of Cataluña I was from! There is an old actress from Cataluña with my same surname. This person assumed we were related, and that I must be Catalán...I was just flattered that my accent was so impercetible to this person!

I wish my company would transfer me to Madrid for two years...if you need a Snapple jmp- go to 7-Eleven on the way to the Palacio Real from Sol. They at least have Slurpees. :p

[ 06-27-2001: Message edited by: CaliBasco ]

Doesn't VIPS now have Snapple??? I thought so, but I may be wrong.

While I was an American in Madrid for the year I lived there and after, I blended in quite well and no one really made any big deal out of the fact that I was American...which pleased me mostly. Except during the summer when I'd go into the center of town on one of my "I feel like being a tourist and not a resident" days. Then, it was miserable. Every time I'd speak Spanish in one of the shops, no matter how well I thought I spoke it, I was answered in English and eyes rolled if I dare made any kind of grammatical mistake.

Could have been a bad summer though, for tourism.

At any rate, I think if you live there, and you are a DECENT human being...it doesn't really matter WHERE in the world you are from, as long as you are a kind soul while you are there.

This goes to jmp, I work in an Italian restaurante here in the States. I will bring over some Pepperonni/Mozz for you when I leave (Aug. 20th) LOL.

VIPS needs to just go away...

Hi!

I'm a spaniard that lives in Madrid.

What I think of americans? It is hard to generalize. I like some of your ways to be, but I dislike others (some americans think that what they will find in the rest of the world is just like the States for example).

I've been in the States (Washington DC) so I've met some americans ;-)

The spaniards have (I believe) a good idea on how americans are. You must consider that we have seen a lot of movies (which, in some ways, are a good picture of how you are).

It is funny, when I was there a man asked me if I were from Orlando, so I guess my english is not very bad.

I'm sure that if a spaniard answer you in english is because he wants to practice english, no doubt! A lot of people study english here, so it would be frequent to find someone who speaks it.

My first experience in Spain was HORRIBLE. I thought Spain would be neatly packed little cottage villages tucked away next to some bulls and sheep eating some green grass. Boy, did I experience culture shock. No one I came across spoke English or if they did they were to embarrased to try. I remember looking for a nice big Denny's breakfast my first day. "What," I thought,"All I get is little slice of potatoes stuffed in a luke warm scrambled egg." I also expected everyone to be wearing "spanish clothes." All I saw was a mix of Calvin Klein, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, Burberrys, and Green Coast. Some things though did seem just like America with parts of each city devoted to beggers,drug addicts, prostitutes, and poverty. Strangely enough, this helped me to understand and appreciate Spain. Like any first world country, they had first world problems. However, the problems were dispersed a little differently. Not better or worse just different. I then took my first sip of Spanish wine, calmed down, and began poco por poco enjoy the different unique flavor of this beautiful country. I have since married a BEAUTIFUL Spanish woman (how cliche), had a bonita bebe, and have gone on my second trip to Spain. This time, I knew a little more Spanish, ate more chorizo, jamon, morcilla, and drank a lot more Rioja. The second time I enjoyed it more (los suegros are great babysitters)I look forward to making my third trip maybe at Christmas time and hopefully celebrate los tres Reyes Magos with mi hija. I have to admit, Spain gets under your skin little by little and eventually it finds your heart. It did mine.

<<The spaniards have (I believe) a good idea on how americans are. You must consider that we have seen a lot of movies (which, in some ways, are a good picture of how you are).>>

HA! Fernando, you just made my day. I studied in Sevilla during '95 and unfortunately spent many hours disabusing my sevillana roommate of the stereotypes she had about americans through the courtesy of our movies. My personal favorite was the day I walked in our apartment and she was watching a bad 80's flick titled "White Dog." She proceeded to inform me that all US white Southerners are racist and raise their dogs to attack and kill blacks. I had this mental image of my tiny pekingnese trying to attack the neighbors. hee! Anyway, I hate to think what other horrible ideas Spaniards have in their heads about Americans as a result of our entertainment exports.