Hello,

I am doing a paper on Spain for my college class. It is based on discussing the culture of Spain. I am having some trouble finding resources that just get in depth of the culture of Spain, how your average Spaniard acts, and not places to visit or the history of the country. So I am hoping I can get some help from people who may be more familiar with the country than I am.

First off, is it common for husbands and wives to sleep in separate bedrooms, or have separate bedrooms?

In United States, people tend to try and "create their own destiny." Is it the same in Spain, or do people tend to let everything "fall into place" and not worry about the future?

When talking, do Spaniards tend to be direct, blunt, or do they tend to hide their true meaning and allow the person listening come to their own conclusions as to what the speaker is saying?

Anyone wishing to discuss the culture of Spain would be welcome, I would like to hear from anyone who can relate the culture of Spain to cultural dimensions...

As I have said, I am doing a research report on the country of Spain, perhaps you could give me an opinion of what I have so far, I'm not expecting you to read it in detail, I would just like to know if you find something important I left off. This is a rough draft, and I'm not done yet. I am required to do this for one of my classes, I chose Spain because some of my family is there, unfortunately the only living person from that country is not in a condition to help me anymore, so what I write is not an attempt to belittle the country, by any means.

There is a saying that goes “Spain is different.” There are many ways that this statement could be taken, but one way to interpret is by suggesting that Spain is different from what it used to be.
Spain is considered by many to have been the world’s first superpower, as it was a very powerful country during the 15th through 17th century. However, the country lost it’s land in the new world, lost it’s powerful Navy to the British, and did not take part in the Industrial Revolution. The country also went through a civil war before World War II. These events led to a severe deterioration of the economy of the country, and today, unemployment still remains above 11 percent. In an effort to become a larger economic force, Spain is working to become a more modern country, and has taken steps such as entering the European Union. This requires forfeiting of some of Spain’s old traditions deeply engraved in its culture that tended to be counter-productive, overly casual, and old fasionied. So, in that respect, this report may not represent what Spain may be like a few decades from now.
Imagine calling a plumber to your house, and asking when he could arrive. Chances are, it will be the same day, or a scheduled time the next day. If a plumber said he could come to you “eventually,” you probably wouldn’t do business with him. As an American, you expect people to give estimates as to when they will be available, and when they will show up. In Spain, if you asked when a plumber could come to you, he would say the equivalent of “eventually.” This could be the next day, or several days later.
Spaniards have a lax regard toward time. They tend not to rush to meet deadlines, and do things at their own pace, rather than conforming to other people’s schedule. If one were to classify the dimension of time in Spain, it has a polychronic culture. Spain has only recently developed a reliable highway network. It wasn’t long ago that travel was done by horseback or along unreliable congested roads. Telephones are also new in the country, and have only recently become a common method of communication in the country. For these reasons, Spaniards tend not to be punctual or stick to a schedule. In regard to personal affairs, you cannot expect to have a time schedule as to when someone else will do something for you or be somewhere. However, in business, Spaniards are becoming more punctual, as they are attempting to be more professional and competitive in the business world.
When conducting business in Spain, people tend to prefer, when possible, to arrange meetings in a café or restaurant, rather than have prolonged discussions over the telephone. Spaniards prefer to work with people that they have close relationships with, rather than strangers. This means that close friends and relatives are more likely to get hired at a company, rather than a stranger. The same goes for doing business with other companies. When dealing business to business, there should be ample time to build a relationship with the people who work at the other company before transactions are discussed.
In regard to the relationship dimension, Spain is a relationship based culture, rather than task-oriented. It takes time for a Spaniard to get to know you, and for you to earn their trust. When it comes to casual acquaintances, “mi casa es su casa” is not a term that you will hear from Spaniard. You cannot expect to be invited into your neighbor’s house, unless you become very close friends over the years. Spaniards tend to be very friendly to everyone, but real relationships are hard to come by, as Spaniards tend to favor spending time with the family rather than friends. This means that Spaniards tend to have a space reserved for them, a “personal space” if you will.

Thanks,
Ryan

Usually couples sleep in the same bedroom and in the same bed. It may even be something extrange to see the opposite.

We tend to be direct when explaining our points of view, particularly compared with anglesaxon cultures (or the japanese) where people tend to get to a point in an elaborated way, trying not to be direct. Our way of talking is not considered rude among us.

Nowadays spaniards are people who like to decide on their own destiny. But we have a problem... with apartments and houses very very expensive it is very difficult to find a place to live separated from your parents, so it is not rare to see 30 or 35 years-old bachelors living with their parents.

I don't agree with everything in this paragraph... It is true that we don't invite usually our neighbours to out home (unless they are also friends). But I got the impression you mean that we like to be at home with our families.

We usually like very much to get out, particularly with our friends. We spend much more time with friends than in other countries.

It is also true what you say about "being nice, but take time to gain their trust". That is true!

Fernando

Hi xatex! Welcome to our little message board about Spain.

While you'll find (it's searchable!) and receive lots of information about Spain and Spaniards here I don't think you can consider it an official resource for your report because, well, sometimes people (including myself) give well-meaning information which may not be 100% fact but are opinions or perceptions. So take what you read and receive with a grain of salt and use that information to further your research through official resources.

We'll be happy to give ideas for your report but I don't think anyone is will/should do the report for you. Try the SEARCH link above right for things already posted as well.

Good luck! Saludos, MadridMan

Recently I've read the book, "The New Spaniards" by John Hooper. The description of the Spanish culture is very general, and slightly outdated, I think it stops about 1980, yes, the book is copyrighted 1987, but it will provide some official insight into the Spanish culture.

xatex:

Your information is partially incorrect, like regarding the industrial revolution, or obviously not updated (ans, so, wrong) like when you say Spain has only 'recently' got a reliable highway network.

As for the rest, you don't seem to be asking, but informeing of your 'research', and some of them are topics that might have been true 100 years ago, like in

the same they would have been elsewhere prior to the massive industrialisation that followed the decades after the Industrial Revolution and speeded up the working rythm with .

xatex --

If this is for a research paper for a University level class, I would revisit your use of time references such as "recently" and "not long ago".

I studied here in Madrid 16 years ago. I don´t consider that recent. When I was studying here, telephones were not new in the country. So, put a clearer time marker in your statement... such as "as recent as 1970" for example...when talking generally about a historical perspective.

If you want to include anecdotal information, it would be good to illustrate the difference in culture of phone useage between the USA and Spain, instead of just saying "and have only recently become a common method of communication in the country". The cost of telephone calls in the USA is generally MUCH CHEAPER than the cost of phone calls in Spain. Particularly if you did a cost of living analysis and compared income levels to various basic costs (phone, electricity, etc.). Therefore, you won´t see teenagers sprawled across their beds chatting with their friends for hours on the phone here like you might in the States. Going back to your relationship based culture example...this is an example of how that is played out in Spain. Spaniards, particularly Spanish teenagers, will socialize more with their friends outside the home, rather than staying in their bedrooms chatting on the phone. That´s just one minor example.

Also, I don´t know if you have included them in your paper and not here for ease of posting, but be certain to cite all of your sources! It´s one thing to get anecdotal information from an elderly relative, and quite another to get factual information from researched sources.

If you are interested in learning more information about cultures (as compared to the American culture) Dun and Bradstreet puts out a volume called "Doing Business Around the World". Each chapter is a country profile that gives information on demographics, time, holidays, work week, religious/societal influence on business, cultural tips, economic overview, politics, USA contacts, Passport/visa requirements, and Spain contacts. It´s worth a read and I am certain you will be able to find it in your school´s library. I am not certain how recently it has been updated. My copy is from 2001, so obviously does not include such important Political and economic factors such as the Euro and it´s effect on the economy.

You have also seemed to leave out a significant part of Spain´s history, the dictatorship of Franco, which essentially isolated the country from the rest of the world for nearly 20 years... as the country suffered its own political inner turmoil.

Food for thought. Good luck with the paper!

Hi, Xatex,

You're probably already done with your paper, but what I would recommend is Microsoft Encarta Virtual Globe. It's a CD-ROM packed with maps that you can zoom in and out of, maps of the metropllitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona, geographical and cultural info, and even music clips. I have owned it for five years and still use it alot. Hope this helps.

Xatex writes: Apparently you have some experience along those lines. I, for one, have had more difficulty getting a plumber to do a small job in Philadelphia then I ever had in Madrid. We were renting a Piso in Madrid and didn't deal with the fontanero directly (i.e., just through our landlord). So I disagree with your Scenario There are environments where what you say may be true; but Spaniards work 'on the clock' just like people in the U.S. If a Spaniard has a business that provides a Good or a Service, he/she will inform you as the customer when and where that product will be available. They may close their doors from 13:00 to 16:00 but when they re-open they are open until 19:00. That must have been a long time ago! I arrived in Spain in 1960: drove to Madrid from Algeciras and I didn't see any of what you describe other than people riding on horseback to fairs or performing farm or ranch-related chores. Spain was left behind the rest of Europe after WW II; there was no Marshall Plan (as there was for France and Germany and much of western Europe) to help Spain rebuild its infrastructure after a devastating Civil War. Pro-Franco regions got more priority restoration of the infrastructure than those that were predominantly anti-Franco but that was the Political environment. There are more cellphones per capita in use in Spain than in any other European country. These statements reek of ethnic 'Spaniard bashing.' Spanish businessmen are not becoming more punctual! They have always been punctual; they were just in a different time zone. Long before Spain became a member of the EU, most international businesses there dropped the siesta and adopted a 9-to-5 workday. It was a necessary step so that businesses in Spain could communicate with those in other European countries on the same workday schedule. Call it punctuality if you like. It's a fact of life!
Do you know of any Country, anywhere, in which this is not so?? In an ideal world, that's the way business should be conducted everywhere.
I don't know if I understand what you're saying here. Do you mean 'task-oriented' or 'goal-oriented?' Business in Spain is conducted the same way as in the rest of the world. It's always nice to know the people with whom you are doing business but that's secondary to achieving the business objective.

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Then why all the disparaging remarks? You write as if your view of Spain is that of Mañana-land. I found that you failed to include many important facts and statistics about Spain: the fact that Spain is a Constitutional Monarchy, a Parliamentary Democracy like the U.K.; Spain's major industries and sources of revenue; what are its major imports and exports; and that Spain pulled itself up by its own bootstraps out of political and economic hard times. Now, Spain is a thriving Industrial and Economic power. Because of its people's spirit and hard work Spain has become a Modern Industrial European Country, a member country of the European Union and NATO. The way you picture Spain is totally warped!

I think you need to start over. Do some research! It appears to me like you threw something together without doing adequate (or any) research. Your draft report is full of sweeping generalizations and undocumented biases. Tell the reader where you found all your information! Show some of the references and bibliography you expect to include in your report. I'm not a High School teacher but I have taught at a Community College and would not give you a passing grade for what I see, not even at 2nd year H.S. level

I agree with Eddie.

And speaking in general about your average Spaniard and Spanish family, obviously there are individual exceptions as with anything, the following statement is completely false.

It's funny, that's what many people believe about Americans.


You may want to spend time researching professional journals and business school cases that discuss and argue different strategies that multinational firms have used when entering markets that have a different culture than their own. You could compare and contrast what recognized published scholars have written about in regard to cultural differences that most certainly exist. Citing all your sources of course. This would give your research validity rather than simply presenting very subjective stereo types and opinions.

Good luck!

If you can read Spanish, a very good source would be Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas . You can read the results of the many surveys done in Spain. As I was just looking for it, I saw that they have an English version too.)
I hope this is helpful. Happy researching!