After moving to Spain I actually felt liberated from a lot of the social customs which weigh us down in much of the rest of the world. Not just the social customs but also the laws - although that's changing in Spain too. Spanish friends have often told me that we in the USA have too many rules and laws to control the people.
Self-expression among strangers is common too and I love that. They have "no fear" of starting a verbal, heated argument without the slightest fear that it will become physical or that one will pull out a knife or gun to kill the other dead on the street. They have no fear of hanging out the window of their cars, shouting about an error the other driver made - without fear that the offender will flash a pistol.
The more I think about that the more I think they're correct. Not saying "please" and "thank you" doesn't seem rude to me - but saying it definitely does sound nicer.
Saludos, MadridMan
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