Advice for Studying Abroad in Spain

So, my time in Spain is up.  Many students came before me in Spain and plenty more will come after me.  Those of you who are choosing to study abroad are very wise, so allow me to impart a few words upon the wise...

1. Live with a host family and spend time with them: I know it may be tempting to spend every night out with your American friends getting your party on but remember, you can do this back in the States.  You’re in Spain, go emerge yourself in the local culture!  This includes, hanging out at home and talking with your host family.  Now I'm not saying that you should spend every living second with them but spend some time with them.  If you show them even just a little bit interest in them and their way of life they will open up a lot.  Seriously, I probably learned more talking to locals than I did in any of my classes.
2. Try to meet some locals: I know that you all probably want to do this but I’ll put it in here as a friendly reminder.  I answered a flyer to help two Catalans improve their English and it was an incredibly rewarding experience.  Not only did I get to talk and hang out with them but I also figured out what I would like to do after graduation: come back and teach English in Spain.  Now, this may not happen, but I’m going to try my hardest to make it come true.  Again as with the host families, your new local friends will help you improve your Spanish, teach you about their culture/ideas and show you the cool spots in the city. 
3. Learn some words in the local language (Català, Euskara or Gallego):  If you’re in Catalunya you don’t say “adiós” you say “adéu.” and in Euskadi (the Basque Country) it’s “agur.”  Little things like knowing how to say good morning/afternoon/night, thank you, please in the local language will go a long way.  Plus I enjoyed learning another language in addition to improving my Spanish and I’m sure you will too, after all that’s why you are continuing to study Spanish, right?
4. Try to be politically correct: This goes a long with #3.  What I mean by this is recognize that people in your autonomous region (namely Catalunya and Euskadi) might not consider themselves to be Spaniards but rather Catalonian or Basque.  They have a different customs and languages from the rest of Spain and you need to respect that.  So when you’re talking make sure you differentiate whether you’re talking about Spain as a whole (that is away from where you are) or your autonomous region.  Furthermore, it’s CASTELLANO not español.  I can’t stress this enough; you’re teachers will be understand if you call it español but to other people it has a very negative connotation.  Note of caution though, this may not apply if you’re in Andalucía, the two Castillas or Madrid.  As I didn’t spend much time there I really don’t know their attitudes about a pluralistic Spain so it would be best to just observe before you open your mouth.  
5. Don’t think about what you’re saying, just say it!:  Don’t worry about making errors with your verb tenses and don’t let it hold back your sentence fluidity.  9/10 they will know what you’re trying to say and it will make the conversation much more natural.  I found that if I tried to plan out what I was going to say it would always come out f-ed up but if I just spoke without giving it much thought it came out nearly perfect.  Furthermore it wasn’t until I stopped worrying about “oh am I becoming fluent?” that I actually started to improve.
6. Study food vocabulary: Half the time when my host mom asked me if I liked something I would turn to my roommate so that he would type the word into his iPhone Spanish dictionary app.  It probably helps too if you know a little bit about the local cuisine before you come over.
7. Travel Travel Travel!: For God’s sake, you’re in Europe!  You may only be here once (though I certainty hope not) so enjoy yourself and travel around the continent.  However I would recommend that you also travel within Spain.  Remember, Spain is composed of very diverse regions; it would be worth your time exploring them.  Your program probably has some excursions within Spain planned for you guys (we went to some places in Catalunya, Valencia, Madrid and Toledo), but if you got a free weekend go somewhere else in Spain.  I am so happy I got to spend 2 and a half weeks in Euskadi and they are some of my favorite moments from my trip.  
8. Save up a lot of money: Again, let’s be realistic.  Europe has a very high VAT everywhere (15-25%), you’re going to want to go to bars/clubs and you’re going to want to travel.  So put down that pair of designer jeans and instead put that money in the bank.  But even then the exchange rate will screw you, so just be prepared for how much this trip will cost.
9. Expect to get homesick at some point: Let’s be realistic, even though you’re going to fall in love with Spain you will eventually miss the people that made up your life back home, namely friends, family and pets.  This is natural, don’t let it get to you too bad.  Even though I’m really sad to be leaving Catalunya I really am anxious to see my family and friends again (and my dog!)
10. STUDY IN BARCELONA!: Hahaha, I can’t do anything if you’ve already chosen and paid for your program but if you haven’t decided what city you want to go to may I suggest Barcelona?  The city has everything your heart desires: stunning architecture, great food, beach, good weather, fabulous nightlife and above all, the Catalan culture. 
    
    
    Lost in Translation....

Sometimes, things don’t translate perfectly and problems ensue.  Here’s a short list of some things to avoid if you don’t want to have problems (these are probably the top three errors). If you do want to have problems, do the opposite :p

• Me gusta a ______: Since we were taught in high school that the construction “me gusta fill in the blank” means “I like _____” you would think that we can use this construction to describe how we like someone, you know as a friend/person/colleague/teacher/coach/ect.  No.  Do not use this.  It means that you like the person sexually.  The correct expression is “Me + forma de caer + bien/mal ____” (as in me caes bien (I like you) or Pablo me cae bien (I like Pablo)).  You can also use it to say how you don’t like someone, just swap out bien for mal.
• ¡Estoy caliente!: An English speaker will say this and think it means, “I’m hot.”  No, it means you’re horny.  If you’re in a club do not say this even if it is very hot or you will have a mob of young teenagers coming after you.  Instead, say “Tengo calor”
• ¡Estoy excitado!: Again, an English speaker thinks that this means, “I’m excited” like “I’m excited to see you!”  It’s true, it does mean you’re excited…sexually excited.  Please use “estoy emociado/a” to avoid potentially awkward situations with your host family.
• It’s not really going to cause problems but as a word of advice use “estoy cansado,” when talking about how you are physically tired (like after running 5 miles, ect.) and “tengo sueños” to say that you’re tired (as in you’re sleepy)

Whew, overwhelmed yet?  Don’t worry if you are, everything will be better once you get there and you’ll come to realize that you never want to go back home, that Spain has become your new home and where your heart will always stay.

If you have any questions about Spain, Catalunya, studying abroad feel free to e-mail me at seanmckinnon.80@gmail.com as I will be happy to help you out :)

Spanish a La Calle (Parte 2)

As promised, here’s a continuation of my Spanish slang post (part one can be viewed here)

• Tío/Tía: Literally it means “uncle/aunt” but it’s used between young people as our “dude,” as in the common greeting “¿qué pasa tío?” (what’s up dude).
• Ni fu o fa: Pretty much translates to “neither good nor bad.”  They also say pse pse (pronounced “ship, ship.”)
• -azo: Add this suffix on the ending of body parts and it means you use that body part to hit someone.  For example, el puño is a fist but a puñetazo is a punch.  Furthermore if you nudge your friend with your elbow (el codo) it’s a codazo.
• Tener ganas: Very very common.  It’s used to mean you want to do something.  Like for example, tengo ganas de ir de fiesta (I feel like partying)
• Decir cuatro cosas: Literally means “to tell four things,” but you say it when you’re really mad; ¡Voy a decirte cuatro cosas, nunca me ha llamaste…..
• Birra: slang for beer
• ¡Qué guay!: Used like our “cool.”  -He comprado un Ferrari.  -Ah ¡qué guay tío!
• Mogollón:  Kind of like “más que mucho” (more than a lot).  Voy a echar de menos de Catalunya un mogollón…
• Tristón: It means sad, but you don’t know why.
• Chin-Chin: Used when you toast everyone with glasses of wine/champagne, like our “cheers.”
• Canguro: Literally kangaroo, but it also means “nanny” (you know, the nanny carries the children around in her pouch all the time)
• Pagafantas: Comes from two words: paga (he pays) and fanta (the delicious pop that comes in orange and lemon flavors).  It’s used to describe a guy who really likes a girl but the girl only sees him as a friend, hence why he always pays for the fantas.  This is probably my favorite slang word that I’ve learned.

Here’s a list of words/phrase I wish I knew before I went to Spain.  Hopefully it will help you in your travels.

• ¿Baja(s)?: If need to get off the metro/bus at the next stop you can use this phrase to politely ask the person who’s blocking you to move out of the way.  Literally it means “are you getting off?,” and if they aren’t they will move out of the way.  Of course, use the usted form for your elders and tú for middle age and young people.
• Perdone/a: Use this if you accidently bump into someone.  Again use perdone for your elders and perdona for everyone else.  Do not use "discúlpame" as you will stick out like a sore thumb because it's super formal.
• No pasa nada: Use this if someone bumps into you, apologizes and you want to say "don't worry about it."  Generally this is used to say "don't worry about it/no problem" but if someone is worrying about something (like an exam, forget something ect.) that's when you use the literal translation of "no te preocupes"
• Vale: The Spanish version of OK.  Use it the same way we would use OK back in the States, except not for “are you ok?” (use ¿estás bien?)
• Pasa, Pasa, Pasa: It's used for letting someone go ahead of you, like through the door.  Now I know that when they say it it'll sound like they're angry/agitated but they're not.  
• ¿Me pones ______?: If you’re in a bar/café and you want to order a drink, use this phrase.  They don’t really use “quiero/quisera” for ordering drinks.
• Igualmente: Use it when someone says “buen fin de semana,” it means “you too.”
• Entender: Use this verb if you want to say “I (don’t) understand” instead of the verb comprender.
• One cultural thing:  They really don't use por favor and gracias that much like how we use it all the time for everything.  Like for example, they won't really say it when a store clerk hands them their purchases, but if it's a really big favor or when asking for directions they will say it; it's just a cultural thing to get use to.  Oh yeah, and it sounds really weird to them if you say muchas gracias all the time, as I found out, haha.

I’m sure there’s a lot more but I can’t think of anymore right now :p

Host Families

As most of you know, I live with a host family here in Barcelona.  This was probably the best decision I’ve made so far regarding my study abroad experience, right behind choosing to go to Bilbao with Michelle and choosing to study in Barcelona.

I live with a 65-year old widow, Rafaela in her medium sized apartment (apartments are called “pisos” here in Spain).  She owns a clothes store in a near by market.  We have two pets here at home, a parrot (Dinu) and a Silky Terrier by the name of “Teri.”  The parrot can get quite obnoxious at times, expecially when it lets out 3 (or more) long screeches in succession. 

Now what can I say about Teri.  Well, Teri is a 12-year old dog, who would be every dog whisperer’s dream come true.  He has a problem with people leaving the house, because students come here for 3 months and then leave him forever. For this reason, he barks whenever someone leaves the house, but never when people come home.  One day I was leaving for school when he snuck out, plopping himself in front of the elevetor.  I tried my best to coax him to come back in the piso (“Teri, ¡tengo un palito!  Ven aquí”), but he wouldn’t have any of it.  I go over to try to pick him up and he growls at me bearing his teeth in the process.  As I was running late for school, I wanted to get this ordeal over with so I pick him up really quickly and (gently) toss him back in the piso.  He's a complete nervous wreck and when you add in some back problems you get one fragile dog.

The piso is a pretty good place to live.  It’s 3 bedrooms, one bathroom with a nice balcony.  However, the neighborhood we live in (Sants) isn’t the best for college age kids because it’s mostly a residential area with families and old people, plus it’s kind of far away from all the happening places.

That being said, I’m glad I live where I am because Rafaela is the best host mom anyone could ask for.  She’s a great cook and she’s very involved with our lives.  Everyday when she comes home from school she always asks how are day went and she loves it when we show her pictures when we come home from a weekend trip around Europe.  She also likes to talk a lot, which is really helpful for us because it helps us practice our Spanish.  She also helps me with my Catalan, by teaching me some words/phrases and helping me with my pronunciation (the double l’s are una puta!).

Rafaela also typically hosts exchange students all year round.  I didn't know this until I asked her about all the Paris decorations in her house (I was curious as to why she had them because she said that she's never been to Paris).  She's been hosting them for about 6 years now and she's told me plenty of stories about other students (two girls use to go out clubbing every night, another one got caught having her boyfriend spending the night).  Not to toot my horn or anything, but she did tell me that John and I are the best exchange students she's ever hosted because we're friendly, open/interested in learning about the culture and more family-like than the other students.

She lives alone, but her mom stayed with her for the first month I was there because she broke her leg falling down the stairs.  Since then, she's been spending a month at a time between her two daughter's piso; in fact, she just came back yesterday to spend November here.  Rafaela also has a friend, José, who comes over every evening.  Everyday, Rafaela, José and Teri go out for a walk near the little green space we have near our piso, then she always cooks our dinner so that John and I can eat around 9 (they hardly ever eat dinner) and we usually first watch a game show (Pasapalabra) followed by the news.  

Here’s some pictures from my home stay:

Oh Teri.  He spends most of his day in my room, either because he loves me or because he's worried about the next time I leave the apartment

My Room

The Living Room

The Kitchen

I’ve been very fortunate with my host families.  First, Arantza and Maren (the host family in the Basque Country) really made my transition to the Spanish way of life very easy (I don’t think I went through any culture shock what so ever) and now, I’m living with Rafaela; I couldn’t have asked for a better living situation over here in Spain.

I love living with host families for three main reasons:

1. Food: Spanish food is soooo good.  Everything is cooked with olive oil, it's fresh and very healthy.  I have a salad for dinner everyday (with olive oil and vinegar for dressing, which is typical in Spain), some bread and either pasta, fish or meat.  She makes a mean tortilla española and in typical Spanish fashion, she always asks us if we want anymore of anything to eat (¿Algo más?  ¿Helado? ¿Fruta?).
2. Culture: You get to experience the culture first hand when you live with a host family; you really submerge yourself in what it's actually like to live in Spain (as opposed to living in dorms with your fellow American students).  It's interesting because Arantza and Maren (the host family I stayed with in Bilbao) are Basque, Rafaela is Catalan, her mom is from Andalucía (Southern Spain) and José is from Galicia (Northwest corner of Spain), so I've kind gotten to know some of the major cultures that make up Spain as a whole.
3. Spanish: You have to speak Spanish in your home stay.  My Spanish has improved so much in the last 2 and a half months partly because of my Spanish language class, but my host families have definitely made a bigger impact on my Spanish than any class ever could.  I'd say that I can speak Spanish on a conversational level, which is to say that even though I make mistakes from time to time with words choice/verb tenses I still can get my point across and continue the conversation.  Spanish kind of just flows out now and I don’t really think too much about it.

My advice to students who want to study abroad: choose to live with a host family.  Trust me, I know it’s going to be very tempting to live with your fellow study abroad compadres, but you will learn so much more if you step outside of your comfort zone and submerge yourself into the local culture.  You will learn more than you can ever hope to learn in your classes.

Spanish a La Calle (Parte 1)

The day I arrived in Spain, I came into contact with colloquial Spanish; that's to say, the Spanish they don't teach you in high school.  Here are just some of those expressions/slang that I like or that I found comical.

Cool expressions/words

• Rompecabezas: Puzzles, from the Spanish words romper (to break) and cabeza (head).  I did learn this word in high school and it’s probably one of my favorite Spanish words.
• Comer la cabeza: Loosely translates “to eat your head.”  It’s means "to persuade someone."  
• Ser mi media naranja: Translates to “to be my half orange.”   It’s used to say “he/she is my better half.”  
• La peña: Your group of friends.  However your best friend(s) is called un/a colega.
• Ñoño: Silly, used in a teasing way, as in “no seas ñoño” (don’t by silly).  By far my favorite Spanish word because it has double  ñ’s!. 
• Pijo: A snob. 
• Chulo: cocky, arrogant
• Cuesta la cuesta: Translates to "costs the hill."  It's just something you say when you're walking/climbing up a steep hill.
• Pip-pip (prounced peep-peep): it’s the sound they make for horns.  I find it funny because we say “beep-beep” and the only thing separating a “p” sound from a "b” sound is that the vocal cords vibrate when making a “b” sound (sorry, the linguistics nerd is coming out in me…)
• Hacer pipi: As shown above, the Spanish “i” is pronounced like the English “ee.”  Knowing that, say the Spanish word pipi.  Hacer pipi means “to go pee” (literally “to make pee”).  
• ¡De puta madre!: How young people say “awesome”
• ¡Hombre!: Means “man” but it’s used to express surprise or “hey look,…….”  For example, you haven’t seen your best friend from high school years and then one day you pass him on the street.  “¡Hombre!, ¿cuánto tiempo ha pasado en no verlo?” (Hombre, how long has it been since I’ve seen you?)  Or let’s say that you’re discussing something with a friend and they say something that you think is incorrect or don’t agree with: “Hombre, no creo que sea esa” (hombre, I don’t think that’s it). Although it literally means “man” it’s used between man-women and women-women in addition to man-man.  You will hear this word all the time.
• Vale: Spanish version of "ok."  You will use this all the time.

Caution, the following expression are either vulgar or contain content of a sexual nature (mind you, I did learn some of these words in my Spanish language class over here...)  I figured that some of you would get a kick out of learning some of these words, so I'll put them here and you do with them what you want to.  If you are offended by such material, please close your web browser and wait for my next post.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED :)

• Hacer un pis: Literally “to make a piss), but of course it means “to take a piss.”  I laughed so hard the first time Arantza said this (“¿¡Qué has dicho Arantza!?”)
• Tener culo quadrado: Translates to "to have a square ass."  It's used to describe the feeling when you've been in a chair too long.  Again, gracias a Arantza for that one.
• Tener una aventura: Transaltes to “to have an adventure.”  It’s used to describe cheating on your spouse, but in the sense that it was only a one-night stand.  However, if you have a lover, then the expression would be tener un/una amante (to have a lover).
• Amigo con derecho a roce: Loosely translates to “a friend with the right to touch.” It means friends with benefits.
• Pechuga: Normally it's used to describe the breast of an animal, like pechuga del pollo (chicken breast).  However, it's also used to describe a woman's large rack.
• Echar un polvo: Loosely translates to “to expel dust.”  In Spain, it’s used to say that you’ve had sex with someone, though I've found that the verb follar is much more common. 
• Joder: Spain’s f-word.  The word is very interesting to me because it can be used in the infinite form to express surprise/anger/disbelief/astonishment and it can also be used regularly in its verb form.  For example, you’re climbing up a steep mountain and you still have a lot to climb: joder.  You’re describing to a Spaniard that you can’t walk around certain parts of Toledo wearing a certain color because of gangs and the Spaniard responds: joder.  You find out that you’re wife is “echando un polvo” with the milkman: ¡JODER!  Of course, only use this around people you are very close with.

Of course, I will update this list when I come into contact with some more cool expressions and sayings, probably towards the end of my trip (a day I don't want to think about right now).

Culture Shock 101: The Main Differences between Spain and the United States

So, I have been in Spain now for two weeks and I’ve loved every minute of it.  I don’t think I went through any culture shock and I believe I’ve adapted very well to the Spanish way of life; things that once seemed novel are now just a part of my daily life.  However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any striking differences between the two cultures…

The following are what I perceive to be the differences between Spain and the United States.  Note of caution:  My observations are based only on Michelle’s host family and on only one part of the Spain; I would hate to say that it describes what all of Spain is like, because, as I discussed in an earlier post, Spain is made up of many cultures/nationalities.

With that, let’s begin (¡Cuidado!  This post is fairly long…)

1. Sense of Time: The pace of life is much slower here than it is in the States.  Most shops close down for an hour and a half to two hours during the afternoon for lunch.  The only businesses that stay open during that time are restaurants, cafes, and large department stories in the bigger cities.  A lot of people also take month-long vacations during either the month of August, but others may only take a week or two off.
2. Family and Friends: They are very important to Spaniards.  It’s very common for the children to live at home until their late twenties and for adults to take care of their elderly parents.  Every day I see someone wheeling their elderly parent around in a wheelchair, whether it be to the beach or to a café.  It’s also very common to go out every night to meet up with some friends or family at a local café.  There, you drink a couple of glasses of wine and talk long into the night.  It's uncommon to hang out or have a party at your house, this is reserved for special occasions and holidays (instead, people hang out in public).  Meeting someone for the first time is also a little bit different.  Girls greeting girls kiss each other on both cheeks as do men greeting women; men greeting men is just a firm handshake.  Public displays of affection are very common amongst young people (a.k.a 20-year olds making out on the subway, on the street, ect)
3. Food: The biggest meal of the day here in Spain is lunch, which they eat between 2 and 4 and it's usually a two course meal followed by a piece of fruit for dessert.  Breakfast is usually something light, like cereal/toast and a coffee (though their coffee is basically a shot of espresso).  They usually eat dinner between 10pm and midnight, but it’s also fairly light.  They eat a lot of pork products (ham, bacon, pork loins), seafood, eggs, bread, potatoes, beans, soups, rice and leafy vegetables.  After meals, it’s very common to sit at the table for an hour (or more) and talk, while enjoying a couple of cigarettes (if you smoke) and some more wine.  This is really different from the States where usually at home we just eat and move on.  I think this might have to do with their sense of time and the importance they place on family and friends.  I really like this, because so far there have been a couple of really deep and interesting conversations at the dinner table (Their view of America, what kind of animal you would be in the next life and why, the different languages and dialects of Spain, for example). 
4. Space: Everything is a lot smaller here than it is back in the States.  Houses are expensive and not very common (an average size house back in the States would cost hundreds of thousand of Euros over here), so most people live in apartments.  Arantza’s apartment is considered one of the nicer ones, but it’s still even less space than the first story of my house back home.  Local shops, cafes and bars are also pretty small; at times, you feel like you’re on top of the other customers.  There are no SUV's over here and very few vans.
5. Smoking: Smoking is very common, and this is probably the only aspect of their culture that I do not care for.  They smoke after meals, light up while watching TV, and smoke inside restaurants and cafés.  The government labels on the cigarette packages are also very direct.  They say things like "Smoking can kill" and "Smoking gravely injures you and those around you" in big black letters on the front of the box.
6.  Public Transportation:  Gas is very expensive and it costs 1,000 Euros to take the test to get your license (if you fail and want to take it again, you still have to pay the 1,000 Euros again).  Because of this, most people take public transportation to get from point A to point B.  I’ve taken the metro everywhere, all the way from downtown Bilbao to the little fishing village of Plentzia.  I love taking the metro; it’s inexpensive, fast, reliable and convenient (plus you don’t have to worry about traffic and idiot drivers).  The bus system is also very good. 
7. Fashion: Everyone dresses very fashionably over here; you would not be caught dead wearing a pair of sweatpants outside in public.  Kids my age dress kind of the same as we do back in the states (Guys: jeans, sneakers, graphic t-shirt) but middle aged and older people dress very nicely (they dress like they’re going to church on a Sunday morning).
8. US Imported Entertainment:  Dubbed American television shows are on in the afternoon (shows like Bones, Cold Case, NCIS) and I’ve heard a lot of American music in bars.  One cool thing: before going to commercial, the TV will tell you how many minutes of commercials they will show (we will return in 70 seconds).  Most of the movies shown here in movie theaters are American films dubbed in Spanish and a lot of the theatre productions are American musicals that have been translated into Spanish.
9. The Spanish of Spain: For words that have the letter z and c (if it comes before e or i), the consonant sounds like a lisp; this is only found in the North and Central part of Spain.  Personally, I like it creates a distinction between certain words, so that you are able to spell the correctly.  For example, in the Spanish of Mexico, the words cazar (to hunt) and casar (to marry) are pronounced the same.  This would not happen in Northern/Central Spain because the second consonant in cazar would be “lisped.”  There are also some vocabulary differences between the Spanish of Spain and the Spanish of Latin America.  For example, coger is a verb that means “to take” in Spain, but in Latin American Spanish it’s the f-word (this is probably why we weren’t taught this verb in my Spanish classes).  So if a Spaniard was to say “¿Coges el bús?” (Do you take the bus?) to a Mexican, there will probably be a big misunderstanding….
10. Miscellaneous: A lot of people don’t walk their dogs with leashes, but the dog does stay close to the owner.  Also, dogs crap on the sidewalk and the owner doesn’t have to pick it up.  There is no personal trash collection.  There are big containers on some of the street corners and you have to go out and throw your garbage in there to be collected.  All baby strollers also come complete with their own personal umbrella for the baby.

Well I hope you have a better idea of what life is like over here.  I will probably be updating this list in future posts when I see more differences between the two cultures.

Is Spain a Unified Nation?

I feel like I need to dedicate a post to a brief introduction on a very important topic: Regional Nationalism/Politics in Spain.

Spain is made up 17 autonomous regions, which are somewhat to similar to states in the US. Some of these autonomous regions, principally the Basque Country and Catalonia, are historically different from Spain. For example, between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries Catalonia was an economically and politically powerful region that rivaled the Moorish and Castilian kingdoms. The Basque Country has traditionally ruled parts of Northern Spain and Southeastern France and their language is not a Romance language, unlike everything else on the Iberian Peninsula. So, both regions have their own language, their own cuisine, and their own culture, which is completely different from Spain; therefore, they are considered nationalities (just like Spanish/French/American ect.)

In my post about the festival in Bilbao, I told you about the tent with the flags of all the “oppressed nations.” I also observed some other nationalistic feelings during the festival. During the Marijaia parade, there was this guy walking in front of her with a Basque flag, with the word “independence” written on it. We were also walking in el Casco Viejo and this group of middle age guys were talking very loudly. One suddenly yells “español” (Spanish) to which another one replied “vasco” (Basque). I didn’t need to hear the rest of the conversation to know that they were talking about whether they considered themselves to be Spanish or Basque.

Now, this reminds me of something that came up a few days earlier in the apartment. I was watching the news with Arantza and something about Basque politics came up. After explaining the situation to me, Arantza stated that she doesn't consider herself to be Spanish; she’s Basque and Basque only. Think about that for a minute. She has stronger ties to her autonomous region than she does to the national state. She considers herself to be a citizen of her region but not a citizen of the country she lives in. That would be like me saying: “I live in the United States, but I am not an American. I'm Ohioan.”

Today, there are strong movements in both Catalonia and the Basque Country for the independence of their region from Spain. The Basque Country has it’s own nationalist terrorist group (The ETA) that uses violence to advance this cause while Catalonia keeps on trying to push for more autonomy and for more rights. A lot of people in both regions feel as if they are “a nation without a state."


(A sign in Plentzia, a fishing village in the Basque Country. It says "This is not Spain")

Now you may ask, “why is there so much animosity between Catalonia/Basque Country and Spain?” Long story short: Franco. General Franco’s side won the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and with that he installed himself as the fascist dictator of Spain. While in power, Franco ruled with an iron fist and tried to shove the idea of “national Spanish unity” down the throats of everyone in Spain. His view of an “ideal” Spain was absolute obedience to the Catholic Church and to the national State, women were to remain at home, and Spanish was to be the only language of the country. As a result, he outlawed the use of the Catalan and Basque languages. So, during Franco’s dictatorship the Catalonian and Basque people could not speak their native languages in public for fear of Franco’s henchmen; essentially, they were forced to speak Spanish. This is why, here in Spain, if you want to ask someone “do you speak Spanish?” you say “¿Hablas castellano?” and not “¿Hablas español?” Español implies that there is one, unified language here in Spain, while castellano (Castilian) makes it sound like it’s on more equal footing with the other languages of Spain.

So why do I feel like this is an important topic that you all should be aware of? Well, besides staying in the Basque Country for the two and a half weeks before my program starts, I’m going to be studying in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. Most likely, I’m going to have stories about the tension between Spain and Catalonia when I finally get to Barcelona, whether it be a million man march for Catalonian independence in the streets of Barcelona or my host mom describing to me what it was like to live under Franco.

Also, I just find it fascinating.

P.S. If this topic is interesting to you, here’s a good article that talks about Catalonia: Barcelona: Leading a stateless nation