Assimilation

Assimilating into the culture is going significantly better than planned. It is very easy to observe the behavior of the locals and imitate it. When getting on a subway, it is important to bring your bag in front of you and get as far in the train as possible. It is polite to get out of the doors so others can get on before the doors close. Most don't speak very loud, if at all, and if there is a seat open, sit in it. Even if there are people on either side of the empty seat, you are expected to sit down. There is no sense of personal space. People will get right in your face if they want something from you, and will push right past you if you are in their way. Eye contact, even while talking, seems to be unusual here. But we are all beginning to understand the metrosystem here. We went to the beach today. Before that, we headed to Las Ramblas Street to visit McDonalds. Neither Shay nor Jessica have been super thrilled by the food here, and needed something familiar to eat. Shay is also very addicted to french fries and was going through withdrawals. The people that were eating in the store were obviously tourists. I don't think that fast food is apart of this culture. The few fast food places I have seen seem to have been placed in strategic tourist destinations for their purposes only. The food here was actually better than the McDonalds back home. I have been surprised with how many people speak English here. I can see how the tourism has bled into the original culture and changed it to be more foreign-friendly. It's disappointing that it seems to be more dilluted in the bigger cities. I have hope for southern Spain though. After getting some french fries, we started walking down Ramblas to the beach. We had to stop to get a beach towel though, and there weren't very good options.
I spotted some towels in the window of a small shop, so we walked in to find one. The second we walked in, one of the store clerks came and hovered behind us. When we talked about the price, he began to get quite aggressive and actually grabbed Jessica's arm. We walked out while he was still trying to convince us to buy one. This behavior seems to be quite common place here. It's hard to tell if they act this way to rip off the tourists, or if all males here are this aggressive with their sales. I do believe they are full of personal pride, and therefore easily offended. When we got to the beach, there were vendors everywhere! People walk up and down the beach selling all sorts of goods. I did not see one person buying any of these goods. I am fairly sure this is done because of tourists. Public display of affection is another common theme at the beach. It is much more accepted here. Seeing two people having sex on the beach under a towel is a scene that has been played over and over again. This has been one of the most noticeable difference between our cultures. Personal space in America is respected by everyone, and it is expected that it not be violated. In Barcelona, however, standing just inches from another person is not considered rude or out of line. It doesn't bother me as much as it might bother others, but I recognize it would need to be an adjustment. Although I see gaps between our two cultures, there are many seemingly universal similarities. It will be interesting to see if southern Spain is the same way.