Occupation of Gibraltar

Today's theme was occupation.  Gibraltar taught me a lot about it. I did not expect there to be much of a difference between Gibraltar and the rest of Spain. I thought that since Gibraltar was so small, so close to Spain, and so very far away from any other part of the United Kingdom, that the culture would be very Spanish and no different than any other small town in the area. I was very much mistaken.

As soon as we drove across the border, there was a shift. Part of it was tangible, such as signs in English, and red telephone boxes everywhere. However, there were many things that were more subtle. The general attitude of the English is starkly different than that of the Spanish. There were mannerisms that I have never seen before I stepped foot in Gibraltar. The English are very direct and seem to have an answer for everything.
Whereas the Spanish are content with sitting in casual conversation. I noticed a lot of English people talking quickly and with a short tonality. I have no idea if that really even makes sense. I noticed a lot of the English stereotypes coming out in a lot of people.
 Most of them had good posture, and met quite a number of people with crooked teeth. The accent was very fun to listen to, and they talked with their hands quite a bit more than I am now used to. I was very surprised that there was such a culture shift between a difference of maybe a mile of land. I wonder how that could have happened. Since the United Kingdom took over that section of Spain for strategic reasons, I expected that the only English culture present would be produced from ancestors of the soldiers who fought for it so long ago. I wonder if the ruler of the United Kingdom at the time ordered English people to move there.
Regardless of the circumstances, the English culture is vital there, with Spanish trying to seep in. I image the Spanish who live on the other side of the border are very frustrated with the situation and want the land back that geographically should belong to them. The United Kingdom is so far from Gibraltar. From my perspective, it's very stubborn to keep this land, even with the strategic placement of the entrance to the sea. Since I highly doubt anyone but Spain will ever want such a big rock again, it seems like keeping the United Kingdom's culture undiluted would be the smartest plan. Looking at the current Ukraine situation, I would be worried about Spanish revolting against the occupation of Gibraltar. There is much tension near that border.
Visiting The Rock was neat. Monkeys roam free all over it, and I was able to get close to quite a few of them. They tend to grab at backpacks and food, so the keepers recommended not opening food while on the rock. I guess Jessica forgot, and I was standing too close to here when that happened. A monkey grabbed at my backpack because it smelled food. I wasn't scared, but very excited to have the opportunity of getting so close to such an intriguing creature.