It is kind of like Swimming

In the past couple of months I have started going to coffee shops more frequently. I am no coffee addict but I like having a cup of coffee while surfing the internet or while working on random projects. I have met a lot of interesting people during these times and had a considerable number of stimulating conversations. It was during one such conversation that I found myself discussing study abroad experiences with a group of friends. The conversation got me thinking about some things that I considered being blog worthy.  

            If you have ever travelled or if you have interacted with tourists in your own country then I am sure that you have come across those nice polite ones who seem to respect the people and the culture around them. However, you are also likely to have crossed paths with those who seem oblivious to what is culturally acceptable and what is not. They do not seem to realize that behavior which is culturally acceptable in their home country may be frowned upon in their new surroundings. To be fair by those who are new to global travel it is hard to know what to expect and how to behave in an unfamiliar environment. It is a skill that you learn the same way that you learn how to swim. You can’t learn how to swim without getting into the water; similarly you can’t interact with different cultures while sitting at home. Once obtained these skills will not only help you survive in this new environment but it will allow you to enjoy being there.

            In the summer of 2009 I spent five weeks in the city of Oviedo in northern Spain. Famous for its mild winters which attract many a celebrity, this region of Spain has been untouched by mass scale tourism. Most of the tourists prefer the warmer Mediterranean beaches of southern Spain and the better known cities of Madrid and Barcelona. I enjoyed visiting Oviedo immensely as it provided me with a rare insight into the experiences of a traveler of an earlier generation; before globalization and the internet shrunk the world. Oviedo has remained small town Spain. The people speak Spanish and although most can understand a little bit of English they are mostly reluctant to do so unless you get them to have a couple of Cerveza’s (beers) in one of the many local bars.

            Oviedo was first place where I genuinely had problems communicating with people. Most of my previous experiences of Europe or non English speaking countries were in the major cities where the majority of the people can speak some English. In Small town Spain if you don’t know any Spanish then you are in for a rough ride. However, there are skills that will help you get through it. These skills work all around the world the same way that swimming does in any body of water.

            The first thing that I figured out that I needed to do in order to communicate with people in Oviedo was to learn to say a couple of things in Spanish such as ‘Hello’, ‘I do not speak Spanish.’, ‘Do you speak English?’ and ‘Sorry’. A Spaniard is more likely to engage in a conversation with you if you say ‘Hola’ instead of Hello. That’s a fact. The famous Sri Lankan smile also does tend to do wonders. When I started off conversations with strangers in Spanish by asking if they spoke English they were more likely to take their time to talk with me. In most cases we were able to use a mixture of my broken Spanish and their English with a touch of sign language to communicate pretty effectively. However, there were those who tried to walk up to people and speak in English and in most cases were left wondering why the Spanish seemed so rude as they would mumble an apology and go on their way.

It shouldn’t really be that hard to understand why locals prefer it when you try to use their language and customs even if you make a mess of it. Firstly it shows that you respect the fact that you are in their country. More importantly by embarrassing yourself you set a lighter mood where they are more comfortable using whatever little bit of English that they know. After all you showed that you are willing to embarrass yourself and you might even be able to get through a whole conversation just laughing at yourself. I am not suggesting that you embarrass yourself on purpose. If you can speak the native language fluently then by all means do so. Either way making an effort to learn the customs of the land will win hearts of its people.

 Think about it would you like it if someone comes up to you and starts speaking to you in a language that you don’t understand? Let’s say that you are American how would you feel if a tourist comes up to you and speaks Spanish?

In Oviedo I found myself talking to an older couple about the weather in a pub and I wanted to ask them if they thought that it would rain the next day as we had plans to go to the beach. I did know the word for tomorrow so they did know which day I was talking about but I had no idea how to say rain. So I resorted to pointing at the sky and making gestures of stuff falling from the sky saying ‘Aqua’ (Water) the whole time. They simply laughed it off and said that it should be sunny the next day by drawing a smiley faced sun on a napkin which I still have in my collection of random things from abroad.

None of this is rocket science if we take the time to look at ourselves in the cultural context. In doing so we will not only enhance our global experiences but we won’t find ourselves wondering why the locals seem so snobbish. Trust me they are not and I am not just talking about Spain. Locals tend to treat the traveler with the same amount of respect that the traveler extends to them. We often forget the age old wisdom ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’.