Do the Spanish like Americans?
 

I've heard from some friends that travelled to Spain recently that they weren't treated very well and that there was an anti-American sentiment over there. We are planning a trip in a few weeks and I'm wondering what we should expect. But then again I heard the same thing about the French and we never met so many kind people. Any thoughts?

Actually, it's the national pastime to cut Americans up into little salami slice-sized pieces and serve us as lids, or tapas.

Hi, I was in Southern Spain last year with my sister and found most folks to be nice. Alot of the Spaniards speak English and were helpful. I think the only time they might be rude to someone is if they had a pushy attitude. I think you will enjoy it!

cs

Last summer I went to Spain for the first time since 1972. I had such a good time I went back in February and again in August. Wouldn't have done that if I was poorly treated.

<<I heard the same thing about the French and we never met so many kind people. Any thoughts?>>

The Spanish are just like the French. They will judge you for the person you are and not for the actions of our government.

Maybe after this trip you will stop listening when people tell you such nonsense. :-)

They've always been nice to me, or at least most have. Like everywhere, there are all kinds of people, and I guess I'm a big believer that if you treat people with kindness and respect, they will treat you accordingly. And it's even truer when you make an attempt to speak their language.

If you go to Southern Spain I would stay in Malaga or Marbella. One time we also took a boat day cruide out of Aleciras (spelling) to Morocco and Tangiers. That was were Casablanca was filmed and I even rode a camel. It was like being in a Middle-eastern market place......

In Madrid, we saw the museums and went on a day adventure to the Valley of the Fallen (very cool) and to Toledo and visited the LLadro factory. Items are marked up 200% by the time they get to the states.

In Barcelona, we went to the museums and did a day trip to Montsarrat and went to San Sebastian.

The food is fantastic! Loved tapas, paella, gaspacho, sangria and their hot chocolate is like silky pudding.

Have a great trip!

PS the discoteques are great too!

I usually introduce myself by saying, " Yo no vota for George Bush. Y tu?

As already mentioned, as long as you are not a Bush supporter, you're welcome.

steviesmom, Tangiers IS Morocco; and I seriously doubt the film Casablanca was shot anywhera outside the Hollywood studios (lol).
Robert2533, there are also Bush supporters here too.

Some do and some don't.

I've heard of some Spaniards whom only like Americans raw, sliced thinly, with a bit of parmegiano, balsamic vinegar and some grinded nuts on top. If they are nice to you, maybe it is because they have gauged the meat of insufficient quality...

I hoped it would be clear by now, that everybody on planet earth hates Americans!
Those are the facts of life, accept them!

Everyone hates American politics/actions - and that includes more than 50% of Americans. But as long as you don't wear an American flag on your sleve (or anywhere else) you will be treated as an individual. But Europeans in general do not go around with huge smiles on their faces all the time like some Americans do, or call you "sweetie" or whatever. I was there three times in the last two years and was treated just fine.

I have to laugh about the comment americans walk around with big smiles on their faces! In another thread recently, someone commented that everyone knew they were americans. They picked them out, not by their clothes, mannerisms, or language, but by their big beautiful teeth! It seems we have such wonderful smiles because everyone gets braces and we all have straight white teeth! :)
So, when reading Isabel's comment, I had to laugh thinking, I better not smile while in Europe or they will know I am an American by my pearly whites.
tamiandtoto: I have heard this for many years that all over Europe, they do not care for Americans. Like above, I feel they do not care for our politics. I also think there are nice Americans as well as mouthy rude ones. So, be polite, try to speak at least pleasantries in Spanish, and I am sure you will have a wonderful trip!

It's a testament to American ego that so many Americans assume that Europeans have any opinion at all about them. A lot of Europeans couldn't care less about Americans, and neither hate them nor love them. They just don't think about them at all.

How often do Americans think about Spaniards or Germans, and how many Americans have strong opinions (good or bad) about either nationality.

treat them like a person and they will treat you like a person.

Treat them like idiots who should get a clue that the American way is that the only proper way and well they will treat you like you should be treated.

The easily recognisable Americans from the USA, not only because of their great smiles, but mostly by the way they dress, are welcome in all of Spain. Just like any other nationality. The anti American sentiment is directed towards some actions of the present (and past) government, which are not easily understood here and seen as (in a soft tone) bullying by the big guy.

In most places, and with most people, how any visitor is treated depends on the comportment of the particular individual.

It is a pity that there are exceptions, but I think we all recognise that there is prejudice and bigotry in the world.

My daughter lived with a family in Madrid Jan 06 - July 06. She heard many anti-American comments from older adults. Most assumed she wouldn't understand what they are saying, but she is fluent in Spanish. This was not long after the Madrid bombings. It had nothing to do with how she acted or treated people, it was simply she was American.

I don't think you will have problems in tourist areas.

Hello, I was going to say exactly what Josele said but not being Spanish I was a little doubtful. I believe it is naive to tell Spaniards as Auduchamp 1 does, :"Yo no vota for Bush" and I believe that for that reason Spaniads are not going to care more or less for you.!
Aznar,in my opinion, is a brilliant stateman loved by millions and millions of his countrymen. Would you like more Spaniards if they voted for him or not?
In a way it is more or less equivalent for an American to have voted for Bush.\
Many Spaniards are today hoping to have someone like him in charge instead of Zapatero.

International politics go beyond those few minutes alocated by US TV news using made up phrases and simple minded deductions.
(BTW the 'no vota phrase" is not correct in Spanish.
To relate all US and all world problems to one person, who is not a dictator ,is at the very least out of touch with reality.
I believe that in most cases Spaniards are not going to love or hate someone for being American but for what he/she is as a person.
Having said this, Tamiandtoro have a great time in Spain. You will love it.

kybourbon, apart from making anti-American remarks that they presumed that she would not understand, did Spanish people treat her badly? Did a generalised anti-American sentiment translate into anti-a-particular-American behaviour?

I have been to Spain several times. As a tourist we have been treated well for the most part.

We have friends who are from Madrid. We have known them 15+ years. What shocked me is when we are with them and their friends over there - they forget theere are Americans sitting at the table with them and start bashing Americans! They do apologize once they realize thier faux-pas.

What is truly upsetting to me is this whole group of his friends are very anti-semitic.... and speak openly - I guess they think since we are Christian it wont\'t offend us. We told our friend that we are very offended by this line of conversation and it cannot continue. They apologized again... but it was very prolific. He did not make the remarks but did not stop the line of conversation either!

They love to take the magazines out of the the Airplane - Sky mall - and laugh hysterically at the stuff in it -
- Our male friend brings them home and they love to find things about 'lazy, fat" Americans - for instance:

The Floaty ring for the pool where you have a place for the hotdog and beer and cell phone holder built in. They laugh for hours at that stuff.

By the way, I try to be with him as little as possible he always pi%$es me off. His wife is much mnore tolerable.

Also, I might mention he is an integral part of DH business so he is here to stay. He is very good at it.

That is my two cents.

Actually, at times she was treated poorly. You have to realize my daughter really stood out because she is blond blue-eyed and was living far off the tourist track in Madrid. Sometimes she would be mistaken as German (her heritage is German).

We have traveled to Europe every year since she was about 12 (she was 21 when she lived in Madrid).We had been in Barcelona in 2005 with no problems. She had really looked forward to living in Spain. She now says it's going to be a long time before she wants to go to Europe again.

I believe it is naive to tell Spaniards as Auduchamp 1 does, :"Yo no vota for Bush"

That in America is called a joke, un chiste.
What do I say, "Senor, el pollo con arroz por favor pero yo no vota for George Bush?"

More later must run.

Well I certainly cannot answer this question but here is an observation:

While in Spain last May we had occasion to wait a very long time in line at the Convento de Descalzas Reales.
In line near us were two British ladies, a couple from Austria, and a family from France. So this is not a commentary about Spaniards (many of whom BTW thought we were Spanish tourists until they heard me speak Spanish with my mixed accent)

The Austrian fellow was very open about his opinions re USA and other countries, some good some bad.

Then he said "Well the truth is all the good things come from America."
I found this interesting because so much of what we have in USA is from China, Japan or other places.

We have friends who are from Madrid.

If they enjoy mocking and embarrassing you, then they are not friends.
If the man is a colleague of your husband's. I'd suggest that you meet him only on social occasions connected with work.
I'm interested in the American use of "friend". As a Briton, I have colleagues, acquaintances and friends.
There are numerous people in the first two categories, but I can count the third category on the fingers of one hand.

my two cents.

a lot of people worldwide do not like american influence...period.. be it mc donalds, tgifriday's, walmart or humaniatarian and invasive activities in other countries.

once you accept this fact.. you can go about your business and enjoy what is around you.

a woman engaged in conversation with me at a busstop in front of the louvre. when she found out i was american, she just came out and said "i don't like your president", and then wanted to get into a discussion about it all.

I reminded her i was on vacation, and hadn't really formed an opinion about hers yet, but ...

however, do realize that you will /can hear unflattering comments. and a pushy "the customer is always right" attitude does not always work here.
a firm, NICE attitude will, usually.

No one has a simplistic solution for knowing how to treat others, but i do agree, that some workers in spain need a little better p.r. with the tourists.. in general.. not only americans.

or the service industry here goes up a notch or two (or three) or they are going to be in serious difficulty (according to the locals/tourism experts).

don't worry about it affecting your stay. not everyone likes americans.. or other nationalities. some people enjoy blaming a society for the world's problems.. not much we can do about it.

spaniards have enough political problems of their own these weeks to worry about anyone else, imho.

I just got back from a month in Spain. At La Cuchara San Telmo (thanks Maribel)I was asked by an English speaking man next to me (while waiting for my Fois)what I thought of Bush. He was there for the film festival and French! I fluffed it off. The Spanish like people everywhere are warm and friendly people.The desk people at the Niza in San Sebastian were terrific helping me with pronunciation as the Basque was a bit puzzling. I would return in a second! The Policemen in Madrid were also very helpful as I lost my bearings and walked me to my Bus stop. It seems to me like the way you treat people is the way they reciporate.

If you click my screen name and dig back a bit, you can find my Spain trip report. We had a wonderful time and the people were lovely.

Somehow linked with this thread, the Guggenheim Bilbao is exhibiting "Arte en los EEUU: 300 años de innovación" (Art in the USA: 300 years of innovation), showing hundreds of mostly paintings, but also sculptures, modern art installations, etc. Pollock, Rothko, Hopper, Twombly, Serra, O´Keefee, Haring,..., all US artists. The biggest exhibition of US art in Europe---I reckon we are eager to know what you guys have produced on the other side of the ocean and not only want to criticize your politics or your way of life.

These broad brush global comments/questions seem so silly. Some do, some don't. Do "all americans... [anything????]. Treat individuals as individuals, and regardless of national origin, they will most likely do the same for you.

I wish people would stop confusing anti-Bush feelings with anti-Americanism. 73% of Americans are now "anti-Bush" but pretty much all of us are "pro American-people".

We have been treated WONDERFULLY by the Spanish ( and the French and really every where we have been). We live in the winter in a small village in Spain and I can not imagine living in a place with sweeter more welcoming people.

I do think many Europeans are disturbed by the Iraq war and politics, but so are most Americans.
Our president has record low popularity in and outside of the country.


I agree with the sentiment that if you treat people with respect, they will do the same to you.

I have been told by many Europeans that Spaniards are the most welcoming and that is one reason there are so many expats in Spain.

We have traveled all over Spain and have NEVER run into ANY anti- Americanism. My daughter and I are blond and blue eyed, but then so are many Spaniards and it has not affected our experience at all.

Spain is one of the easiest countries for us because of their warmth, love of children and because we speak Spanish.

Don't worry, you will love it!!

kellibelle...Campo Real Olives? Are they the tiny wonderful olives served as an appetizer? Nice report. Hijacking is not my forte but I couldn't find the name of those wonderful olives.

kybourbon--having met your lovely daughter, I'd be interested in hearing more about her experiences. It seems that it would have taken a lot to sour her on Europe. I know she was an avid traveler. Can you (or she) elaborate?

I think most people want to separate Americans from American policy. Around the world people are fascinated by American pop culture and often want to engage Americans in conversation.

We were in a pintxos bar in San Sebastian which was filled with music. I asked it was Muddy Waters and when he said yes, there was a great pride in the recognition of his tastes. When we visit the family in Galicia we know we will be inundated about questions about America.

At this point in time America is the landlord, policeman and banker and those are positions engender anger whatever the country. Add to that the disgraceful policies and behavior of the Bush administration and it is surprsing that people are as sophisticated as they are to separate Americans from their country's policies.

Spaniards like americans but don't like that some foreigners speak to them in english before trying to speak some words in Spanish: Por favor... donde?... sorry, do you speak english?
This is OK because it's not a DUTY for us to speak english in our OWN country and don't feel like it when people seems arrogant.

Thanks for all the insight, I can't wait for my trip--I'm just happy that I won't have to pretend that I'm Canadian!

I am not sure how they feel about Americans, although I found of all the many large cities I have been in Europe I had the most problems there with people speaking English