Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Americans.
(http://www.time.com)
In La Vinuela valley, 50 miles northeast of Malaga, the population has risen dramatically. Hundreds of new houses, many built illegally, are set on the hills above a beautiful lake. Some have been constructed with little respect for the environment. Some of the British arrivals show no interest in integrating. In one La Vinuela village a group of five British families angered Spanish neighbours by drinking, brawling and swearing in the streets. The British are not welcome any more, said a local. Another local described how the fiesta had been overrun by British men in their fifties getting plastered.(http://www.theobserver.com/)
Spanish stereotypes
It is a long-held stereotype, fanned recently by northern European suspicions about debt-laden Greece and Portugal. Spaniards as southern Europeans are lazy, siesta-taking knock-off-early types, aren't they? No. Figures for hours worked show Spaniards keep their nose to the grindstone every day far longer than, say, the Dutch or Germans Spanish firms are open for business, on average, an extra hour for every 25 hours of their European competitors. The problem is what people do when they get to work. Office culture keeps many chained to their desk because it is frowned upon to leave before the boss. Productivity is poor, with 41% missing their daily objectives, but improves when companies relax old-fashioned, rigid, working hours. Part-time working is rare, and some firms still have two-hour lunch breaks, which can mean people do not leave the work place until 7pm. Keeping up with the schedule reduces hours for sleeping, as most workers leap out of bed at about 6am. The real problem Spaniards have with their working hours is the damage done to family life. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/)
Social customs In general the British have a reputation for being very polite and quite traditional, and to a certain extent this is quite true. Of course, as in any society there are some people who choose not to be respectful, but in general Brits are fairly polite. It is normal in Britain to hear people saying please and thank you a lot, and also to refrain from reacting angrily in situations where people brought up in other cultures might be more forward in airing their opinions! Another aspect of politeness is the way that British people are taught to queue. British people queue for everything in public, and any attempt to queue jump will be considered very rude. Any queue jumpers would most likely be asked to move to the back to wait their turn.
Free time The British local pub is famous the world over, and today it still plays an important role in small communities especially. Often, villagers or townspeople will have one favourite pub where they go regularly to socialise with friends and neighbours, and it is normal at the weekends or in the evenings for people to go to the pub for a drink or two. In general, British people do drink quite a lot of alcohol in comparison to other European cultures, where the consumption of alcohol is perhaps more common as an accompaniment to a meal than as a stand-alone activity. Another stereotype about British culture is that we all love football and cricket. Its definitely true that both of these sports are really popular in terms of both playing and spectating, but its not exclusively these which are followed. Rugby is also very popular in Britain, as are tennis, horse racing and Formula 1 motor racing. (http://www.your-study-abroad.com/2011/04/stereotypesabout-british-culture)