Communication Outside Of My Culture

Spending what has now been three weeks in Spain I've spoken to more people outside of my culture and more than that outside of my comfort zone. Whether it be just talking to my host family or ordering food, culture is so evident in all communication and much more than I ever realized in the United States. But while every one was a challenging experience, they all have allowed me to grow and better understand how to speak to someone different than myself. On an every day basis I spoke to our host mom’s 17-year-old daughter, Cora, and thankfully she spoke English. Even being able communicate in a language I understood, though, does not mean I did not learn a lot.

The conversations themselves are completely different as well. One of the first days we met she asked very casually about politics in the United States and this threw me off entirely. I had absolutely no idea what the appropriate response would be in this situation but within moments though it became very clear that communication here does not tip toe around what we consider ‘controversial’ topics. This openness became more and more present with every conversation and because of that I became far more open with my responses as well. I also found that many of the words that we use to describe something are vastly different, for example when I said political “party”, her face went to immediate confusion asking why would we use the word party to describe a team? Patience and using clear communication and explanations is so essential in these instances and it works both ways as many times she explained things in English I had to stop and ask her to clarify, or explain what she meant.

Communication, here especially, goes far past the words you say. I have always believed the Spanish language is spoken very quickly, but what I did not realize was that they thought the same thing. Many times we spoke, despite the fact that she knew English, she would just look at me and say “woaaaahhh so fast, what?”. I learned immediately that speaking to someone outside of your culture and native language, no matter how much you think they know, is difficult for both sides.

            These lessons and realizations, in my eyes, will guide me even past speaking in Spanish culture and can help other realize how many simple differences there are that you have to realize when speaking interculturally. My advice to you would be to one, be patient. It isn’t just hard for you, it’s hard for them too and it’s going to take time. I found using comparisons and speaking slow can help more than I realized. In addition to that, when you’re talking listen to what they talk about and how they discuss things as cues to help you understand what is acceptable, especially if you haven’t done the research on it. Every culture is different and what is acceptable to discuss changes with each one. With that, though, don’t be afraid to discuss things that are deemed acceptable in their culture even if it isn’t in yours. Last, and most important, I would advice anyone in any culture to be curious. Ask questions and learn as much as you can, you’ll use these lessons for the rest of your life. With every kiss on the cheek I’ve received from a new stranger, I’ve learned a whole new world.