A growing country...
We had an interesting conversation in class yesterday on the topic of immigration. For the level of ease I consider myself to be having with these classes, they are by far some of the more interesting I have had. We learned in both of the two classes how while Spain used to be an emmigration country where people moved mostly from the 'campo' to the city, from inside to outisde the country as well to find work, it is now wholly an immigration country. People come from all over, especially latin America, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia which led to another conversation on discrimination. I was surprised to find out that even those from Latin America who speak the same language and have similar cultures were still discriminated against. While it is mostly against the women, who are many times forced to take jobs they are underqualified for, "inmigrante" carries with it a sort of stigma here. The topic of immigration is consistantly on the news stations and in the newspapers especially as hundreds of Africans land daily on the coasts of Spain in 'pateras' or 'cayucos.'
One of the big reasons why discrimination exists is because of the differences in adapting and integrating. While many come here in search of work or a better life and adapt well over time to their new homes, they are not looking to integrate with the Spanish, to learn the language and their customs, and so are never accepted into the society. This is especially true for the Asian population here. I only see them in groups, usually on tours of the Cathedral or Plaza de Espana and rarely at the local restuarants or cafes, but the population of Asians in Spain is larger than one might expect. They come here though not to live like a Spaniard but to open their stores and restaurants, send money home and eventually return home themselves.
Interestingly though, I found that some of the Spanish, or at least my teacher at my school have a certain affinity for the spanish spoken by Latin Americans. My teacher who is about 30 with two young kids says she remembers watching Little Mermaid in the 'Hispanoamericano' rather than 'Castellano' version and to this day loves how Latin Americans speak in a manner "tan dulce" and with many beautiful, clear words and phrases. She says its aweful to hear a Spanish person speak next to a Latin American and even has her own daughter watch The Little Mermaid in the same way. I can tell a difference myself of course, after always hearing the same kind of spanish growing up, but it doesn't sound so much worse to me. I do think that Colombian spanish is more beautiful but there are only a few things I particularly am having trouble getting used to. Most of all, the way they drop their "s" on almost everything that needs one! They say "Bueno_ Dia_" or "Hatha luego," sometimes insterting a "th" where an "s" is necessary.
The other noticeable differences are in some of their words for things. They use the word "bocadillo" for a sandwich you would eat, if you can't be in the house for lunch for example. At home I was always used to the word meaning a certain kind of fruity, almost gummy dessert. They also use the word "vale" for EVERYTHING. I have heard that single word more times here than I think any other. It's the equivalent of english speakers saying "okay" but I feel like they say it more, if not more unecessarily. I've even adopted the phrase I saw on the discover sevilla Web site "when in doubt, just say 'vale' ." Other than that they also use the word "marchar" a lot to mean leaving or going somewhere. Although I normally say "me voy," they usually say "me marcho."
A few other funny "simple rules" for living in Sevilla as posted on the Discover Sevilla Web site:
*Never ever walk around in sandals or without shoes, you'll catch a cold
*Olive Oil is a wonder drug that is supposidly non-fattening
*Air conditioning is potentially very dangerous and can make you very sick
*Hold onto your purse when someone asks you for directions
Vale?
-Angela
