Topics you should avoid |
You’ve been dreaming for ages about walking the Camino. You’ve planned,  packed, trained… and you’re finally in Spain. Of course, you want to make the most of this amazing experience and hope that the time spent in Spain will go as smoothly as possible.
That can include a wide range of things, such as your flights not being delayed, not suffering any injuries or ampollas (blisters) and making meaningful connections with both fellow peregrinos and locals.
Some of these things are beyond your control, so we’ll not discuss them now. Others, however, you have power over.
It’s surprising how different things can be in another country, even one that is in theory close to ours: you say or do something that is perfectly OK in your homeland, and all of a sudden you can sense the mood changing. For the worse.
So, what should you do?
In order to minimise potential problems or awkward situations with Spaniards, there are certain behaviours and topics you’d better avoid.
Don’t criticise
As mentioned in this previous post, avoid criticising our customs; whether it’s mealtimes, siesta, bullfighting or something else. We may privately agree with you. But the fact that you, a foreigner, just came into our country and “have the nerve” to tell us how we should be doing things will not be welcome.
I mean, you wouldn’t like it if we went to your country and told you how to run it, would you?
Topics you should avoid
You should tread carefully if discussing polĂtica (politics) and religiĂłn (religion). In fact, my advice would be to stay away from those 2 as much as possible.
Politics is maybe an obvious subject to avoid. People can be very passionate about their political ideas and things can easily get heated when we don’t agree.
And I’m not just talking about current affair issues like the latest election results or the independence of Cataluña (Catalonia). Other “older” topics like the Spanish Civil War can also be very touchy and nobody will appreciate you, a foreigner, sharing your thoughts about it and “coming to teach us lessons”. That’s how most Spaniards would see it and that’s also one of the most polite replies you will get. So, stay away from it.
Oh! And please don’t even suggest that the Catalan, Basque and Galician languages are dialects, especially if you are talking to someone from one of those regions! They ARE languages and, in fact, they are co-official with Spanish in their respective territories. It really upsets many of us when you call them dialects.
Religion, on the other hand, is considered a private matter in Spain. You don’t ask someone you just met about their religious beliefs or practices. Of course, some walk the Camino for religious reasons, but some others don’t. So, unless they bring it up, I would also stay away from it. You’re just going to make people uncomfortable if you ask.
Bursting stereotypes
While I’m on this topic, I’d like to clarify some common misconceptions people tend to have about Spain and religion.
- First of all, Spain has no official religion. After Franco’s dictatorship, Catholicism was abolished as the country’s official religion. Our current Constitution, adopted in 1978, establishes the right to religious freedom.
- Secondly, Spain is not a deeply Catholic country, at least not in the way many foreigners think it is. According to the latest surveys, 2 thirds of Spaniards consider themselves Catholic, but only 22% of them attend church on a regular basis. Almost 30% of Spaniards identify as atheist, agnostic or non-believers.
Â
You should avoid this, too
Before we finish for today, let me give you one final tip:
Please, don’t tell us we have a lisp because of some king or another a few centuries ago!
It’s not true; actually, it’s quite a ludicrous theory and all it shows is that you don’t know what a lisp is.
A lisp is a speech disorder characterised by  the inability to correctly pronounce the S sounds. People with a lisp typically pronounce S sounds as TH.
In Spain, there is a difference in pronunciation (and meaning) between the words seta (mushroom) and zeta (the letter z), or cocer (to boil) and coser (to sew), just to mention a couple of examples. Just the same way that an English speaker pronounces sink & think differently. So, if we have a lisp, I guess you do, too!
You’ve been warned. Now you know what topics you should avoid, so it’s up to you to stay out of trouble.
Today’s words
Ampolla
Peregrino
PolĂtica
ReligiĂłn
Cataluña
cocer / coser
seta / zeta
ÂĄClaro!
Politics is a ‘no-go-subject’ in most countries. As is religion…..
On the Camino however, it’s hard to avoid religion-related subjects. Unless you call them filosophy or mindfulness.
But I don’t worry, as my Spanish is just sufficient to order a double espresso without sugar and, yes please, a small glass of water.
Hasta luego.
Yes, I would say it’s just common sense to avoid those subjects but then some people don’t seem to agree… đ
Anyway, I see religion being discussed more openly by certain nationalities, so I thought I would warn them that we, Spaniards, might not be so comfortable talking about it with strangers. Not to mention the unreal/outdated image many people have of Spain as a deeply conservative, Catholic country. Nothing further from reality, I think.
Not a lot left then!
Could talk about the weather but that could be construed as too English!đ
This is just my 2 cents. Feel free to talk about whatever you like đ
One can talk about: Food, wine, activities, upcoming festivals, the color of the cows, the vegetables they grow, the local dances, the modern music, the local painters, churches, cathedrals, restaurants, favorite drinks, weather, change of climate, how are houses heated, cooled, child care, average salaries, manufacture, medicine, construction styles, great transportation…. and on.
Wine is food đ
We have been told! Or in Scotland, we have bin tellt! Gracias, very useful. Despite spending many months in your country and lots of those with Spanish people or foreigners who have lived there a long, long time, there were some I wasn’t aware of, so thanks.
ÂĄDe nada! Some things are more obvious or common sense; others are a bit trickier. And some of these are pet peeves of mine, I must admit, like the flamenco. I wasn’t aware of the lisp theory until recently, last year maybe. But it’s so ridiculous.. and then you try to explain it and you can see in people’s faces that they are not convinced at all đ
Thank you for your useful advice Maria.
De nada, Bruce.
Jobs and politics. I’m easy after that đ
Wow, those are some very useful tips. I think you shouldn’t talk about these same very topics whenever you travel abroad. It’s better to make friends while traveling than to raise enemies on the road.
Right! Most of it is just common sense, I think; not specific to Spain only. But I guess some people can do with a reminder đ
I honestly think that watching some of Spanish movies\TV shows, etc. definitely ‘helps’ with some of the language understanding (just don’t switch to your native language version – subtitles are good for the soul! :))
Im a Neflix freak. So… since I decided to walk the Camino (about a year from now) I got on lots of Spanish Serials. My faves are La catedral del mar (actually was Blessed to set my feet in there last November), Tiempos de guerra (if i needed another reason besides Camino to lern Spamish think Amaia Salamanca would qualify :)) , El Ministerio Del Tiempo (thats when i REALLY noticed this so-called lisp; thought it quite interesting pronunciation) and Alta Mar
Again, it helps me to get accustomed to the language, so perhaps it might do the same for other folks
That, of course, is not to take way from our Gracious Teacher here! đ
Absolutely. Watching Spanish movies/TV shows is a very good way to get familiar with the language. Loads to watch on Netflix. Another good resource (and it’s free!) is the RTVE’s website (https://www.rtve.es/).
Muchas Gracias! I see that “coronavirus” is the same in Spanish as it is in English ;(
Yes, only slightly different pronunciation.