Culture Shock Spain Edition (Culture Shock)

Marie Louis Graff

1 Good effort but not much there...
After reading some of the other books in the Culture Shock series, I was quite disappointed by this installment. The author obviously has great reverence for Spain, but some of the things in the book were quite upsetting to me. For instance (and as also pointed out by another reviewer), the author has some obvious prejudice against gypsies:

"They are avoided, and most Spaniards are reluctant to get involved with them." (18)

"Traditionally a nomadic people, [gypsies] do not hold regular jobs and many of them turn to begging or petty thievery." (19)

"A few years ago, mugging and bag-snatching were unusual but nowadays one hears of daring snatches in broad daylight, particularly in areas where gypsies abound." (69)

Also, there were quite a few mistakes in her list of "useful words and phrases" (48-50). There were some errors involving spelling, accents, and capitalization. I was surprised that mistakes that could probably be caught by a student of Spanish 1 would not only be made by somebody who had retired to Spain but also go unnoticed by the editor.

Finally, the author keeps stressing that Spaniards are a very proud and private people and stresses that foreigners will never be totally accepted by Spaniards. While this may be true to some point, her wording kind of bothered me, especially since she seems to generalize a LOT. Granted, the whole point of the Culture Shock series is to generalize as much as possible in order to give the foreigner a taste of the country, but I would take everything that the author says with a grain of salt. I get the feeling that her own endeavors to fully integrate herself into Spanish society have proved not as successful as she had hoped, which explains for much of what she says. She takes much of what has personally happened to her (and very often sprinkles these anecdotes into her writing) and uses it as a general representation for all of Spain.

2 Easy to read, but not very enlightening.
If you know absolutely nothing about Spain, this could be a nice book to very lightly acquaint you with the Spainish culture. It definitely does not live up to it's description. It touches on (one paragraph) many different topics, many of which I would have liked to know more about but just read about what I already know. It's not horrible, just basic. It most definetly does not prepare one for a trip to Spain or if you plan to move there(as I am doing). For example, it tells you there are comprehensive bus and train systems...I need to know their names and how to use them.(of course they have them, anyone would assume that) For me this was a waste of time and money.

3 Helpful hints for Brits trying to move to Spain
This is a book of advice for folks planning to settle in Spain, particularly in the foreign retirement enclaves along the Mediterranean coast. It is heavily oriented toward the British, as the Culture Shock books are a British series. For the rest of us, it has a lot of interesting and potentially useful information that you do not find in tourist guidebooks, written in a pleasant, chatty, though sort of repetitive English nanny style. It is fairly unorganized. But if you're even thinking of moving to Spain, it's good to read whatever good advice you can get your hands on, and this book has plenty of it. Somebody mentioned that Penelope Casas is better: Penelope Casas is a great read, but my impression is that she travels mostly with The Well To Do, which is definitely what I am not one of.

4 A marginal guide to Spain
Of all of the guidebooks to Spain I've read, this is the worst. It is a condescending anthropological study of Spaniards and the visitor to Spain.

Just listen to this example of the "advice" given:

"Nowadays there is a system of numbers at some of the supermarket counters, particularly the butcher's. You take a number from a roll fixed on the counter and wait for it to be called. If there are lots of numbers ahead of your own, this leaves you free to carry on with other shopping until your turn draws near. But make sure you are available when your number is called. Otherwise you will be made to draw a new number and made to wait over again."

If this is the type of advice you need, you may need more than just this guidebook to help you through Spain.

Besides being written for idiots, the book has another assumption which is purely annoying: Spaniards are good and all others are evil. For example when describing the recent increase in crime, the book implies that all crime is commited by either gypsies or foreigners.

The simplicity of this book is only necessary if you are a stereotypical tourist who needs help understanding anything basic about a country other than the US. If you are actually curious about Spanish culture, however, a better choice is "Discovering Spain, An Uncommon Guide" by Penelope Casas.

5 The only book of Spain you will ever need!!!
As a college student preparing to study abroad in Spain, I found this book...perfect. This guide in its unique series tells of all the customs and proper etiquette you never learned in school. If more American tourists read these culture shock books before traveling abroad, the American stereotype would be lessened.

Spain Is Different (Interact Series)