steviedeluxe

Ha - Are you saying Brits are more devious and dishonest then? Or perhaps the Spanish need a Sun newspaper with page 3???

cricketman

I agree and think it is one of the major differences between British and Spanish people.
British people tend to expect the worst in people unless given evidence that proves otherwise, while Spanish people do the opposite

whitelinen

Wear sunglasses, stare back, look anywhere you want.

bil

Women don't understand the years of specialist training we get.

Dick Dasterdly

So we can presume that outstanding Bristols run in your wife's family.

Relampago

dios41...

All Brits are hooligans? All brits are arrogants, dirty and rude? All the brits drinking by drinking, and vomit in the streets? If I begin to generalize, would you like it?

I'm Spanish, I don't like nor the dirt nor the dirty people, I do not like bullfighting and flamenco (which do you think that we have in the genes), I am teetotaler, I am orderly and I hate to see dog feces in the streets, because they simply do not allow this to my dogs...What is the problem?

And of course, people can be more sociable in Spain not only cultural factor, I guess it also influences the climate, the best weather can do more social life on the street

Let me give an example ...

The Swedes are the number one in care of the nature ... at least that of its country

More than 10 years ago, a neglect of the Swedish mining company Boliden, became one of our national parks, Doñana, in a dump, speaking smoothly. Do you know the disasters that cause a mining spill? And for more than 10 years, we sweated blood to return to Doñana to its former glory. And with money of our pockets, because Boliden it has not paid nor wants to pay more 90 million of Eurus

Who is cleaner here? Of who we should learn?

bil

There are stereotypes, and they are valid. They wouldn't be stereotypes if they weren't. I like the stereotypical Spanish. They have a warmth, a passion, they speak with passion, and they seem to enjoy themselves more in simply living. They are to me less agressive and more laid back.

Like the more English stereotype of the withdrawn, less emotional character more given to excessive drinking and agression, neither stereotype is universally applicable.

That is not the nature of a stereotype.

Swedish stereotypes? Keen on 'nature', interestingly, one of the last countries to stop sterilising the less desirable among their population. I doubt that most Swedes would approve of what Boliden did. I just think they are a typical, uncaring big business, for whom profit is all.

johnnyone

You obviously know my in laws

agoreira

Well, according to all the posts following this article, we're all that and more. Pirates, thieves, and that's some of the nicer things they have to say about us. . People will generalise, that's inevitable, even CM's thoughts on the average Brit don't seem to fit anyone I know.
http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/9649...sinde/piratas/

JLFS

I seem to have the opposite view of friends to the majority of posters on here.

I find that the British are much better to be friends with than the Spanish and funnily enough my wife says the same.

We know lost of women both in Alicante and in Galicia, who are what they call friends.

These women meet eachother for coffee everyday and have a donut or suso or whatever with it, but apart from that they never seem to socialise in any other way or at any other time.

They would never shop together, or go for a hospital or doctors appointment with eachother, it seems more a friendship based on the " we happen to be in the same place at the same time" approach.

my wife often meets up with the pandilla, but when she had the flu not so long ago, not one of them came to see her, in fact there were not many calls from the asking about her health, infact one of her mates from England, said she would come and look after her., and the others were on the phone nearly eveyday.

I find that lots of Spanish women have friends for the coffee in the mornings, friends for a game of cards in the afternoon, friends at clases de manualidades, etc but they dont seem to have a "Jack of all trades" friend, one who a constant in their lives.

I know that when the phone rings at about 9.30pm at night, it will be her best mate from England, and I am not psycic or anything, but I nearly always know who is calling before she answers the phone.

I think this applies to men as well but to a lesser extent.

We dont call a person that bump into everyday or not so everyday in the local bar, have a chat with, or buy or receive a drink from a "friend".

To get on our "friends" list, which is not the same as our "christmas card list", it takes a lot more than that.

lynnxa

yes, it takes a lot to be a true friend - the rest are usually just passing through...........

Chiclanagir

Actually that sounds like me. I will speak to anyone and always have a reply.

Chiclanagir

I am obviously one of the nutters!!

bil

If you did it in the UK, well, there would be a fair chance that you were a nutter. Be honest, most of them are. Brits tend to walk along in their own little closed world, especially if they are from the south.

agoreira

I think it depends on where you are as well, people in cities, large town, generally don't speak, whichever country. I walk every day here, and always in the country, coast path etc, and like you I always speak, and it's unheard of for people not to answer. I end up speaking to all manner of people, if they don't chat, I assume they are visitors, not used to speaking. My wife always asks me who I bumped into, who I was talking to today! I'm always surprised by the number of women walking on their own, often in pretty remote places, and I always wait to see if they are keen to say hello as they might not want to engage a stranger in conversation, but I've never not known them to speak.