Introduction: Spanish Parks are Used Differently

From my time traveling to Spain something that surprised me was the way in which local Spaniards use parks. Normally, in the United States we expect parks to be a place where people can pass through and occasionally enjoy the nature that the park has to offer. Also, tourists that visit American parks go to iconic points of interest, such as monuments and statues. However, in Spain, the locals often use parks for leisure activities, which is a unique aspect of their high-context, community-based culture.

Local Spaniards Use Parks as Places of Leisure

Locals often go to popular Spanish parks, like Retiro Park and Templo de Debod, to not only enjoy the nature of these parks but to engage in leisure activities.  For example, I observed the locals having picnics with others, playing sports or games in grassy areas, reading books, running or walking on park paths, renting boats to use in lakes and ponds, and playing music in front of others.  Parks also function as meeting spots for Spaniards.

Spanish Parks are Examples of Spain’s High-Context Culture

In our low-context culture, we often think people only go to parks to visit iconic landmarks or to use as walking paths.  This is the explicit aspect of parks since these two activities are more obvious uses of parks.  However, Spanish parks are used in a high-context manner that is not as obvious until you carefully observe the locals.  As defined by Erin Meyer in Culture Map, a high-context culture on the communication dimension is one where “messages are often implied but not clearly expressed” and you must “read between the lines” to gain a complete interpretation of these messages.  Spanish parks possess these implied characteristics of high-context cultures because they are not used as we would expect since sophisticated Spaniards do not simply go to parks to visit popular landmarks.  Rather, they go to parks to spend time with others in the community and enjoy all the relaxing, beautiful spots that these parks offer.  If you carefully look around and observe the locals in the parks, you will notice the high-context culture. 

Spanish Parks Emphasize the Importance of Community

As a collective culture, community and family are important parts of everyday life. Thus, having conversations with others and setting aside time for family is integral in maintaining connections with people in their culture.  Spanish parks are ideal meeting spots for these types of activities. For example, when we visited Tetuan Valley as a class, the speakers told us that family and community are essential in doing business and making a difference in the world.  To demonstrate the importance of community, they told us that we are welcome anytime at their building if we return to Madrid because we are family to them. Ultimately, parks are the centers of Spanish community since they are areas where people can meet up with each other and take part in leisure activities that are central to the culture.

Traveling to Spain Expanded My World Lens

I chose the photo showing the view of Montserrat as the cover photo because I believe my experience in Spain provided me with a new lens to view other cultures. The trip provided opportunities for me to expand my world view, cultural curiosity, understanding of global mission and values, and knowledge of collaborating across cultures. 

Spain’s Restaurant Service Altered My Interactions Across Geographies

I have never had to adapt my behavior to changing cultural contexts before. I expanded my cultural curiosity with my first encounter in a sit-down restaurant. I noticed important changes to the restaurant experience that I was willing to make. A group of us went to El Ruedo where I quickly realized how flexible time was in Spain’s restaurants.

Jon Carman’s blog explains the first experience with the employees having to use low context hand gestures to assist us. I expanded my world view through the adaptions in my communication style. I needed to adjust to the high context method where signals to the waiters are used instead of direct contact with them like in the United States. The Culture Map says, “messages are both spoken and read between the lines” in high context cultures. I transitioned to using high context signals for the waiters and gained an appreciation for the longer dinners. 

Hewlett-Packard Showed the Importance of Maintaining Mission and Values

The site visits at global companies provided me opportunities to see how important a company’s mission and values will span across borders. All employees at Hewlett-Packard are encouraged to promote innovative ideas. This changed my sense of alignment. I expected the values to change to adapt to cultures when instead it is important to keep a consistent message. 

The photo above shows the 3D printed medical products. It really changed my view on the importance of global values. I realized that being able to get employees behind your ideas will enable them to create amazing things. I found more interesting information about HP’s values on its website. I learned that a company’s focus on its values can overrule a country’s culture like Spain’s typical top down approach to decision making.

Tetuan Valley Promoted Collaboration Across Cultures

The Tetuan Valley site visit speakers provided an opportunity for me to understand why collaboration across cultures is important. The speakers explained their focus on developing people not projects. I had never considered how collaboration skills can be more important than the projects themselves. I found more detailed information of Tetuan Valley’s focus on collaboration on its website. 

The site visit speakers emphasized how everyone from the same culture could think an idea is really good but someone else from another background could see a fault in the idea that could ruin the entire project. I gained various experiences from site visits and classwork that changed the way I approach a new culture and the need to understand the unique contexts of each. 

Your global intelligence, which includes things like your worldview, self-awareness, empathy, cultural curiosity, and collaboration, can be heavily impacted when you travel to a new country. I discovered many things about myself during my trip to Spain and allowed my experiences to expand my global intelligence.

I now see myself as more distinctly American than I had before coming to Spain, my worldview has shifted, and my cultural curiosity has grown. There is so much more for me to learn, probably more than I will ever be able to know, but I don’t ever want to stop trying to find out more about myself and the rest of the world.

The Culture Map Assessment Offers Insight

Before my class left for Spain, we all took an assessment based on Erin Meyers’ book The Culture Map, https://hbr.org/web/assessment/2014/08/whats-your-cultural-profile, to compare our cultural tendencies to people who live in Spain.

For example, I scored very differently on the persuading scale. I tend to use a mixed approach that leans towards applications-first, whereas Spain favors a strong principles-first method of persuasion. This means instead of concluding things from factual observations and patterns like I do, Spaniards typically derive their facts from general principles and foundational concepts.

The Culture Map assessment helped me understand why I related to things differently than most Spaniards, and it helped me overcome my culture shock faster than I might have if I hadn’t taken the questionnaire.

Spain Added Diversity to My Worldview

One thing I noticed all throughout my time in Spain was that the country has a long history that is deeply influenced by religion, and it is so much stronger than America’s. The context of what it means to be Spanish is much different than what it means to be an American, and I learned this from listening to our tour guides in places like Toledo and Barcelona.

In Spain, your ancestors, your family’s roots, and religion play a large role in determining your Spanish heritage, whereas in America, being “an American” is mainly found by self-determination and the individual choices a person makes about where they live and how they create their lifestyle.

I now realize I am much more American than I thought before. This is mainly because although I was not born in America, I was raised with an extremely individualistic mindset that causes me to make decisions very independently from common group traditions.

My Cultural Curiosity Grew During the Trip

My cultural curiosity, which is my openness to exploring new cultures and geographies without fear or prejudice, was peaked when I was in Spain. The more I saw and learned of Spain, the more I wanted to travel to other foreign countries to see more of the world.

Flying across an ocean and dipping my toes into the Mediterranean Sea was something no experience in America can compare to. The world has so much to offer, and while I still call Minnesota my home, every new country I’ve visited has stolen a part of my heart, and Spain is no exception. I will come back again someday, there is no doubt about that.

So you’re super excited to head over to Spain. You did the work to join this program and trip; you applied in the fall, got into the class, and now are looking forward to joining your classmates on an unforgettable study journey in a foreign country. It is good to know some things ahead of time, so here are some tips!

First, Be Aware of Culture Shock. Yes, It’s a Thing.

Culture. It’s a word full of meaning, and each country can attach a different one to it. The United States (USA) is quite different from Spain in many ways, and it could be hard for you to adjust to that when you first arrive.

Vital things like how people communicate their words and unsaid meanings are even different between the two countries, and this can cause unintended miscommunication. Erin Meyer, author of The Culture Map, https://www.erinmeyer.com/book/, defines the two general types of communication styles. Low-context communication, used in the USA, is explicit, clear, precise, simple, and the message is taken at face value. In contrast, Spain leans towards high-context, where good communication is “sophisticated, nuanced, and layered.” Words are read between the lines, and messages are implied but not always explicitly stated.

Such a common fact like communication styles can cause a bit of culture shock and disorientation, so educate yourself and be aware of it prior to arriving in the new country.

Second, Get Ready to Ask Questions and Learn from Company Site Visits

Site visits are a super cool opportunity to learn more about the global business scene, and one way to get the most out of each session is to ask the professional speakers some questions. Don’t forget to maintain a respectful approach when asking questions. Although somewhat similar on the scale, Spain ranks higher on hierarchy and power distance, according to Hofstede’s culture dimensions, https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/spain,the-usa/. Power distance, that is “the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally,” is higher in Spain. So, when asking questions, but polite and assertive, and then you should receive a good response.

Third, Don’t Forget to Reflect on Your Amazing Experience!

Finally, don’t pass up the time to think about what you see and do in Spain. Whether it’s exploring the city of Toledo, riding an impressive metro system, or walking the streets of Madrid or Barcelona, take it in and don’t take it for granted. Watch yourself learn and grow and remember to be grateful for such an amazing trip you have, no matter what happens along the way. It’ll make it so much better in the end.

Sitting in a room listening to a lecture given by a Spanish business professional showed me quickly how Spain and the United States (USA) differ from each other culturally. At a site visit to Codorniu just outside of Barcelona, our presenter began her talk with an overview of the company’s roots.

This lecture was similar to other ones we heard from our hosts at each of our site visits, and it revealed how Spain leans towards a more principles first art of persuasion versus the United States’ method of a straight-forward, applications first method. Erin Meyers, author of The Culture Map, https://www.erinmeyer.com/book/ defines the principles-first type of persuasion as a method of reasoning that “derives conclusions or facts from general principles or concepts.” Applications-first reasoning, however, says “general conclusions are reached based on a pattern of factual observations from the real world.”

Collectivism is a Noticeable Distinction Between Countries

Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist, outlined a cultural dimension known as individualism, https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/india,spain,the-usa/, which measures the “degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members.” The USA scores extremely high at 91, making it one of the most individualistic countries in the world. Spain falls more moderately with a score of 51, and this is evident in numerous ways.

One example is the dining norms. In America, it’s common for people to go out for dinner with friends by grabbing food to eat quickly, and as soon as they’re done with the meal, they leave. Spaniards take things more slowly. They eat slower, and often linger for a time after they are finished with their meal. It wasn’t unusual for our dinners in Spain to last a couple hours. This demonstrates the different values the countries place on relationship-building that happens during mundane activities like a meal.

A Larger Perspective Shows Spain as Globally Moderate

If I simply compared Spain and the USA, it would seem like the countries are culturally extreme opposites from each other in certain areas, including Hofstede’s indulgence dimension, https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/india,spain,the-usa/, which is defined as “the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses.” However, I have also traveled back to India a couple of times and experiencing that country and how different it is from both the USA and Spain puts my time in Spain into a new perspective that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

One example of this are the typical alcohol consumption expectations in the three countries. On one end is America, which scores a 68, relatively high. People don’t blink an eye at others in a bar or a party who are extremely intoxicated. Spain scores a 44, which is lower than the USA. Spaniards often drink wine or sangria at meals but typically don’t socially accept excessive drinking the way Americans do. India, with a score of 26, shows how Spain is more moderate than the average American would think because Indians wouldn’t consider drinking alcohol, even casually at social events.

Overall, Spain and the United States could seem very different from each other, but when put in a worldwide scope, they’re not so far apart after all.

Introduction: Be Aware of Cultural Differences When Eating at Spanish Restaurants

When traveling to Spain, you might believe that the Spanish people, especially those working at restaurants, will speak both English and Spanish.  While this assumption is true at certain places, like tourist areas for example, this was not my experience at most restaurants during my trip to Spain.  El Ruedo is a small, local tapas bar in Madrid and while there, my friends and I experienced a language barrier since the menu was completely written in Spanish and the employees were unable to explain the menu in English.  However, to help us understand the menu, the employees used low-context hand gestures and told us in simple Spanish words that the tapas are meant to be shared collectively rather than individually.

Spain’s High-Context Culture: Difficult for Americans to Understand

On Erin Meyer’s communication cultural dimension, Spain is a high-context culture which means that “good communication is sophisticated, nuanced, layered” and “messages are often implied but not plainly expressed.” When reading the menu at El Ruedo, there were many food dishes listed in their traditional Spanish names and explained in detailed Spanish, without any English translations.  Also, we were not familiar with most of these Spanish dishes which made us more confused.  Despite Spain’s traditionally high-context culture, the employees at this restaurant recognized that we were Americans and that we did not understand the menu; to help us, the employees used explicit, low-context hand gestures to show us visually what the Spanish dish looks like.  This was helpful due to our unfamiliarity with Spanish cuisine. 

Tapas are a Collective Part of Spanish Culture

Based on Geert Hofstede’s individualism versus collectivism dimension, Spain is a collective society where emphasis is placed on family and community.  This is different from the United States where individualism is heavily valued by the people.  When visiting the tapas bars/restaurants in Spain, the meals are often shared between everyone at your table.  Common examples of these meals include calamari, croquettes, and sandwiches.  At El Ruedo, my friends and I bought its signature Iberian meat sandwiches and shared them with each other. We also paid a single bill for our food which is another aspect of this collective culture.

Collectivism Strengthens the Social Bond in the Spanish Community

While Spain’s collective culture is different and confusing to us, we can come to appreciate it more after experiencing it firsthand.  Sharing meals and conversations with others deepens the community bond and makes Spanish society lively every day.  It also allows those from diverse backgrounds to build trusting and understanding relationships. Spanish people truly appreciate making conversations with those in the community since it gives them perspectives from various aspects of life, regardless of the language you speak.

Spain’s Collective Culture Focuses on the People and Groups 

I knew that Spain was a collectivist culture, but I never imagined how this actually impacts daily life and businesses. Our site visit at Tetuan Valley provided key insights into understanding how community and collective culture are promoted on the business side of Spain as companies place direct focus on the people and not the projects. Additionally, visiting Retiro Park allowed me to understand how community is shown at the iconic landmarks like in the photo above and also in the open areas in the rest of the parks and plazas.  

Tetuan Valley Promotes Group Activities and Spain’s Collective Culture

The Tetuan Valley speakers expressed how important community and collective culture is to Spain. The speakers first showed this when they explained the role of their organization. The site visit speakers explained that it is all about the people working there. The focus is on building collaboration skills and enabling team learning. It was interesting to hear them talk about developing people not ideas. For more information on Tetuan Valley’s focus on communities visit its website.

The photo above highlights the sense of community promoted by the Tetuan Valley speakers. They explained how Spain does not have personal space and invited all of us to move closer to each other. The one site visit speaker said that Tetuan Valley is now our home and that we should remember it as a place we can go to if we return to Madrid. This connects directly to Hofstede’s insights on collectivism versus individualism where the website states, “in collectivist societies people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty.” Tetuan Valley provided this access to the ‘in group’ for us after we established our loyalty through our presentations on business strategy. 

Retiro Park Highlights the Social Air of the Plazas and Parks

Visiting Retiro Park further emphasized the community and collective culture in Spain. I knew before coming to Spain that the parks and plazas were used as social squares; however, I never could have imagined how unique the social interactions in the parks could be. The Spain is Culture website provides additional detail into the surface level social aspects of plazas and parks in Spain. 

The photo above shows families enjoying lunch and the overall atmosphere of the park. The important thing to note that surprised me was noticing all of the group activities that were taking place outside of the iconic landmarks in Retiro Park like the crystal palace. This contrasts with Western culture as Erin Meyer in the Culture Map states, “a common tenet of Western philosophies and religions is that you can remove an item from its environment and analyze it separately.” When visiting Spain, you have to look how people interact with more than just the individual landmarks in the parks and plazas to appreciate Spain’s community and collective culture. 

El Corte Inglés Stories Outline Cultural Dimensions

The site visit at El Corte Inglés provided insights into how Spain’s culture differs on the communication scale, trusting scale, and collectivism. The stories from the site visit speakers outlined the differences without them clearly stating it. I noticed small details on the services El Corte Inglés provides that highlights the cultural dimensions. 

Spain’s High Context Phrases Provide Deeper Meaning in Fewer Words

One of the site visit speakers had difficulty explaining how the buyer’s experience in Spanish translates to English. She was explaining that in Spanish the phrase “the buyer’s experience” has more meaning attached to it. This ties into the communicating scale in The Culture Map by Erin Meyer. Meyer states, “high-context cultures tend to have a long shared history […] where networks of connections are passed on from generation to generation […]. This shows how Spain’s shared history helps us understand how more meaning can be behind a simple phrase. 

The photo above shows people shopping in the El Corte Inglés department store from our site visit and ties into what the site visit speaker said. She mentioned how the buyer’s experience is more than just a simple transaction and involves a personalized experience with the cashiers and other employees. 

Spain’s Shoppers Want a Relationship with El Corte Inglés Employees

The other site visit speaker at El Corte Inglés mentioned how shoppers want to build a relationship with the guests. While The Culture Map explains how the trusting scale is typically used in understanding how employees build trust, it can actually be used to understand how shoppers establish trust with the workers. 

The photo above shows the personal shopper experience where buyers can have other personal shoppers to comment on dress styles and designs while also tailoring the clothing based on the style preferences of the shopper. This shows that people in Spain truly value relationship-based ways of gaining trust as the shoppers do not just want a quick transaction. For more information on the personal shopper experience and availability visit El Corte Inglés. 

Spain’s Tapa Sharing is a Collective Experience

The end of our site visit at El Corte Inglés concluded with one of the speakers explaining how eating in the restaurants in the store is a collective experience. The tapas offered are meant to be shared with families and are not designed for the individual person like most places in the U.S. For more information on tapas and how it’s a shared experience visit Totally Spain.

The photo above was taken from the restaurant where the site visit speaker mentioned that families will share tapas. The concept of sharing tapas and being part of a shared experience outlines Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimension of collectivism and individualism. Spain is more collectivist relative to the United States and other European countries. The tapa sharing experience outlines Spain’s cultural roots of spending time with family and friends. 

Even if you’re not a soccer fan, a visit to Camp Nou is a must when in Barcelona. Camp Nou is the soccer stadium of FC Barcelona. This stadium is the largest in Europe and 2^nd largest in the world with a capacity of 99,354. The construction of the stadium began in 1954 and was opened for use in 1957. The Camp Nou stadium not only hosts FC Barcelona games but has hosted various major events. The 1982 FIFA World Cup was played at the stadium. Hosted two UEFA Champions League finals and various musical events.

The Camp Nou Experience  

Camp Nou has a great program called The Camp Nou Experience. This program gives you the chance to go behind the scenes at FC Barcelona, allowing you to get the full experience and the opportunity to see things only for Barcelona players and employees. You get access to the team dressing room, press conference room, stadium seats, and the actual field. Finally, you visit the museum, where you get to learn about the team history and view real trophies the team has won.              

Getting to Camp Nou

When we are in Barcelona, we will be staying in Hotel HCC. This hotel is only a fifteen-minute drive away from this amazing stadium. So, you should be able to get there without any trouble. Look below for a map.

Pricing and Hours of Operation

The tour and team museum are open every day of the year, expect New Year and Christmas. However, the tour is closed in there is a game that day. In terms of pricing, the Camp Nou experience has three main tickets. The cheapest is called the Basic Tour costing 26 Euro. This includes museum and stadium tour. The most popular is called the Camp Nou Tour Plus costing 35 Euro. This includes both the museum and stadium tour but includes virtual reality experience and audio guide.  Finally the most expensive is called the Camp Nou Guided Tour costing 55 Euro. This includes a tour guide to explain things. All these tickets can be purchased on the FC Barcelona website.