USA vs Spain cultural differences

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9 Cultural Differences between USA and Spain

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Eating animals that we are not accustomed in the USA

• Meat is a big part of meals here, especially ham.
• Rabbit
• Horse
• Octopus
• Pig's face
• Blood sausage (people do eat it in Mexico)

• Other animals people eat in the USA

• Bison
• Alligator
• Deer
• Animals people eat in Mexico
• Grasshoppers
• maggots
• In aztec times, escuincles

• In the USA, it seems like everyone has a bubble around them.
• In Spain:
• People touch you
• People kiss you on the cheek
• People get too close when they are talking to you
• People push you out of the way in public spaces if they are trying to get past you.

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2. Lack of Personal Space

A children story on personal space

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3. The availability of public transportation

• Public transportation in the USA
• 5% of Americans report daily use of public transportation.
• 7% of Americans take public transportation once a week.
• 61% of Americans have never used public transportation.
• 92% of Americans own a car
• There are approximately 290 million cars in the USA as opposed to 25 million in Spain.
• My family owns 7 cars.

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4.Smoking

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5.Meal Times

Spain Breakfast:8am Lunch:2-3pm Dinner:9-10pm

USA Breakfast:8am Lunch: 12-1pm Dinner: 6-8pm

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6.Eye contact

Staring for long in the USA gives the impression of flirting or judging

• It is customary for Spanish people to make eye contact and sustain it. In the USA that type of behavior would be considered innapropriate (flirtatious) and sometimes rude.

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7.Partying

• Clubs in the USA close at 2am. A night out tends to end at 3am.
• Discos in Spain stay open until 7:30am
• People handle staying up till late by taking a siesta the next day.

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8.Tipping

• People in the USA tend to tip at least 15-20% on meals since waiters in the USA are not paid a salary.
• Mindset in the USA is "waiters work for the customers not the restaurant"

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9.Prevalance of Soccer

Football fans USA vs Spain