Communal Interaction and Communties if Need

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During our days in Granada and Seville we’ve covered a lot of ground in the city. We have seen ancient cities and modernized spins on the architecture.

Personal Perceptions:

During one of our days in Seville, we spent the morning serving in the an Urban community garden. We saw numerous members of the community pouring over the plants and pleasantly greeting us whenever our paths crossed. There were multiple generations of people in the garden and one of the coordinators explained that the garden has gone wonders for the community, relationship building and has pushed the people to
Have something to be excited about and pour into.

I appreciated seeing all of the different people out and about working in the garden and feeling so passionate about the upkeep. It was also exciting to learn that there were active efforts to include young children and to get them engaged with the community earlier. It was nice to learn.

Relationally Recognized

One of the things I struggled with when arriving in Spain is nonverbal communication. In the United States, people interact greatly by small gestures and body language. We smile at strangers and say hello if we make eye contact - but we do those things at a distance. Here in Spain it isn’t that people are outwardly
Or intentionally rude, but, that they are a lot less passive with their interactions. They understand and view nonverbal communication in a different way and even something that may be considered simple smile to me, may be perceived as flirting or strange to a local. On a few occasions I have encountered situations where I find someone intensely staring at me - not always out of anger or malice but that they will stare until I am not in sight anymore. I am not sure or haven’t been sure what they may be doing or attempting to do but it has been interesting to interpret certain interactions.

In some ways I have attempted to adapt the ways of the people here, where it is to (in my observation) keep your eyes on your destination and not invade people’s space by attempting to nonverbally communicate as a stranger. That isn’t to say that people have been unkind or cold but that it has relieved me from awkward interactions by just focusing on my destination and not so much on people watching (a favorite last time of mine.) while I may be able to adopt certain aspect of behavior from the culture: I still believe I stick out as a tourist or someone different “Behavior is ambiguous. The same action can have many different meanings depending on who does it, where, and with whom (page 181).” While I may try to adapt certain practices, even alongside someone who is a native - I think back to walking with my host sister and speaking to her in English only for people to assume we are both tourists, creates an interesting dynamic of uncertain possibility.

Social Order:

One of the main things I continue to observe is how the native people respond to and interact with the homeless population here in the city. Overall, those who are in the streets for money - whether is be performing or asking with a sign, are often treated in interesting ways. While the city culture here is busy, it does not feel as fast paced when compared to somewhere in the United States like New York City. The one aspect of the culture between these cities that feels the same is the treatment of the homeless, most street performers and often the immigrants selling their wares in plazas and highly populated areas. When people are approached by them there is this brushing off of any attempt for interaction. They are made to seem like the don’t exist. We do not treat the homeless any different in the United States, and it is something that I struggle with often. What are the ways in which we go about interacting with underrepresented and under-supported communities in need? I have not heard a lot about poverty in Spain, especially in densely populated areas, but I see it and I am curious about the ways it is addressed.

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