00:00When you got here was there some difference between like expectations and
00:03reality? Very good question. What have you disliked the most about the Spanish
00:11culture that we could improve in Spain? Honestly? Hello everyone for today's video
00:16we're asking expats what they love and what they hate about Spain so let's go
00:22find out what they think come on. Why do you come to Madrid? I'm here because I'm
00:26an English teacher. I moved to Madrid in October and we're both doing our master
00:31here. Same story.
00:34Well, we have a year and two months and we decided to come to see the best things
00:40or the best projects or goals here.
00:43How long have you been here in Spain?
00:46Well, now in Spain I've been a little while, a month, but everything you see here is the
00:51trip I made on bike, which is a journey to the world for 16 years.
00:55And from your time here, what have you loved the most about the Spanish culture?
00:59For me, I really love the spontaneous way of living, like going outside, meeting a lot
01:05of new people, like by buying one beer you already meet like a thousands of people and
01:10everyone's super open and very positive. I love how friendly the people are and I also
01:15love the food, so yeah, I've enjoyed living here.
01:18Well, the idiosyncrasia, one se siente como en casa. Y yo vengo a visitar, tengo mis
01:21pares que viven aquí y este es el punto de partida para hacer nuevos viajes, es una
01:25excusa. Y recorro distintos lugares de España. Por lo general voy a hacer el camino de Santiago,
01:31que es donde hay más peregrinos.
01:33And the people are so nice, like we are from the Netherlands and Germany, they are less nice,
01:38they are like less, they are a bit more cool and reserved and here they are super warm and
01:43emotional and that's what I really enjoy.
01:45Well, a mi lo que más me gusta es su gente. El trato, son muy cordiales, muy amables y la
01:50seguridad que hay. Me encanta la seguridad que tienen aquí. Es algo que lo tranquiliza,
01:56uno vive uno muy relajado. Mejor dicho, no, eso es policía y gracias a Dios, esto es una
02:01seguridad muy tremenda aquí.
02:03So, in terms of bureaucracy, have you experienced something in Spain?
02:07You know what, I don't know if it's bureaucracy, but for me, the police is a way, it's a bit more tough.
02:13They are a bit more strict. Here I would not dare to do anything wrong and in the Netherlands I would
02:19be like still like saying hi to the policemen, but here I'm like, oh, I don't want to stay away from
02:23them. They're very present, like very strong. And what have you disliked the most about the
02:29Spanish culture that we could improve in Spain? Honestly, just like the bureaucracy process with
02:34like immigration and like getting visa appointments is really difficult, but like I'm sure it's like
02:38that everywhere. From my perspective, I haven't experienced something big which was very negative.
02:43I have to be honest.
02:44I think it's also different when you're from outside of Europe, because for me everything was
02:50pretty arranged. Like I have a European passport, like I didn't have to do anything regarding getting
02:55papers to have a visa. I didn't really had a lot of things I had to arrange with the country itself.
03:01Well, here it's the most difficult thing to me is to find a place to find an alquiler, because
03:07while one has a stable job, a no-mina, a contract, papers, you don't have to buy a place.
03:16Well, this time I entered, I have a Spanish passport. And when I entered, I thought I could
03:21enter with the Argentine passport and I didn't have a trip. So, they asked me a lot of questions
03:26and they didn't let me enter. So, I had to take the Spanish passport to show that I could
03:31enter. Because it requires not only the passport, but you have to have a ticket of return, the
03:37medical insurance and all those things that, well, if a tourist doesn't have it, it's complicated.
03:42So, when you got here, was there some difference between expectations and reality that you had
03:48on Spain? Very good question. The expectations that I had, just regarding living-wise, it has been
03:58even better than I expected. I expected a lovely city to live in, you know, like meeting new people,
04:05but I go home in a different way, like I'm a different person, like I'm more chill, I'm more relaxed,
04:11I'm more like, because we are from the Netherlands and Germany, we are always very punctual, you know,
04:16like do the things on time, you're taking the lead. And now I'm more like, you can also take the lead,
04:21you know, like taking a more chill, I think. I didn't know I was changing so much as a person, I think.
04:27I was expecting, actually, I don't really know. I guess the biggest difference is that compared to New
04:32York, people walk really slowly on the streets here. It's a lot cleaner than what I was expecting.
04:37I'm used to, like, cities being different, but Madrid I found to be very clean, which I also
04:40really liked. España tiene una cultura muy cercana a la nuestra, es como estar en casa.
04:45And what about manners? How do you see manners in Spain? I found that most people are super friendly,
04:50especially with, like, being patient with, like, me not knowing everything about the culture,
04:54obviously, and, like, practicing language. For me, the manners are even greater and better than
04:59in the Netherlands. I think what she said as well, they're way more polite. Even when you're bumping
05:05into someone, they will say, oh, I'm sorry, lo siento, lo siento, even though I did it.
05:10In the Netherlands, they will be like, ho, ho, ho, you know, what did you do? And I think that's
05:15super different in a manner, way, like, so being polite, that's something I'm not very used to in
05:21the Netherlands. Yeah, you're surprised. What do you think about punctuality in Spain?
05:24People are not very punctual compared, I mean, I'm from New York, so everyone's very, like, crazy.
05:29But here, yeah, if someone says it's meet at 8 p.m., I know that means 8.30 p.m., so it's,
05:34yeah, not very punctual, but it's fine, I like it. It's fine, yeah.
05:38No, pues que aquí sí es puntualidad. Hablo de mi pueblo, de los colombianos,
05:42nosotros, bueno, la cita es faltando 10 para las 5, llegan a las 5 y 10 y 5 y 20. Aquí no,
05:48si usted no llegó a la hora, que es media hora antes, perdió. Puede llorar, les digo yo. Pueden llorar,
05:54pero no los atienden. Entonces, eso me parece genial, genial. Yo creo que la disciplina es algo
06:00indispensable para alcanzar cualquier proyecto que uno tenga.
06:03We are from the Netherlands in Germany, which punctuality is, like, really important. And here,
06:09that's what I learned as well, be a bit more chill. I even tell them, be there at 11, knowing that they will be there at 11.30.
06:18to be a bit smart, because I know that they are coming at 11.30, so I just say half an hour earlier.
06:25So being smart helps. Also, you always have to arrive to a party two hours later, and then you're,
06:31then you're perfectly on time. Yes, yeah. Yes, they're ready to party. To be honest, I think the
06:37Spanish people speak very fast. I have a problem with, like, the quickness of how the language is.
06:42It's complicated to get, like, all the expressions. What advice would you give to someone who is
06:47just starting to learn Spanish?
06:50Just starting to learn Spanish.
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