“Typical Americans”

I want to bring something to attention that has come up quite often in my travels around Europe…which is, that many Europeans believe that most Americans are both ignorant and incompetent. I have heard “typical American” stories from various people of various nationalities and it bothers me.

This is a touchy subject because no one enjoys being called ignorant or incompetent…however, I want to address it. I do not believe that Americans are either of the latter, however, how am I supposed to justify actions and reactions of my fellow countrymen. Especially considering I have only met a fraction of the 300 million inhabitants of the US.

One cop out answer that I don’t enjoy using but have used (especially for European football…or soccer as we call it), is that our media does not provide us with much, if any at all foreign news/media. You could also say the same about the news from within the US – it is skewed and mainly irrelevant… How else can you explain that I hear more about Kanye West’s VMA act than the health care plan being worked on (or at least I think it is being worked on, because I haven’t seen much concerning it in my news feed). If you are on the other side of the argument here, please give me your input.

Here is a more tangible case – I just saw an American couple being interviewed about the upcoming Greek elections and the couple themselves said “Well I guess we are typical Americans, we don’t know anything about your government or how it works…”

1 – If you make a comment like that, you better be heading to the parliament/town hall or library right after to learn, so that next time you get asked that question you don’t have to make the same reply…because that would most certainly be considered ignorance.

2 – From the other side of the fence…how many governments do we need to familiarize ourselves with? I  can firmly say that if an individual knows something about 2 governments, 1 of them will most likely be the American government. But, if I were to ask a Greek about the parliament in Germany or the Mexican congressional system, I wouldn’t expect a detailed answer if any answer. So, the question is – do you learn everything about a few systems, a little about every system, etc. ??

This whole article can be true for many foreign country affairs: politics, education, health care, conflicts, history, etc…

Personally – I don’t find myself too utterly fascinated with any sort of governmental system, so, I don’t mind not learning all there is to know about other systems. However, I am quite intrigued by education and health care of both my country and other countries. They are both a hot-topic in the US currently and maybe by looking at our fellow western civilization countries over here in Europe, we could get some ideas and answers we are looking for. Take for example – the health care systems in France and England are unsurpassed and the educational systems in The Netherlands and Germany as well.

If you are interested in any of this, I strongly recommend calling up your neighbors across the pond or just asking Wikipedia…and if you are interested in talking about how Europeans feel about the US in other regards, feel free to ask… I have heard it all (from perceptions of Las Vegas to 9/11 conspiracy theories)

I am really curious about everyone’s opinion on all of this, so please comment!

What is it exactly that you do here?

For starters – My sincerest apologies for the lack of blogging lately, I have had some very important …umm… meetings and documents to attend to.

Anyways – People always ask me what I actually do at my job, I mean, the fact that I am working in Barcelona just isn’t enough to satisfy their needs. Well, if I am answering in Spanish I usually play it simple and say something along the lines of… I am working at a company that makes industrial robots, not like Terminator, but used to assemble cars and what not.

neat side note – The industrial robots I work with were actually used in the newest Terminator movie in a few scenes to assemble the human-like robots.

But, if I have the chance to answer in English I take full advantage of my knowledge of the language (sounds ridiculous, but you never know how much you rely on something until you have been without it for an extended period of time). Usually my answer varies, but in jist it is – nothing but everything. I know what your thinking, huge plot killer, right?!? Well, unfortunately the economy has taken a huge hit on the industry I work for and there just isn’t much for me to do… but there is an abundance for me to learn.

Unlike all of the other internships I have had, I have not been given projects, responsibilities, daily tasks, etc. to be completed. I have been given something completely different, the key to the company. My boss and co-workers have said “Kevin, if there is something you want to do or something you want to learn than just find the right person to talk to and do it”… quite the offer indeed. Some of the most interesting things I have had the chance to do/learn about are:

• Worked with the engineering division helping to assemble a cell consisting of 5 robots doing tasks such as spot welding, material handling, and laser cutting.
• Completed a basic programming course on the software and hardware used with the robots (manipulators)… and got my certificate to prove it!
• Worked with colleagues as well as customers and suppliers around the world

Helping to make documents and work as transparent as possible

Helping to establish future working terms between customers and suppliers

• Learned about the sciences and technologies behind a brand new hot-stamping/forming process being implemented within the next year.
• Worked with the press automation division to get a test-cell consisting of 3 robots to be able to significantly reduce the cycle time of a manufactured part.

Looking back on my summer, I probably could have been more proactive with my time and opportunity, but I have enjoyed my experiences here and have gained a lot.  I have two more weeks left and I hope to make the best of them. I am planning on working a bit with the purchasing group to learn a little about supply-chain and how it is implemented in the global industry as well as a more about the new hot-stamping/forming process. If you have any last minute ideas or suggestions I should look into before I leave, I would be interested in hearing them.

Photos

To view my photos check out the newly added photos tab and click on the picture of my luggage!!

Plan of Attack

I have been doing some thinking of where, how, with whom, etc. I would like to travel once I am done with my internship here in Barcelona. Put simply – my traveling will start at the beginning of August, finish in the end of November and I have no definite destinations or obligations in that time frame.

I have recently been thinking of an entirely different approach than before. My new plan is to travel as cheaply and as far off “the beaten track” as possible. My reason for this type of approach is that I enjoy learning about different cultures and customs, which becomes difficult when you travel to places which cater to all of your needs as a tourist. I want to immerse myself in various cultures; to dive into the deep end without my floaties on, instead of wading in the kiddie pool…per say.

I am considering couchsurfing as my means for a place to sleep/eat. Here is a link for those of you who don’t know about couchsurfing or want some more information; also, here is a link to my profile.

My question to all of you reading this is – what are your thoughts and/or suggestions?

TIME is of the Essence

The best way to describe the differences between how the aspect of time is viewed in Spain vs. the US is with one word — opposites. Think of your routines, activities, etc. which involve time and flip them onto their backside.

Examples:

In the Workplace (US / Spain)

• Start of the Day (fixed time / whenever you have a chance)
• End of the Day (fixed time / whenever you get a chance)

In Everyday Life (US / Spain)

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (when people wake-up, noon, six / what is breakfast?, three, ten)
• Parties (start at 10 and end at 3 / start at midnight and end at 7am)

These few example are obviously not going to be true for every person of each respective country; this is just what I have noticed as a general trend in my life and those close to me in both countries.

One thing to note, is that in general I have found Spaniards to be more relaxed with their time than Americans, as they tend to adopt an open schedule when Americans tend to adopt more of a regimented and planned out schedule. How do you personally spend your time? more like an American, or a Spaniard?

One Love

As I was writing my post about my tale of the night in Barcelona, there was one reoccuring theme from the night which frustrated me and has continued to frustrate me. However, I decided to sit back for a few days and muster it over before I wrote my opinions and beliefs for everyone to see. The topic is – arrogant, rude, ignorant, etc. etc. people (with an emphasis on tourists).

In short – the theme was tourists acting as if they had a “free pass” and that they were able to do anything without consequences. Now, I am going to pick on American tourists a bit here…because I myself, am an American tourist. Personally, I travel to learn about other cultures and the people of those cultures, as well as to reflect a positive image of Americans which is rarely shown in the news broadcasts of other countries. So, it really frustrates me when American tourists are living up to the negative stereotypes and expectations which people all over the world already have. Keep in mind that you are visiting someone else’s home, so treat it with more respect than your own, because you would like the same in return. Now I don’t want to make myself out to be a saint, because in no way am I even close to perfect, but I try to always keep an open mind and follow The Golden Rule to the best of my ability.

Playing For Change – One Love

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a very wise, high-ranking, retired military man on the plane ride from Puerto Rico to Detroit and was able to listen to his views on the world, war, religion, etc. and input my own views and thoughts which were surprisingly similar. He had traveled all over the world in the military and been a part of several wars. These days, you can find him, his wife, and their yellow Labrador known as the “Peace Pup” in the middle of riots and demonstrations in the Lansing area as well as all over the world (such as Darfur, Tibet and the Middle East) helping to keep peace between the people on either side of the argument. He is a major advocate on immersing yourself into other cultures and experiencing the “grass on the other side”. There were a few suggestions he made to me which I will never forget; he said that when you travel you are not only representing yourself, but you are representing your friends & family, your generation, and your country. That being said, make sure to leave a positive image on the people you meet and they will probably do the same. Another thing he mentioned is that there are a few words you should learn before you go to any country which speaks a different language…those words being: one, please, thank you, and beer… and if you are able to put them into a sentence such as “one beer please… thank you” than more power to you!!

Think about this – How many people do you know that complain about people either living in or visiting the United States whom don’t speak “the language” fluently? On the flip side, those are usually the people who travel on vacations overseas and complain that not everybody speaks English. You are probably wondering why I put quotations around ‘the language’, the reason behind that is because no matter how much people want to declare a national language or believe that the Unites States has a national language …we don’t… I know this is a controversial topic for many people (including myself which am usually found on the other side of the table as compared to many of my friends and family), but this country was founded and built by immigrants from all parts of the world and there is no name for a language which encompasses all of those languages. Yes, I agree that English is the most common language used in the United States for business, but, it is also the most common language for business in the world… so does that mean that every country should change their national language to English?!?! or that their should be declared a “global language” of English?!?!

Another thing to think about, whether traveling or not is… what makes you better than anyone else in this world?? Could it be because you are wealthy or that your parents are wealthy, or maybe that you are beautiful/handsome, or maybe because you have been blessed with intelligence, or that you have more friends than someone else?!?! If you feel like you fit into any of these categories which makes you better than any of our fellow human-beings than unfortunately you couldn’t be any further from the truth. There is no difference between the value of one persons life as compared to another’s and even if there was, would it really be your place to judge that?!?! However, maybe I missed some characteristic or attribute which makes one person “worth” more than the other. So, if you can think of one, I’d be interested in knowing…

I know this is a long post, but, I am very passionate about this subject. In summary, if you are planning on traveling or are currently traveling, please remember that you are still representing yourself and your country (probably more so than before) so use your manners, respect yourself as well as others, and love your neighbor, because those are and will always be the “global language”.

Tale of The Night

So it is probably about that time that I write a post about some tales of the night I’ve had. I’ve been really fortunate this entire trip thus far… I’ve met some really great people, made new friends, caught up with some old ones, learned a lot, and have had some really great experiences.

Now for the tale –

I went to Barcelona yesterday to catch up with an old friend and enjoy the presence of the English language which I have missed ohh so much this past month. The night (day) started in quite a relaxing fashion – myself, my friend Hannah and her friends Derek and Liz all went to the beach around 5 and enjoyed a few drinks…after a few more, Derek and I decided it would be a good idea to enjoy the fresh feel of the ocean (which was definitely refreshing to say the least). The beaches in Barcelona are quite a site for the eyes…if you enjoy people watching like I do, you will certainly be entertained; from elaborate sand castles, old naked men on bicycles, 50 foot yachts, etc. there is a view to satisfy everyone’s taste.

On a side note – Some proof my Spanish has been improving significantly…I am now comfortable bargaining in Spanish and have been quite successful so far (which I pay attribute to my fathers relentless bargaining skills I have witnessed for the past 20 years of my life haha). A few key bargains in my opinion:

• 10 minute – 5 Euro back massage on the beach down to a 8 minute – 2 Euro back massage (which I didn’t even really want in the first place, I merely just wanted to bargain for the sake of bargaining…but in the end, it was money well spent…cause who doesn’t want a back massage on the beaches of Barcelona?!?!)
• Personal Favorite: I successfully bargained for a cheeseburger at McDonald’s after they had closed the registers and doors. I know what you are thinking…how is that even possible?? I am not to sure either about the words which were exchanged, but I will attribute this one to my current state of drunkeness soberness and intense craving for a cheeseburger. In the end, I payed one of the employees 1 Euro (which is less than they cost normally) for one of his that he was planning on eating haha.

After the beach, we met two fellows from England and two others from Italy and all went out into the streets in search of a good bar. One of the main touristy streets in the city is called La Rambla (which in Spanish simply means The Avenue and usually each city has a main street called La Rambla) which is where we wandered around. I thought that the street was crazy with commotion and sites during the day but the human statues and street vendors of the day were dwarfed by the people of the night. In short, there are quite a lot of sites to see amidst the night here in Barcelona…however, most of which I do not feel comfortable writing down for the public eye haha so you will just have to see for yourself!! The night went on as we hopped from bar to bar meeting new people, sharing stories, experiences, and a lot to drink. We all made it back to the hostel around 4 or so in the morning and slept in what could have doubled as a sauna to finish off the night…

The Languages of Spain

Language is probably the most obvious difference between Spain and the U.S. I would hope that all of you reading this know that the national language in Spain is Spanish, but, what you may not know is there are several regional languages spoken throughout the country as well. Below is a map of Spain which shows the regional languages and where they are spoken.

The regional language spoken where I am currently living is called Catalan. Roughly put – Catalan is a mix between Spanish and French. Even though the people whom live in the Catalunya region speak Spanish, they prefer to speak their regional language of Catalan…I assume this is true for the other regional languages as well. Now being an engineer that enjoys simplifying all processes I encounter, I thought and you may be thinking as well – why are the regional languages still spoken if there is no visible need for them?

That question got me a nice history lesson by a fellow co-worker named Jordi. In summary of the discussion we had – The Roman Republic ruled for approximately 500 years (27 AD – 476 BC) and during those years, the Roman Empire expanded throughout all of Western Europe as well as parts of the Middle East and North of Africa. The most common language spoken in the Roman Republic was Latin (Greek was also a prevalent language) and when the Romans expanded their territory they forced their beliefs, politics, culture and language on their newly conquered people .  That being said, the Latin language was spread throughout all of Western Europe; since there were no textbooks to teach the Latin correctly, the language was skewed and interpreted differently throughout different regions of the Roman Empire. From this, several languages were created (French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Catalan, Portuguese, etc. – commonly referred to as the Romance Languages). The size of these regions varied based on the size of the population and connections the people had with other nearby regions. The main city in each region becomes the hub and the people ordinarily lived close to these main cities because that is where all of the resources, goods, and services could be found. So depending on the population of these main cities and the stretch of their control, the regions created varied in size and population (as can be seen by the map of Spain’s regions). In the 15th century, Spain united the 4 regions shown above and the national language became Spanish, but the regions kept their respective languages and have continued to speak them. Following the uniting, Spain became the leading power throughout the 16th and part of the 17th century exploring, discovering, and conquering the new world as well as many other parts of the world.

So to conclude the history lesson – Regional languages are still spoken today to preserve the culture of each region, because even today, there is significant cultural differences between the regions of Spain. I was also told that the people in the Cataluyna region want to secede from Spain / Madrid and become independent because the differences in views of the people are so significant; but, this most likely will not happen (at least not in the foreseeable future).

Quick note about education – students in Spain are taught a minimum of 5 years of English and usually a few years of another language or two…I wonder why the U.S. doesn’t have a similar educational requirement?

Cultural Comparisons

Many of you have been curious about the differences between Spain and the US, both in the workplace and the overall culture. Since that is quite a broad subject which I could write a doctoral thesis on if I wanted to (not that I feel the need to), I will break up what I believe to be the “main” or at the least most notable differences.

Listed below are those said differences in no particular order of significance:

• Language
• Time
• Activities
• Food
• Fashion
• Misc.

**The list will be updated as I get farther into my experience. If you are thinking of any differences which might be applicable or have anything to add, please share; I would like to view the beliefs of others on this or any similar subject.

Note – These comparisons are not intended to be negative views of either culture.

High Tensions

This morning, the people I work with in Spain were informed that there would be cut backs in the next month. Approximately 1/3 of the workers in Spain whom work for the same company as I do will lose their jobs. I know that for most of you reading from back in the states, this is probably a common “dinner discussion” topic. One thing to note before I get into further detail is that it is very uncommon for companies in Spain to make such significant cut-backs (compared to a few people being fired here and there). This caused the tension in the office to be very high…luckily I’m considered a student and not an employee or some of that tension would be directed my way.

Late last month, the unemployment rate in Spain was determined to be 17.4% and I have heard that within the next year, the unemployment rate will be above 20%. Compare that to the unemployment rate of the United States, which is currently 8.9% or the state with the highest unemployment rate in the US currently (Michigan – At least we are #1 at something!?!), which clocks in at 12.9%. As most of us know, the economy is not well (I will leave the details out for sake of length haha). Knowing that the unemployment rate is a good way of judging an economy, imagine the economy if the unemployment rate in the US or even just in Michigan was as high as it is in Spain (that is 2 times and 1.5 times the current percentages respectively).

But I regress…Back to Spain – Surprisingly, the reasons for the poor economy are not so different from those of Michigan. I was told (in Spanish of course, so I apologize if I didn’t catch all of the details) that there are three main causes for the current economic situation Spain is having.

Construction – The main cause of the poor economy is that Spain is very heavily involved in construction and for the past few years the industry has been booming. However now, nobody is purchasing/renting buildings or apartments so the industry has crashed. What this does is cause several problems; those construction workers whom used to be working around the clock to build the newest apartment complex, strip mall, etc. are now unemployed. The other main problem it causes is that it floods the market with property, driving down the prices of all property and land (yet no one has money to spend because they are unemployed…spiraling black hole of economic failure). Sound familiar – notice any freshly built unoccupied buildings near where you live lately? Or have to listen to your parents complain how they are stuck in Michigan for the long haul??

Tourism – A major source of revenue in Spain is tourism. Due to the fact that the economy of the entire world is hurting, people are not spending money and traveling as much as they usually do.

Automotive – Spain is heavily involved in the automotive industry (this was all new to me); some parts more than others. The auto industry in Europe is similar to the global auto industry/economy. This is one of the main reasons for Michigan being “ahead” of the unemployment game, because as a state we are very concentrated in one industry and when that industry took a big hit, we felt the majority of the blow in a sense.

For a more positive/uppity ending (because I don’t want anyone to feel bad after reading any of my posts), listen to and watch the video below it will surely bring a smile to your face… 🙂