The Spanish Economic Crisis from the Student Perspective

By: Elisabeth Lembo

March 21, 2013

During the few weeks leading up to my flight to Salamanca, Spain, I began to feel a degree of hesitancy towards my trip. In compliance with our school’s study abroad rules, I registered my travel plans and was soon receiving daily “International SOS Security Advisories” regarding anti-austerity protests across Spain. As I had been so distracted by my daily life at Georgetown during the fall semester, it wasn’t really until this time—a few weeks before I left—that I began to reflect on the fact that I was going to be living in a country for three months that was suffering an economic crisis of a magnitude I couldn’t really fathom. I was about to depart on what was, essentially, a four-month vacation to a country where roughly 50 percent of the youth my age and older are out of work.

I arrived in Spain with a minor understanding of what Spaniards refer to as la crisis and was prepared to listen and learn more about it—as I figured such a problem would naturally dominate the topic of most conversations. Yet, having been in Spain for nearly a month now, the number of conversations I have had, or even heard, about la crisis is fairly limited.

I have noticed a few small comments from my host mother or brother, usually after news of protests or unemployment rates come on the television during meals. Some of my teachers have made a few comments, one joking that we are always out of chalk due to la crisis. On many streets in Salamanca, there is at least one store with a big red sign reading "últimos días" (last days) in the window. Yet, besides small reminders like these, I haven’t heard many direct conversations about la crisis. As I personally didn’t feel comfortable pressing conversation on the topic before building relationships with community members here, I have instead engaged in significant dialogue over something else—cultural differences.

During our first day of orientation, my program director read over a page in our handbook that enumerated some general differences between Spanish and American culture. We first went over small things, such as the general courtesy of saying hello and goodbye to others upon entering small spaces like elevators, stores, or restaurants. When speaking with a person here in Spain, it is not uncommon to stand quite close to the other person. We discussed how overusing the word gracias could promote a degree of psychological distance with host families and other close acquaintances, who don’t feel the need to thank a family member for handing them water at the dinner table. After orientation concluded, my awareness of cultural differences continued to develop in my classes. In one class, I am the sole student from the United States and often sought out by the teacher to offer a general US perspective on various issues. It did not take long to reach the general theory that American society, in many ways, seems to place a higher value on independence while Spaniards place a higher value on community.

While thinking about this broad cultural difference in relation to the current crisis that I knew relatively little about, I recently initiated a conversation with a friend from Salamanca asking about his perspective of Spain’s current state, specifically regarding youth unemployment.

He responded that this general difference, between cultures focused on independence versus community, with Spain placing a higher value on the latter, is simultaneously one of the greatest advantages and frustrations among Spanish youth today. The beauty in the high value Spaniards place on truly enjoying the present moment and time spent with family and friends, he said, is something few countries—especially those of a much faster pace—will ever truly understand. As many of his friends are now moving to Germany (a common destination for Spanish youth seeking work), they are often startled by the more regimented work and social schedule, which to them seems cold and lonely. He continued, though, by emphasizing that in certain countries Spanish students seem to find a workforce that values merit in a way different than here in Spain. While higher education is indeed valued here in Spain, the exceptionally high value on close communal relationships in Spain is oftentimes critical to a student finding work, or advancing in the workplace, based on who he or she knows. This general concept seems to be highly frustrating to students in Spain, yet many do not want to leave their country, moving into cultures foreign to the one in which they were raised.

As with anyone’s home country, the Spanish culture is central to the identity of many Spanish students who are currently unemployed and frustrated with that situation. My friend and I finished our conversation discussing the balance that countries must find, between embracing unique cultures yet also having the courage to challenge certain cultural norms that might be detrimental—in this case, developing a workforce with jobs available and attainable to qualified students. While there are countless theories on the causes of Spain’s current crisis, those Spanish students who are living it and have the courage to question and address its roots and what can be done seem to be the best tool for positive change.

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