Spanish views from a small town

Spain has been called a country of individualists. It's true. Each Spaniard makes his own Spain. Each Spaniard knows what is good for the country and what is bad. And everybody else's opinion is wrong. A good example were the last general elections in December. No party got a clear majority; pacts are necessary to govern. And that's the biggest stumbling block. Because no one wants to pact with anyone else. Every party has a red line that every other party crosses. So, discreetly, politely, everyone calls the other kettle black after meeting to discuss differences that remain abysmal. In this time of talking and visiting and forming alliances, the two major parties, the Socialists and the PP, also meet. It's custom. That meeting took place yesterday and illustrates the contempt the ruling conservative party feels toward the Socialists and any idea that might be different from theirs. It was the only meeting that had the cold shoulder so cold it turned to ice. They wal...

When we were married my husband and I travelled to Boston because I wanted to show him where I had grown up. He loved it all (except the food, but that's another story), especially the politeness of the people. He was amazed that wherever we went, people would smile, say "Hello!" or "Thank you!" and look like they really meant it. He wasn't accustomed to that.  Because if you go to an office, a bank, a store, etc., where someone will wait on you, friendliness is the last thing you notice. Yes, they'll smile, say "Hello" and possibly "Thank you" but they'll mostly look like they're waiting for the fly to leave. Especially in banks. There has been a revolution in banking due to the crisis, and banks have swallowed other banks and almost all cooperative banks (that didn't charge for everything) have disappeared into the whale's belly of large, impersonal banks that only look at the bottom line. So, if there used to be t...