Seeing America Differently

I've always been very patriotic.  Corny as it may sound, as a kid, singing America the Beautiful in school assemblies sometimes made me teary-eyed.  I think it is because America is the country which granted my parents, through their ceaseless hard work and intelligence, the American Dream.  They came as penniless immigrants with minimal English skills and will retire successful and respected professionals and parents of children with advanced degrees.

And although I have at times felt ashamed of some of the actions of my country (CIA shenanigans) or hopeless about various issues that plague our society (ongoing racial discrimination), I've always considered the US of A the best country in the world, and my home sweet home.  Now, after two and a half years of living outside the country, I am for the first time feeling just a little less certain about the superiority of the EEUU, as they call it here.  Note that  I am speaking from my view as an educated upper-middle-class person who came from the Silicon Valley, one of the most competitive environments in the US, if not the world.  I just see the US from a different perspective now.

The economy here in Spain is not doing well.  Salaries in Mark's line of work are very low, less than half of what he would earn in the US.  There is more bureaucracy and regulation.  For example, a group of retail merchants on the most famous shopping street in the city recently petitioned the government to allow them to open for a few hours on Sundays.  It seems like a no-brainer to us, that with hordes of tourists looking to spend their money and an economic crisis in full swing, it ought to be up to the stores themselves to decide whether such a move would be profitable, but that's a very American perspective. Flexibility and efficiency is one of the best things about the US, I think.  On the other hand, protecting Sundays not for religious reasons but as a family day of rest and togetherness free from commercialism is rather beautiful.  Spaniards really do celebrate every cousin's birthday together, and have long family lunches every week.  I believe that type of strong family support is really healthy.

The fact that there is free, decent quality health care for all is really a tremendous relief.  Many people still opt for private health insurance, because it means no waiting times, and it is in fact quite affordable (for a family of four, less than $200 per month with minimal copays and no deductible!).  Most doctors work for both the public and private sector, and in fact the best doctors are in the the public hospitals, so if you have a serious concern, you go there.  Spain definitely wins in the health care department.

The work environment here is not particularly demanding.  People don't derive their identities from their work, and never talk about it outside the office.  It seems to just be something they do to pay the bills.  Things happen more slowly, and people are generally patient and understanding.  Apparently Spain has lower productivity than countries such as France and Germany, and that may be somewhat due to the long, fragmented work schedule, starting at 9, with numerous coffee and lunch breaks, but stretching to 5 or 8 at night.  This needs to change in order for the country to be competitive economically with the rest of Europe.

While we find people here well-educated and very competent, they are not necessarily striving for excellence or particularly dedicated to their work.  This complacency allows for inefficiency or mediocrity, and it can be annoying.  For example, when our wall became damaged by a minor water leak, I called my landlord.  She called the insurance company who manages the maintenance of the apartment.  They called me to set up an appointment for someone to look at it.  The guy came and filed a report.  Weeks later someone else came to look at it, but said he couldn't do anything.  So they sent another inspector.  Filed a report.  It's been two months, three people have come, but still nothing is fixed.  ???

The flip side of this is that when people are off work, they can generally disconnect.  There is time in the evening for socializing or relaxing.  The pace of life is slower.  There is time to stop and chat when you run into someone at the store.  Personally, I think this is very healthy.  In California I always felt like I was racing from one place to another.   I worry that when we return to the states the fast pace and competitiveness will come as a shock.  The quality of life here is definitely better. There is much less anxiety.   These people are not workaholics.  They put human relationships before money.

Our Bay Area friends have reported that applying for private middle schools is "a campaign" involving parent interviews, essays, letters of recommendation, standardized tests, student interviews, and more.  The pressure of SAT tests, APs, etc. seem to be driving Palo Alto teens to suicide, and it's really frightening.  Here, if you test well, you will get into a good public college that doesn't cost much.  There is much less competition.  Spain does not score high on world education rankings, but at least their kids are not self-destructing.  American competition these days seems overly cut-throat and inhumane.

Spain is not perfect.  There is racial discrimination against gypsies, muslims, and dark-skinned immigrants that needs to be addressed.  Unemployment is high and too many people are losing their homes.  Gender inequality is still pervasive, although there are many more female political leaders in Spain than in the US.  But gays can marry here, and there is virtually no gun violence because GUNS ARE ILLEGAL.  Imagine that!  Public transportation is really for all sectors of the public, not just the lower class.  All these things make me sad when I contemplate returning to California where traffic jams, mass shootings, stress-ed out students, overworked parents, and ridiculously high insurance premiums await me.