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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Dani Bennett | Scenes From Spain

In a previous column, I referenced a kind of unique collectivist culture in Spain: Spaniards tend to make their family, their friends and people in general a priority in their lives. In my experience, I have found this culture prevalent in every corner of Spain, from big cities to small pueblos.
    After having recently traveled to Istanbul, however, I think Spain may have met its rival in terms of collectivist, people-oriented and confrontational culture. Like in Madrid, people in Istanbul have a propensity to be out of their homes. In Spain, there is even a saying that specifically references this phenomenon: "La genteest?? la calle" (translation: the people are in the street).
    In other countries like the United States, entertaining is often done in the home, but in Istanbul, people are out eating kebabs near Taksim Square, smoking peach-flavored hookah and drinking small glasses of Turkish tea outside and strolling down one of the many bustling streets. At any given hour of the day, you can find a large amount of people walking around outside ... Just make sure to be on look-out for masses of people - otherwise you could end up in a Turkish political demonstration that may or may not contain tear gas.
    In all, I would call this "fluid collectivism." People are constantly spending time with each other outside - but are also constantly in motion. There is a plethora of street food in Istanbul, from kebabs to baklava to fried clams, and it is possible to have a whole meal just by walking from one food stand to another. The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul are also popular destinations, and at both locations, the many vendors span dozens and dozens of streets. My sneakers were significantly worn down by all of the walking I was doing in Turkey. This fluidity does not really exist in Madrid and throughout Spain. There, one could say, that most of the outside congregating, which is done at outdoor caf?© and restaurants with tapas and sangria, has a more stagnant collectivism.
    However, these issues really get interesting when people from collectivist cultures immigrate to countries with clearly individualistic one (i.e. if a Spaniard were to immigrate to the United States) - and vice versa (i.e. if a Turkish person were to immigrate to Sweden). While talking to a Turkish man living in Sweden, I asked him what his favorite Swedish food was, and he replied that he always eats at home, never out. There are two explanations for this. First, the cheapest meal you're going to encounter in Sweden is equivalent to roughly $20. Second, he may have already adopted the individualist cultural approach found in Sweden that is such a drastic change from his homeland of Turkey.
    I don't know if I could definitively say either way that fluid is better than stagnant collectivism, but I do believe the United States and other individualist countries have a thing or two to learn from this mindset. Why not go outside of your house more? Why not create more opportunities for social cohesion? It's all about making these things a priority. Maybe if we had more immigrants from these fluid and stagnant collectivist countries, there would be a bigger influence on American culture. If this were the case, we would perhaps be able to move in a new direction - one that would help us be less aggressive, less competitive and, ultimately, more satisfied with what we have.

Dani Bennett is a junior who is majoring in English and spending this semester abroad in Spain. She can be reached at Danielle.Bennett@tufts.edu.