Is this acceptable Spanish behaviour?

[sportmixture]

I have rented a house for the summer in the canaries, it is in a small village, there is a small one way road between the house and the sea and we have a pool and there is an almost 5 foot wall between the pool and the road. There are quite a few tourist though not loads as there are no hotels. When we are in our garden ( and when we are not) people walking past keep hanging over our wall pointing at us and our house and acting like we are zoo exhibits!! I understand people will walk past and might glance over but I am talking about practically climbing on the wall, I have tried saying hello but they then act like I am being crazy! Is this normal Spanish behaviour? I spend quite a lot of time in the canaries and I have never encountered this before.

[Waffles80]

If you RTFT eyes you'd spot my addendum.

[IloveBanff]

Luttrell "People are generally more chatty. You're in a small town on a small island, people are going to talk to you, just as they would on some Scottish island or something. Maybe say hello?"

Luttrell the OP clearly says:- "I have tried saying hello but they then act like I am being crazy!"

[LinoleumBlownapart]

Also I suspect there is nothing that you're doing. Small rural Latin communities can be really odd. We were treated like aliens when we first moved to DH's village. There is currently a group from France staying with family in the village. I was in the supermarket earlier and a few of them were in there, five people followed them around the whole shop and didn't even make it subtle, they just want to hear the children talking, but it clearly made the people feel like they were museum exhibits.
My children don't speak English in public because you end up with someone about an inch from your face and grinning at you like you've grown an extra ear on your chin. So I wouldn't take it personally. If they know your name and your business, they tend to back off a bit sometimes

[TheMysteriousJackelope]

Maybe the previous occupants shot a porno in the pool.

[Lweji]

"I have tried saying hello but they then act like I am being crazy!"

Have you tried Hola!?

This is a great thread for knowledge about Spain.

Is it different or the same people?

Are you sure there was no murder there?

[LinoleumBlownapart]

Have you tried googling your house? I wanna know now

[Terramirabilis]

Say "Puedo ayudarle/a(s)"

puh-way-do eye-yoo-darr-lay/la-s

Which means may I help you?

ayudarle for man, ayudarla for woman, ayudarles for male group or mixed group, ayudarlas for women

[TrinityTaylor]

The canaries arent in Spain

😂😂😂

[Autofillcontact]

I can't stop laughing at linoleum supermarket story. I'm practically howling 😭

[AdalindSchade]

The canaries aren't part of Spain. They might have been annexed by Spain many years ago but they are a different culture and ethnicity.

[TrinityTaylor]

My grandparents live in the canaries. Been there years. My grandfather is super Brit and speaks about two words of Spanish, my grandma is fluent and doesn't speak English much in public, she thinks people "treat you like a daft Brit" ie speak slowly and are overly polite. No reports of people staring at them in the garden though! I did once wake up a neighbour of theirs coming in drunk from the pub, and could not remember any Spanish. They let me in anway, I thought it was my grandmas house... wrong one totally.

[malmi]

The Canary islands are part of Spain and therefore also part of the EU.

It doesn't matter whether the locals like it or not, it's the political reality.

[IloveBanff]

AdalindSchade "The canaries aren't part of Spain."

They believe they are part of Spain www.ctspanish.com/communities/canary/canary.htm

[Lweji]

The canaries aren't part of Spain. They might have been annexed by Spain many years ago but they are a different culture and ethnicity.

Really interested to know about this. Could you expand on that?

[AdalindSchade]

The original inhabitants of the canaries were Berber people. The current population are a hybrid culture of mixed Spanish, Berber and probably some other things too. They have a language and a history that is very different to Spain. A bit like calling the gibraltarians English. They aren't really.

[Lweji]

But Gibraltar is still part of the UK.

As are the Falkland Islands...

[revolution909]

Culturally they're more similar to Latin Americans than to Spaniards.

[Lweji]

A bit like calling the gibraltarians English. They aren't really.

The difference is that "Spain" is the name of the country, as is "UK".

England is a part of the UK, as Castilla-La Mancha, Galicia, Catalonia and... the Canary Islands are part of Spain.
What you can't call them is Castellanos.

[malmi]

Gibraltar does not form part of the UK though.

It's more like calling the inhabitants of Hawaii American. They have a separate identity but their nationality is USA. You will find some who are proud of their Hawaiian heritage and do not see themselves as American. But politically they are fully fledged US territory, so you can't correctly say that "Hawaii isn't part of the USA".

[revolution909]

I think the analogy with the US is more akin to Puerto Ricans... All of my Canarian friends get offended whenever someone calls them "Spaniards".

[queenofthedump]

Arm yourself with some water balloons.

[Lweji]

All of my Canarian friends get offended whenever someone calls them "Spaniards".


AFAIK, so most people in Barcelona.

[laGrosellaEspinosa]

That is unusual!

I have a Galician friend and he does not see himself as Spanish at all.

[stickygotstuck]

OP, your question cannot be answered as Spain does exist but Spaniards don't. Apparently.

[malmi]

Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands are not part of the UK, they are British Overseas Territories.

Puerto Rico is not part of the US, but Puerto Ricans are US citizens.

Hawaii is part of the US in the same way that the Canary Islands are part of Spain.