DoughnutANZ
Ka whati te tai ka kai te tōreapango
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 & 2028.
A recent post in a different thread mentioned that when the pilgrim involved was talking to a hospitalero the Spanish person touched them. In this particular case the pilgrim interpreted that as aggression. This may have been the case and I don't want to be part of that seperate discussion.
What did occur to me though is that in some cultures touching someone without specific permission is seen as akin to assault. This also comes up often when there are posts about snorers being woken up.
In Spain, however, I have found that it is relatively common for a local that I am speaking with socially (admittedly a special case) to touch me on the arm, shoulder or if we are seated, on the leg while speaking.
Initially I was a little surprised at this and wondered if the touch was signalling something else.
After discussing this with a number of Spanish people I now realise that this is simply the Spanish way of connecting.
It is not sexual nor is it usually aggressive, just another way of allowing people to connect at a slightly deeper level.
I thought that there had been another recent thread about this Spanish cultural artefact but when I searched for it I couldn't find it and so perhaps I am conflating something that I read elsewhere with this forum.
Anyway, something to be aware of and something that I personally enjoy when it is done to me but I am not yet sufficiently localised to do this myself unless I knew the other person very well.
Ah, us Anglos and our hangups but that conversation belongs to a different forum I think.
What did occur to me though is that in some cultures touching someone without specific permission is seen as akin to assault. This also comes up often when there are posts about snorers being woken up.
In Spain, however, I have found that it is relatively common for a local that I am speaking with socially (admittedly a special case) to touch me on the arm, shoulder or if we are seated, on the leg while speaking.
Initially I was a little surprised at this and wondered if the touch was signalling something else.
After discussing this with a number of Spanish people I now realise that this is simply the Spanish way of connecting.
It is not sexual nor is it usually aggressive, just another way of allowing people to connect at a slightly deeper level.
I thought that there had been another recent thread about this Spanish cultural artefact but when I searched for it I couldn't find it and so perhaps I am conflating something that I read elsewhere with this forum.
Anyway, something to be aware of and something that I personally enjoy when it is done to me but I am not yet sufficiently localised to do this myself unless I knew the other person very well.
Ah, us Anglos and our hangups but that conversation belongs to a different forum I think.
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