Spain and Britain two similar yet vastly different countries ?
It of course goes with out saying Britain and Spain are different(But two countries with long intertwined histories with each other for the good the bad and dare I say it interesting) (not trying to click bate honest) but at the same time they do share things, they have cultural difference and similarity's and finding them can be fun , in fact it is one of the most rewarding parts of living aboard
Now in no way am I trying to say Britain's better or Spain's better their different and similar and both full of charm, history etc
This may take a while to write, as with any country the difference are easy to spot, but the similarity's can be harder to spot , but that's what is fun, interesting and rewarding about living in a different country.
I will start with the differences as they are the logical jumping in point
The Differences
And of course it goes without saying this part could be pages and pages long if I wanted.
A major noticeable difference between Britain and Spain is ( and the Rest of Europe and Spain for that Matter) is that in Spain the Ambulances use flashing orange beacons instead of the more usual blue Beacon, and of course they Speak Spanish (but you know that one of course )(
and it is a rewarding challenge to learn a new language)
And unlike Britain , Spain is mainly a Catholic country not a Protestant one (Which yes they are both branches of Christianity ) This difference in ways of Worshipping has lead to many of the difference between the two country's but of course not them all, Having a different climate , Geography and other factors create different cultures as well it is complex I guess
One example (and this one also can be said for Germany to a certain degree and other European countries as well like France I think) of a difference is that Shops are closed on Sundays and there are more religious festivals
And one I have noticed is the Spanish don't eat on the street when walking about, unlike people in Britain,
Again a difference between Spain and Britain most people are fully aware of is the Spanish habit to take a siesta from about 2pm to 4:30pm which as a Brit takes some getting use to but after a while it kinda made sense to me as during spring and Summer Spain is hot very hot so taking a break to recover from that heat makes sense
And there will be loads of difference that are subtle and harder to spot and as with any country the difference between regions will effect observations on how two country's differ
The Similarity's
Well lets start with a few quick fire ones that are easy before looking deeper
Both in Nato
Both are in Europe (Geographical )
Both have constitutional Monarchy's Spain has a king and Britain a Queen
While on the topic of royalty British monarch's have married Spanish royalty and nobility for example the Tudor monarch Henry the 8th married Catharine of Aragon (so did his brother Philip before him who died she is the one that Henry divorced and sparked the English reformation she is also mother of a British Queen Mary Tudor (no not Mary Queen of Scots she is a different women and they where cousins)
(work in progress so your thoughts suggestions and ideas are more than welcome)
