How a Bus Ride on the Coast of Spain Turned into a Learning Moment
Cadaques, Spain
Recently, my cousin and I were traveling on the coast of Spain, and we decided to take the bus back to Bareclona. It had been a full bus, a mix of locals and tourists. Fortunately, we traveled in October, so it was quieter on the tourism side of things, which we very much appreciated. We were sitting toward the front of the bus when an older, local gentleman got on. He hurried to the seat on the other side of the aisle from me and began asking everyone surrounding him if they had change for a large bill. He was only riding for part of the journey, so his fare was relatively low, and he was concerned that his bill was too big to give to the driver. He asked me, and I told him that I unfortunately didn’t have change, then he asked the guy sitting in front of him. I could tell the guy didn’t understand the question, so I assumed he probably didn’t speak Spanish, so I translated and asked if he might have change for a smaller bill, and that the guy would pay him for it, he just didn’t want to pass the bus driver such a large bill.
The younger guy just sort of dismissed the older gentleman, however I saw him check his wallet afterwards and then he told the older gentleman he could use his change. The older gentleman was extremely grateful and tried to thank him and tell him that the moment the bus stopped, he would give him his change and talk with the bus driver. The young tourist was a bit rude and told him it was fine, and basically gestured for the older man to leave him alone. The bus eventually sort of came to a stop, and the man tried to hurry to the front, with the driver pressing on the gas again, nearly propelling him forward. Fortunately, he was holding onto the seats for support and stabilized. Eventually, he was able to make his way to the front to pay for his ticket and get the change for the younger guy. Once he passed him his change, he thanked the younger man again and showed that he was grateful for the exchange. The younger guy responded by saying something along the lines of “No worries, but this is why you need to have a credit card,” and he pointed to his phone, I believe, gesturing towards Apple Pay or something similar.
This frustrated me few reasons, firstly, he didn’t even speak the local language, thus insulting someone in your own language is pretty unfair, considering this man won’t understand what he was trying to say. Second, it’s likely that this man did not understand currency / local systems in Spain. I won’t pretend I do either, but discouraging someone from paying for something in cash in their own country seems pretty bizarre to me. Third, this man was older and likely coming from a small town on the coast, it’s impossible to know how easy it is to access a bank account, and he was an older gentleman who may not have had help setting up an account.
The point of this post is to say that, when you’re traveling in other countries, things may not work how you expect them to, or they may not be similar to your own country, but it is not your place to insult that, sure if you’re in private and you want to discuss the differences or the nuances that irritate you, that’s fine, but telling people how to behave is not only insulting to them, but it makes you look bad (and then people like me write a whole blog about you 😉), instead, perhaps try to embrace these differences, it will surely make your trip more enjoyable too.