Ahhhh what was it like being in Black in Spain? At 20, I studied abroad in the sunny and southern city of Granada, Spain. I had on rose-colored glasses. I just wanted to exist. As I traveled around Spain, Morocco, Italy, and more that is what it felt like. But there were times when people would stare and point at me as I walked down the street in Spain. Other times, I was being stopped and asked if I needed to marry a Spanish man for a visa to stay in the country.
I planned the Spring break of my dreams to vacation in Greece. However, I also had to address the n-word in the classroom and became the face of Black American culture as my students knew little about it.
Being Black in Spain had its ups and downs β and obviously I liked it enough to go back twice! But living in the south then moving to the north provided me with two opportunities to understand some differences within the country itself.
I am not here to disparage Spain, but I want to share some lessons and experiences. So, here are some things for Black travelers to be aware of in Spain. Coming from the U. However, its prevalence caught me off guard. It was on commercials, in-school celebrations of the holiday, etc. Asking some Spaniards about it, many did not understand its implications.
A few did, but still based on their response to it, it was not a pressing issue to change for them. Throughout my experiences in Spain people always seemed surprised that I knew English. Or rather, that I was fluent in English as it is my first language. To be honest, I do not really understand why this was always a shock. People know who Beyonce and the Obamas were, so obviously, they were aware Black people are in the U.
