Agua, Fanta, Cerveza?

When you think of a beach, what comes to your mind? Every summer I go to the beach on the East coast and sit on sandy white beaches with my family and friends. It is always a relaxing time and hardly anyone every bothers you. Going to three different beaches in Spain was an interesting experience. It was a very different scene then I was used to back at home. The sand was not white and t was very rough on my feet from the rocks everywhere. I laid down on my towel in the hot sun and within five minutes I had people coming up to me asking if I wanted agua, fanta, cerveza, vestidos, and much more. This is when I realized that these beaches are nothing like the ones I am used to. http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/attractions/barcelona-spain-beaches.html. This website provides pictures, information, and metro lines to get to the beaches in Spain. However, after looking at many websites, I found it very deceiving because it doesn’t represent the beaches as how I saw it.

Walking up to the beach in Barcelona, I was a little shocked at what I saw. Even though I knew about it, I never thought I would actually see a nude beach. After realizing where I was, I knew my beach experience would not be the normal one I am used to. As I laid my towel down on the rocky sand and closed my eyes, I was quickly awoken by a man asking me if I wanted agua, fanta, or cerveza. I said “no gracias” and put my headphones back in my ears and continued listening to my music. I was able to lay there and soak up the sun until I heard more people, even through my music, selling things. It was a continuous process and even though I got annoyed, I couldn’t say anything because this is how these people live their life every day.

After getting frustrated and wanting to move beaches, I realized that this is what all the beaches in Spain are like. I realized this way of life represents their culture, immigration, and unemployment. By just laying on the beach for a few hours, I was able to get a feel for how they live. Never did I think that I would be bothered every five minutes, but after realizing that this is their culture, I had to accept it and just ignore or say no gracias. Not only did they sell drinks, they sold food, dresses, sunglasses, jewelry, anything you could buy at a market, you could get on the beach. Even though they sold things for cheap, they were doing it for a reason because they would get the buyers that didn’t want to move from their towel.

Not only did it represent culture, but it also represented their unemployment and immigration issues. I was able to tell that they were immigrants because they had much darker complexions then everyone else. According to index mundi, Spain’s unemployment rate is about 18% in 2010. That has been the highest looking back to 2003. http://www.indexmundi.com/spain/unemployment_rate.html. Since the beaches are free, they can crowd the beaches with their goods to sell and hopefully be able to support themselves. Even though this was more of a nuisance to us, I realized that this is a job to them and how they have lived their life for many years.

One evening after taking a nap in our hotel in Sitges, we went back to walk the beach. It was very nice out and the beaches were empty because it had rained previously. While walking on the boardwalk, we passed two men making sand statues. I thought they were doing it for fun and passing the time by, but instead they were doing it to draw people in to give them some money. They spent so much time working on it when it could possibly be washed away by the storm that was coming in a few hours. That didn’t matter to them because they work in the moment and when they need money, they will go out and do whatever possible to get some.

Even though my beach experience in America is nothing like the beaches in Spain, I now understand the purpose of people selling items on the beach because of their culture. With how much immigration and unemployment Spain has, people will do whatever possible to support themselves which makes me put in perspective that I can’t be annoyed at them by trying to live on a day to day budget.