As a young Black Lady in Spain ..?

Question

I am a young Black Lady in currently living in a tiny tiny town called Alquerias near to Castellon in Spain. I am a English teacher, who is going crazy with the small town mentality or assumptions about me being a prostitute (´cos im black.) & the 360´ head turns & stares, whilst driving, walking, running, riding ..etc etc.

In fact im the only black person in the town. Are there any other black, ethnic or non native visitors in the surrounding areas of Castellon, Valencia..etc that can take some of the attention of of me!

As previously stated, im going crazy! ..I´am definetely considering moving to a larger city, ie. Barcelona or Madrid, but does anybody have any ideas of what its like in the surrounding areas of Valencia/ Castellon for a young Black lady? or am I better off cutting my losses & just pissin off to Madrid, Barcelona or any other cities that have a multi ethnic vibe to them??

If you live near by, allow your email to show so we can hook up for a large beer! :)

Answer 1

I kind of know how you feel. I used to live in Granada and was constantly stared at as well. However their mentality in Granada is that all Black women are beautiful and therefore I had plently of zealous men wanting to be my boyfriend or simply talk to me. I am moving to Toledo in August to teach English there and hopefully the experience will be slightly calmer. There are advantages to living in a small city just as there are to living in a larger city. Beware though that should you move to Barcelona, the crime rate is much higher towards women of color and therefore you may want to do a bit more research to safe areas should you decide to move there. I love Spain and I can't picture living anywhere else (unless it's on the shoreline of Greece!).

Answer 2

In the Costa BLanca South there are a number of nationalities who are from all walks of life, ther are no head turning etc etc. If you speak spanish and english you may stand a good chance of getting work in school state or privateas an English teacher or other subject. The school where my daughter goes is mixed english german and spanish, most of the children are bilinual, teachers come and go from year to year using the area as experiance and a learning of the different languages from the pupils. Due to the high level of nationalities and the area there is a need for english teachers to do private tuition. There are a few parents of which have looked ofr good tuition in the past few months with only one finding a good teacher who the child feels comfortable with. The area has a high level of holiday homes therefor is quiet and good community in the out of season time and busy with good happy atmosphere in the summer time, this of cours is when children need a little something extra to keep them going. There are probably plenty of adults in the area who run businesses who would love to learn english too. The area has two airports and has the ap7 and n332 main rds running on either side so you can do lots of culteral exploring, only two hours or so to the mountains for the winters skiing.

Answer 3

Hi,

I'm living in Barcelona at the moment.

I'm Caucasion so I can't empathise with you, sorry.

But I am sorry to hear that you get this kind of treatment.

Racism in Spain has become increasingly aparant, after there was and still is a lot of racism being displayed in football games.

As I said, I'm not black, and I'm in BCN so I can't understand your plight at all, but I myself have noticed racism in Barcelona, despite not being the focus of it. It's as you say, black women here seem to get lumped into the prostitue category, which is just awful, imagine, one of the most 'modern' cities in Europe with one of the highest tourism rates. Well, at the end of it all, Spain is not exactly an evolved country, in my opinion.

Women still get murdered by their husbands on a daily basic. Yes, daily. A little while ago a Russian girl got beat up for doing NOTHING by police women, and here, as a female, has lead me to become immune to the dirty comments and looks from male chauvenists. It's the way it is, for now. It's changing, of course, but to be honest, it's not gonna happen in the next while.

Consider it this way though, if you can:

you get these looks, negative as they are, because you are one of a kind. If you leave, then the next black girl that comes in, will also get these looks. If you stay, then it will be easier for the next girl, and the next and the next.

Your a pioneer!

Still up for that beer if you are!

Answer 4

What the h**l do you expect! You are the first black person they have ever seen.

When I was in an all black village once , the kids all came up to me and touched me to see if the funny colour came off. I told them it did. "Just look at the palms of your hands! They also started feeling my hair.

Remember, the way you act will affect the way black people are treated in that village for the rest of time. You are an ambassador. Act like one!