Canadians in Barcelona?

Hello,

I am a catalan guy that got his canadian citizenship from his family and moved to Vancouver three years ago. I like the city and it was easy to get a job and everything. But I have to say that back in Catalonia I and the rest of the people treats canadians really well, not as good as the treatment we sometimes receive in Canada.

I have many friends here but I have ended up always with friends from other minorities (or quebecers) because white canadians do not treat us well all the time. Jockes about backgrounds are common and we get discriminated many times, some anglo-saxon canadians are not the nicest they could be. Many think that we should be on their knees for having the privilege of living here and racist comments are not uncommon.

Some of them should receive the treat they give us here back in Spain for a while to see how unbalanced it is, some of them should be ashamed of their behaviour.

Thanks for reading it.

Hi Cardero,

I'm sorry that you have received ill treatment from people in Canada. I can only open that it hasn't ruined your opinion of Canadians on a whole.

It is difficult to believe that everyone in a country believes in the the same beliefs or shares the same values, but from my experiences on large, I believe Canadians to be accepting of other cultures. I've only lived in Denmark, London, US, Turkey, Canada and España and whilst I don't have a feel for all countries, I do believe that whilst not being perfect, by any means, most Canadians will make great friends.

Admittedly, humour is often used about things we don't understand well. Sometimes this humour is directed at people that are different, regardless of whether they minorities making fun of others or others making fun of minorities. Casual humour is often short sighted and rarely meant as malicious.

Good luck in your future travels and accept those who need it,

Popcornking

Cardero,

Let me be the second on this forum to apologize to you for the poor treatment you have recieved while in Canada. You raised a good point when you said that people in Spain treat Canadian travellers very well. What is sad is that we as Canadians EXPECT to be treated well while we are abroad and yet some of us forget our manners while in Canada. We should have the same expectations of ourselves to treat others with the same respect while they are experiencing our country.

There are many cultural aspects that could be discussed here that may be the cause of your concerns. The vast majority of Canadians are unfamiliar with travellers from abroad because they arent integrated into our daily lives as much as in Spain, Thailand, Australia, and as such, some people may not respond properly to what they dont understand. We all need to learn to embrace those that have an affinity for our culture for whatever reason - whether its to travel, live, go to school or work.

I want to assure you that the treatment you have recieved is not typical of the people in Vancouver, BC, or the rest of Canada. There are many people here who will respect you, your background and your hopes for the future as much as you deserve.

Choose your friends here wisely, and you will forever be insulated from the ignorance that exists in the world today. When you have found that type of companionship, you will realise that you are never the minority wherever you go - the jerks making jokes about your background are the real minority.

I sincerely hope you begin to meet good people in Canada!

I am the catalan guy from above. I was in a bad mood the day I wrote the posting, now that the rain has stopped I like it better. I have many friends here in Vancouver, but I also lived in Ottawa for a year where people where very very nice, but really, there is something wrong with Vancouver people.

I have my group of friends but it is very hard to meet new people and I do not mind being considered from a third world country, as most of people do, but very often locals tend to humilate foreigners for being for a poor country. Additionally in this city people are always bragging about how spoiled they are for being canadians and they assume that we should be blessing them for letting us live here, even if you are a second generation canadian. But anyway I guess it is better to cope with it of move somewhere else either.

Except in Gastown where people are friendly, nice and fun, people in Vancouver are sad, and I think they have mental issues.

Thanks for answering.

Hi,
I am currently living just outside of Barcelona. Would love to meet some people to hangout with. I also travel around Spain for work so even if you live in another part of Spain, we might be able to meet up. Thanks

Shona

Thanks.Additionally in this city people are always bragging about how spoiled they are for being canadians and they assume that we should be blessing them for letting us live here, even if you are a second generation canadian.

Yes they can live there.There is no issue in it.Many Canadian people come there in order to do some travelling with their families.

My 17 year old daughter has a chance to live in Barcelona for a year. What documents does she need or can she just stay and travel?

Hi there

You typically can only stay in most EU Countries for 6 months as a general tourist. If you plan to stay longer than that then you may need to apply for a VISA. We were in Spain for one year with our family and as we were registering our kids in school it was imperitive that we be registered with the city as a temporary resident. Due to this we had to apply for a VIsa through the Spanish Embassy/Consulate. If she isn't quite sure if she will actually stay beyond the 6 months she may want to consider going without the Visa any apply later? The process is quite extensive and there is alot of paperwork that must be provided. Check out the Spanish consulate's website for details. Good Luck!