The Kids Are AlrightThe Kids are Alright
Europe's youngsters are growing up faster, better informed and more open -minded than ever before. Dave Bull takes a look at the positive side of raising a 'young European' in Spain.
Never in my life did I consider that there could be country that could be half good as my homeland and of course there couldn't be an equal to my country, England/United Kingdom/Britain... you see I don’t even know where the bloody hell I’m from! Like many 'Brits' I’m not exactly sure what to call myself.
But I digress.
You see the point I’m trying to make is that I used to think that although my adoptive country of Spain was nice...well; it wasn't exactly Britain now was it. And then I watched my son grow up here. Absorbing culture Seeing my son, who is now 20 years old and who arrived in Spain with us when he was seven, grow up and think nothing of speaking a second language (and with ambition to learn Dutch; although a tall blond possibly lies behind the incentive...) and switching between the two idioms as if it's the norm for a young lad.
I find it amazing, that and the fact that their eyes and minds are wide open to so much more. The children of expats born abroad are showing the way in cultural and racial sharing and understanding. They have friends from all over Europe and often the world and, dare I say it, the wonders that social networks such as Twitter and Facebook offer youngsters is enviable...and they have so much more time to do it all, the future is theirs.
I know there are plenty of critics of these types of social media but just think about it for a minute. Think about when your child talks to a farmer in Detroit to learn about his day for a school essay - and he can actually talk to him, not have to read about his life from a book. I'm not here to convert anyone to using social media but often it gets a very bad press when an awful lot of good comes from these areas of our kids’ lives too.
One big lesson I did learn early on watching my son negotiating a new school, a new language and friends that he couldn't understand, was that he learnt so much more, and so much faster, when he was playing with his friends. Get him home from school and he'd struggle with the text books that were in Spanish but let him loose with his new Spanish friends in the playground and he would be nattering away within minutes.
We learn when we enjoy something, and even more so when it comes to kids and it was confirmed for me a couple of years after my son had started Spanish school when I saw the kids, of the (many) families that came over in the boom, who took much longer to pick up language purely because they mainly played with the other fellow British kids in the playground. But still they understood quickly, absorbing the language rather than strictly learning the language It's the same with the culture and lifestyle too. The youngsters just take it on board as if it's the norm (which for them it is) and think nothing of heading out for the 'evening' at midnight, just when us normal folk are head-butting the pillow...
The first Europeans
These kids, this generation and their children are the first true Europeans in my opinion, the timing's right as we enter an (almost) federal Europe when, more than ever, this community has to work as one to recover. At least the future bodes a little brighter with these guys coming through the ranks, so to speak. Having a little 'European' in the house has its down side too though...forget about those cosy evenings curled up on the sofa, just the two of you.
With these kids in the house you'll need to wait till well after the weatherman has gone to bed for the night, I'm afraid, and forget about them saying please and thank you... Well at least as much as you'd like to hear because after you've nagged them (a lot) to use the polite (and very British) expressions you'll realise that they just don't do it in Spain, and your kids are actually right for once... Like most countries outside of the UK (except Japan perhaps) Spain doesn't use please or thank you very often at all, but they don't think that everyone is being rude because of it, it's just different and the kids suss that out a whole lot quicker than us mums and dads.
The youngsters I've met and worked with in Spain, no matter what age or level of education, can live, school and work alongside many nationalities which again bodes well for all our futures.
The Spanish natives, in areas that have seen a large influx of foreigners have benefited too from the immigration of (mainly) north Europeans, learning new languages and cultures first hand from their new neighbours. The Spanish youngsters are also travelling so much more than previous generations too, which, granted, wouldn't be difficult, especially seeing as that up until recently less than 5% of Spaniards had a passport (the King and Barca CF and Julio Iglesias probably). But they are now exploring more than ever (I’m ignoring south American history for the sake of argument here), meeting with like-minded people in other countries - and keeping those connections/friendships/contacts going when they return home, or move on, by using social media.
The future
It doesn't matter what age children are when they arrive in Spain but the younger the better because the younger they are the faster they learn, as we know. I had one friend whose son, at just three years old, spoke three languages, Spanish, French and English because his parents came from the other two countries but lived here in Spain, it is amazing to watch. But have a good look at the youngsters that have been here a while too for they have become almost Spanish, my son has a perfect Spanish accent and the only slight giveaway that he's not a native is his 6'8" frame! The opportunities for them as they grow in a world that relies more and more on technology and cross-border cooperation are immense and they are in the perfect position to move into the commercial world with an open mind and a n understanding of others that we cannot only envy, but should be proud of too.
Kids today live in an exciting age, in a changing world that is seeing the shift of power move west to east and a world where every day there are fewer and fewer social and political borders, and all that needs to be really asked is are they equipped to handle the questions asked of them come the time. From what I've witnessed of youngsters growing up in this foreign country, the answer is a resounding yes! I for one, as I'm sitting in my nursing home, in thirty years’ time, boring my fellow residents (it could be you...) with tales ending 'I told you so...' will be waxing lyrical about our wonderful leaders who have grown up as the first generation Europeans....I can't wait.
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