Stereotype

"They were always very polite at first, and it amused them very much that i should be an American. Somehow it was taken for granted that an American could not have aficion. He might simulate it or confuse it with excitement, but he could not really have it." (p.137)

I encountered this stereotype of Americans while I was in Spain. People often believed that Americans could not know or understand the Spanish culture the way that they saw it. In this case its understanding over the bull fighting in Pamplona and throughout Spain was what they believed to be impossible to understand. To many in Spain it was an extremely important part of culture and still is. Surprisingly, there is a lot more to bull fighting than only killing a bull. In this case, it holds unique meaning in masculinity and the power of man over animals. Perhaps with our anti-animal cruelty minds the bull-fights are hard to understand. On the other hand, maybe to understanding is something we as Americans is something we should better learn to do.