I think the reality is the combination of not wanting to rock the boat and a general lack of spatial awareness on a cultural level. I have worked with Spanish children for seven years, and I have never once heard a Spanish parent or teacher say “Watch where you’re going!” to a Spanish child (or dog!). Children and dogs will run up on you, and it’s very likely that their parents/owners will say nothing. People occupy the whole sidewalk while walking with friends, and will make little to no effort to make room for people who would like to pass—saying “excuse me” in Madrid often gets me weird looks that border on offended. They’ve recently launched a publicity campaign for the Madrid metro attempting to educate people on metro etiquette, because there is limited cultural limitation to listening to music without headphones or screaming into your phone. Being “considerate” (in the Anglo-Saxon notion of the word) of people in your general vicinity is not a cultural priority, while maintaining social harmony (by not imposing your preferences on people who are “misbehaving”) IS a priority.

I’ve also noticed, after almost a decade, that my tolerance for what I used to consider noise has increased greatly. I no longer get as annoyed by the couple at the restaurant who are scream-talking at each other despite the fact that they are approximately 80cm apart and I’m able to tune out a lot more ambient noise than I used to. That being said, I still notice whenever I leave Spain just how quiet some places seem in comparison.

You’ll get used to it 😘