It's not easy being green...in Spain

Being green means something quite different here than it does at home. And it illustrates some interesting cultural differences.

In Spain, 'green' (verde) is used to describe something that is off-color, bawdy. Thus: chiste verde (salacious joke), viejo verde (dirty old man). How the color green came to be thus associated, I don't know.

In American culture, to be 'green' means to be environmentally aware. We have come to be greatly concerned about the harm we are doing to our planet. Sometimes this is brought home to us on a very personal level, as when Hannah's father, on a cruise ship in the Antarctic, received a blistering sunburn through a hole in the ozone layer. Other Western cultures are gravely concerned as well: Ireland recently banned the use of plastic bags in that country.

Not so Spain. Here, it seems that they cannot get enough of plastic bags. It startles a grocery clerk when a customer insists that purchases not be put into a plastic bag. Paper bags are unheard of in grocery stores. Recently when I collected a heavy parcel from the post office, the window clerk urged me to take two of the large, heavy plastic bags bearing the colors and logo of the correo (postal service). Thinking about this, I recalled one of my Spanish teachers in Nerja, Mabel, telling us that Spain has a low level of awareness about environmental issues. Terrorism (not surprisingly) has now risen to the the top of issues concerning Spaniards. The environment doesn't appear in the top five.

Clothing boutiques, and even the public libraries, liberally give out logoed cloth tote bags with purchases. We've collected at least a half-dozen. I try to remember to bring one with me for shopping, but many times I forget. At least when I take my carrito to the supermarket, I can fill it to the top without using a single plastic bag.

Barcelona has to be one of the most polluted cities I've been in since leaving L.A. Navigating a narrow sidewalk past a solid string of cars and trucks means inhaling air heavy with exhaust fumes. Maybe that's why Hannah and I have been continually sick with respiratory infections since we arrived here.

I'm not suggesting the U.S. has done significantly better at reducing emissions or landfill deposits. But when I think of the color green, I see forests and fields. Maybe I've been in Barcelona too long; I've ventured outside its limits only once since September. But in a couple of weeks, my dear friend Barry arrives from California, and we embark on a week-long tour of the Andalucian countryside. Then I'll be able to breathe in the clean air of the hills covered in olive groves. And there will be plenty of green to refresh the eyes, too.