If you’ve every moved to or even just visited a foreign country, you’ve most likely encountered some form of cultural shock with the local way of life and societal norms.
This common experience can present itself in several ways, including anxiety, stress, or feeling out of place as people adapt to new customs, social etiquette, and everyday practices. Things like language hurdles, unfamiliar cuisine, different social rituals, and lacking your usual support networks can all trigger these feelings of disorientation.
Nonetheless, in time, these initial shocks tend to mellow into acceptance and sometimes even full integration as newcomers begin to embrace their new environment’s lifestyle.
So it was for American Shelby, who anticipated some culture clashes when she uprooted her life to study abroad in Seville, Spain. What she hadn’t foreseen was still grappling with some aspects of Spanish culture even after years of residing there.
Turning to her TikTok account, Shelby created a video to share the one significant cultural difference that continues to astonish her despite having lived in Spain for several years.
“One thing that will always shock me about Spain that I don’t think I’ll ever get used to is going topless at the beach,” she expressed in her video, all while strolling on the seaside sands.
She recalled she had ‘kind of forgot’ about the tradition as it had been over two years since her last visit to a Spanish beach. But the sight of a topless woman soon jogged her memory.
“I was like ‘oh my God’,” she exclaimed, mimicking how she shielded her eyes with her hand. “And then I remembered. I’m not even trying to hate or judge at all. It’s just, coming from the US where that’s definitely not the norm, it’s still super shocking to see every time.”
In her video’s caption, she divulged: “What’s funny is, in most ways, I actually find Spain more conservative than the USA… especially when it comes to clothing. If I had to sum up Spanish style in one word, it would be modest.
“I don’t know, maybe I’ll get used to it some day, but I kind of doubt it,” she confessed on camera, before querying her audience whether such practices were common elsewhere and if they’d ever contemplate doing the same.
The comments section of her video quickly filled with viewers sharing their perspectives on the topic.
“Better to go the full Monty. No tan lines. On Spanish beaches, it’s not illegal. In many places. Same in France,” remarked one viewer.
Another person commented: “I think it’s quite healthy to see normal women’s bodies in all shapes and forms, not filled up with plastic, think many young girls would benefit from it. I grew up with it, it never bothered me or anyone else in my surroundings.”
“I am from Germany and here it’s not something a lot of people do, but it’s also not completely unusual. In the south of Europe, it’s much more common,” remarked a third viewer.