I lived in Spain for two years. Only after this amount of time can you truly interact with a culture. It takes a while. If you want to do more than just observe, you must live there. I lived and worked among the Catalan people of Spain and really got to know them. They are prided on there word and they are very proud. They are so confidant of there culture that, Ironically, even though they have been a part of Spain, they have always maintained there separate identity. There spirit has never been broken, even withouth there own country. My time in Barcelona was the best time of my life.