In 204x, we discussed the significance of the Spanish State lottery in culture, business, and societal leanings. When watching this the first time I assumed it was just a story of someone that won the lottery and the excitement they had. But, I was taken aback by the overall emotions displayed in the commercial. The commercial had somber, melancholy undertones which pushed the commercial to connect with me. Once I was sucked in I wanted to see the cultural importance of this lottery.

In the commercial, you can see the sense of community coming together in a moment of joy sharing the lottery winnings together. In Spain, your house is not your home. Your neighborhood is your home. The sense of community can not be overstated. I believe that I can identify undertones and main ideas lying beneath the surface of an ad to buy a lottery ticket. Even though the commercial was in Spanish, I used my skills of context clues and basic vocabulary to see what this commercial meant. This advertisement is not one like in the states displaying the winnings and perpetuating a sense of self wealth. It pushes spaniards to buy the lottery ticket not for them themselves to become rich, but to help out their community.

One day in class in 204x we were given a game to play in a group in. There were groups with rules distributed to each. We played the first round without a hitch then the winner rotated. The winner in my group moved on and we received a new member. Over-time I realized that he did not follow the same rules as me and he took some of my winning hands. I was confused and thought he was cheating or didn’t read the rules completely. I couldn’t convey any of this directly due to the overall rule for the entire class stating; No talking no matter what.

Upon a few more cycles of moving myself and receiving new players I realized that each group had different rules. This exercise taught me to assume less about others and their perception of a situation. Also, I learned the value of perceiving more than spoken language. I was visually displeased with someone winning with different rules in the beginning and I was given stink-eyes when I won by my rules in a different group.

The importance of this exercise had nothing to do with cards, but all to do with how humble we are. I can see this directly applying to my future experience abroad. Me, as a big macho American, may assume that some inferior culture may have the same customs even though we don’t speak the same situation. But, I can now use body language as another tool in my tool-kit to evaluate a situation.