Free Money

This assignment was very intriguing for me. Because I am currently studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, I could not give away dollars; instead I had to attempt to give out 1 Euro coins. I decided to go to two different places on two different days to test out this experiment. The first place I went to was an open cafe where local teenagers go to drink coffee or do homework. Here I attempted to give a 1 Euro coin to a young man who was chatting and doing an assignment with two other girls because they reminded me of my friends from back home. I spoke to him in Spanish to ensure that he could understand me. I told him that I was trying to do a good deed and that it was up to him to pass on this Euro and continue the good deed chain or he could choose to keep it for himself. He questioned my intentions at first but then he accepted the Euro.

To diversify my experiment, I chose to go to a very popular open bar in Madrid. This bar is known for their famous tapas (small dishes) and signature cocktails that are served by waiters while customers are standing. It is a very touristy bar so I decided to attempt to speak to these girls in English. I recognized the American brands of clothes that they were wearing so I decided they would be easy to approach and talk to. I told the girls that I was trying to do a good deed and give away 1 Euro but they refused. After asking them again, and them refusing again, I thanked them for their time and left.

Overall, I was only able to give out 2 Euros. I definitely thought that more people would accept my money but it seems that strangers do not want to owe anything to anyone, especially strangers in Madrid. I assumed that younger people would want to accept the Euro because they typically do not have high paying jobs so I felt that the Euro would help them buy a coffee or croissant later in the day. However, I only asked two young individuals, both of which are shown in my videos, and one accepted the money but the other rejected it. I feel that men are more likely to accept because they typically are not as afraid of strangers as women are. Being a woman myself, I hate feeling like I owe somebody something. A similar situation to this is when I am at a bar and a stranger offers to buy me a drink. I would obviously love a free drink but I do not want the stranger to get the wrong idea or feel like I owe him anything because he bought me that drink. I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment and learned a lot about cultural differences between Spaniards and Americans.

Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYkRL_ZEC1M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siPklreW1g8