I have been in Spain for the past two weeks (I lived here for several....

[DFW]

12. I was just in Spain all day today

I was there for work, not to query the population on their preferences in the Democratic Primaries. Not everyone I talked to knew I was American. I was in a part of Spain where "Spanish (i.e. Castilian)" is not the main language, and the people there assume that if you speak the local language (Catalan) well, you are probably NOT American (and they are usually right--I am somewhat of an exception).

My friends there, of course, all know I speak Catalan. The little time we spent on US politics was mostly about "aquest boix (ah-KET BAWTCH)"--or "that fool," meaning Trump), and mostly not spent on the primaries. My Catalan friends barely know who Bernie Sanders is, and in fact only are really familiar with Joe Biden's name. That is not necessarily a preference--it's just an indication of how little profile the other Democratic candidates have with urban Catalans, rarely the most polled bloc of EU citizens.

Now, keep in mind that while urban Catalans are intelligent, informed people, they are mostly interested in issues that will immediately affect them: their own separatist advocates, Brexit--there is a large British community in Barcelona--and its consequences for commerce, and local environmental issues. They couldn't less about "Bernie who?" unless he becomes the nominee, and it will probably remain that way. This also went for my main two colleagues living there who are not Catalan. One, though he speaks Catalan, will not speak it with me, since he is from Málaga, and knows I speak Castilian. The other is Ukrainian, and speaks to me in a mix of Russian and Castilian so confusingly intermeshed that only the two of us understand it.