Are Buddhists supposed to feel superior compared to other people, and to brag about it? I'm asking this question because I want to know if I'm misunderstanding or misinterpreting something. I hope I'm not offending anyone, I want to genuinely know how to interpret my experiences with the people I'll describe below.
I live in a country where there is no significant Buddhist population. Neither in my country, nor in the neighboring countries I often travel to. However, when I occasionally happen across someone who practices Buddhism, I seem to notice very strong similarities between all of them.
If we're in a group with many other people, it's always them who bring up the topic of spirituality. Or if I meet an acquaintance who is not so close as to engage in deep conversations, and we would just generally exchange some pleasantries, &quot;how are you? I'm fine, thanks&quot;, they instead start to instantly brag about how spiritually evolved and enlightened they are. No matter the topic, they sooner or later mention how enlightened they are. And quite often in a condescending tone, that they are a being of much higher level than I am. And no matter the topic, they keep inserting words not from the language we're speaking in, and if I ask what it means, the answer is either that they won't say because I wouldn't understand the true meaning, or that it's the word for &quot;desire&quot;, or &quot;thought&quot;, or &quot;energy&quot;, or &quot;wisdom&quot; or &quot;consequence&quot; or any other common word, but as they say &quot;but it means so much more than that!&quot;. If I remember correctly, most of these examples I met said they practiced Zen Buddhism. (because they invariably start talking about how spiritual they are, someone sooner or later asks why they say it)
What also happens almost every time, is that if we're talking about a non-religious topic, they still have a very strong opinion about everything, even if it's a technological topic in which I have experience and they don't. Then they still say the opposite of what I know to be true, and if I present my proof or argument, the answer is that their feelings tell them that they are right, or that they know it better because they are spiritually more evolved than I am, therefore they have a more open mind, or something similar.
I know all this sounds very negative and judgmental, but it seems to cover basically all my experiences when I happened across a Buddhist. Maybe that behavior only sounds strange or impolite for me because that's not the way of thinking I'm used to in my culture? Or maybe they themselves gravely misunderstand what Buddhism is (or should be about), and only &quot;practice&quot; it because it sounds exotic for them? How representative are these people, anyway?
So, my question, summed up: there are very few Buddhists in the culture where I live, but most of them seem to be constantly bragging about how much more superior and how much more enlightened they are.

do I misunderstand them?
or are they misunderstanding Buddhism?
What you are noticing is a familiar behavioural pattern unearthed by various Buddhists practices. In Tibetan and Theravada Buddhism it is called Māna or to use the more user-friendly term: conceit. Theravada sees this as one of the very last fetters to fall away. Conceit can be quite a horrible one. I have experienced this myself and still do on the odd occasion. If we are not aware of it, then big lessons loom on the horizon, and those lessons usually come from life in the form of a proverbial brick - sometimes the harsh lessons can be the greatest.

Sanyojana Sutta: Fetters
&quot;There are these ten fetters. Which ten? Five lower fetters &amp; five higher fetters. And which are the five lower fetters? Self-identity views, uncertainty, grasping at precepts &amp; practices, sensual desire, &amp; ill will. These are the five lower fetters. And which are the five higher fetters? Passion for form, passion for what is formless, conceit, restlessness, &amp; ignorance. These are the five higher fetters. And these are the ten fetters.&quot;

Essentially, conceit is a response evoked by fear because, through practice, we come to learn more about the nature of reality, we gain knowledge of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and not-self. This is enough to stir up our psychological issues around inferiority and the compensating effect of this is to bolster our identity but through the guise of spiritual-type things. We hit our fellow humans on the head with spiritualized trinkets and baubles, and poke them with incense sticks. We philosophize them into a stupefied mess of their former selves such that they take away only empty judgments.
My understanding of conceit: A sense of arrogance and superiority; a know-it-all attitude. The one-upmanship complex. In my view, conceit has an opposite which presents as an overly deflated sense of self.
I guess you'll be seeing this in your friends for some time. It is likely that they have some awareness about it, but unfortunately, it can chew people up entirely such that they cannot see themselves falling under the influence of further egoic pursuits. I don't think it would be unreasonable of you to share your observations with one of them. Maybe first bring up the fetters model as this can be a good talking point for the pursuing Buddhist, and then ask if they see any of these fetters in themselves.
Chogyam Trungpa covers this subject with great skill in his book, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism.