The Guadalquivir River, authentic Flamenco shows, centuries old cobblestone streets, and copious amounts of both tapas and sunshine can only describe one city: Sevilla, Spain. It’s been six weeks since I stepped onto Spanish soil with bloodshot and sleepless eyes, disheveled hair and a feeling of utter delusion. I am here studying abroad for one semester, and like everyone else that talks about their study abroad experiences with overly enthused and dilated eyes, I’ve fallen in love with my life here. But this article isn’t about my super awesomely fantastic life in sunny Sevilla while many of you are probably reading this looking out at the latest blizzard wondering how you’ll muster up the courage to go to class; instead, I want to share with you my observations of a completely different culture. Say goodbye to cider mills, cheese and potato filled perogies and crisp autumn leaves and say hello to the capital of Andalusia: Sevilla.
There are many aspects of this culture I’ve yet to completely understand: oatmeal does not exist here, neither do homemade chocolate chip cookies; water cost more than alcohol, women can walk effortlessly in high heels across uneven cobblestone streets, and a small jar of peanut butter costs 7 euros. Although these things have taken some getting used to, well most of them anyway, other parts of the culture require no getting used to.
The pace of life is much slower. People do work (I swear!) and people don’t siesta every day (it’s true!), however, most people aren’t always in a hurry to check off the items on their to-do lists. I doubt they even have them. Instead, they go to work for a normal workday, and not twelve hours every day of the week. And when they aren’t physically at work, they aren’t mentally at work. Very rarely do you see people talking, texting or checking emails on their phones. Technology isn’t worshipped here. And boy is it nice to have a break from it.
There seems to be a much greater emphasis on being in the present moment and enjoying the people around you. Going on walks, sitting by the river, drinking café con leche while people watching, and even sitting down for two-hour long lunches. At all times of the day, families, couples and groups of friends walk, relax or picnic by the river. These are the activities people engage in. With so many parks (Maria Luisa is my favorite), outdoor plazas, and beautifully built buildings, people rarely choose to stay inside. This is why the homes are small and not luxurious in any way. For us study abroad students, the unreliable Internet, electricity and hot water were a major culture shock at first. But dessert everyday was something we had no problem adjusting to. As you can imagine, meals are much different here. Breakfast is simply a piece of toasted bread with olive oil or tomato spread and most importantly, café con leche. Lunch is around 2pm or 3pm and it’s the biggest meal of the day. Common tapas include: patatas bravas (potatoes in a zesty sauce), croquettes (deep fried cheese usually with jam or spinach), gazpacho (a cold vegetable soup), different meats in different sauces (chicken in an almond sauce) and of course paella (a rice dish with vegetables, seafood and meat). Once lunch has settled, some people enjoy a pastry or café con leche around 6pm. And yes, dinner is at late as you’ve heard. It’s usually served between 9pm and 11pm and it’s much lighter than lunch, but the same kind of tapas. And of course, since eating times are much later in than in the US, going out here is also pushed back and it’s common to stay out until 6 or 7am. When do we sleep? I’m still trying to figure that out!
When I fly back to the US, I’ll be excited to experience my own culture again, but I’ll try to bring back with me some aspects of this new culture that I’ve experienced. People love to live here, and I suggest we do the same.