Tap Water please

Water is a resource that people need to live, right? So why when we live in a country that has tap water that is drinkable do we not get free water at restaurants? This is something that has really surprised me and sort of angered me. When I try to ask for “agua del grifo” to a waiter or waitress, they say that they do not have it. It just constantly surprises me because in the United States it is a right not a privilege to receive water at a restaurant and it comes right away when we first sit down. I wonder if it is just a Spanish thing because when traveling to Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo and other places I have received bottled water when ordering water; but in Sweden I received free tap water. I understand that giving an actually bottle of water seems more “high class” or “fancy” which going out to a dinner can be considered, but I think if one asks specifically for a tap water they should receive it. 

I do not want to be the environmentalist here as well, but the extra use of plastic bottles due to this issue is also harming our environment. This is something that I have become more aware of because of global warming and I want save our earth. So this is something that bothers because of the amount of plastic that gets into the oceans or is not thrown away properly. Therefore, I think this issue of not getting tap water at meals is an annoying issue that is present here in Spain.

The tall red tower by Danielle Curry

During my time in Sevilla, it’s been difficult not to notice the city’s tallest building, Cajasol Tower. I remember seeing it for the first time. At midday, the colored frame appeared to be terracotta with teal blue windows, perfect color wheel opposites . It has a circular base and seemed like a modern reference to the Tower of Pisa. I remember being blown away. I found this building so intentional and stunningly beautiful, I couldn’t stop looking at it.

Loving the building as much as I do, imagine my surprise to hear my host mom say she absolutely hates it. But WHY? How could you hate a building, especially one that’s so cool and makes your city look great?  I asked a Spanish friend the next week. Same thing. Complete hatred. Gut reactions brought me to question: do Sevillanos have an aversion to modernity or progress? I figured maybe they are obsessed with their past and uninterested in their future.

I started asking everyone. Up to this point in my semester, I haven't found one Sevillano who enjoys the tower. What I have found is that Sevillanos identify strongly with the cathedral.  When they look at a painting or a movie, or as they drive into Sevilla, they see their home city upon view of the Giralda. To them, a modern glass and iron building doubling the Giralda’s size reshapes their city, possibly leading a future of buildings that hide the Giralda, or the true Sevilla.

Speaking the Language, by Sarah Newhall

Upon coming to Spain, I was very excited to develop my Spanish speaking skills by talking to the locals but it didn’t go quite as planned. More times than I can count, I have made an effort to speak in Spanish to the locals and they don’t understand me no matter how hard I try so I resort to speaking English which they end up understanding more than they did my Spanish. In a way, this has turned into learned helplessness and taught me that sometimes, it’s better to just speak in English instead of making the effort. Initially, I thought this was because I was saying the wrong words or pronouncing them in a strange way but when I would go home and look it up, everything I said was right. Something else that happens a lot is when I speak Spanish to people, they understand me but respond in English. When this happens, we both end up talking in our nonnative languages and the conversations stay more surface level. I’m assuming that people’s responses to my Spanish speaking are an attempt to help me or make it easier but because of it, I worry that I am not learning as much. Despite this, I have still been trying to learn a lot and have had many successful conversations with Spanish speaking people and I hope to continue to learn more Spanish.

“the regular”, by Sarah Newhall

Building off the person who talked about “the regular” in restaurant settings here, I have another observation about dining out that I have noticed while being abroad. Although I have noticed this more in Sevilla and in other places in Spain than in other places around Europe, I don’t know if this is a coincidence or if it is actually culturally specific to life in Spain. When I go out to eat, it seems as if many of the waiters and waitresses have a general disinterest in whether or not you are happy with the service or the food. It is often difficult to even get their attention when you want to order, need the check, or want another drink because they aren’t looking around the room to see if anyone needs anything. Once I manage to get their attention to ask a question, often times, the servers generally seem very bothered and put out to take the time to talk to me. This more often than not, results in them walking away from me mid-answer so that if I ever did have a follow up question or even wanted to say thank you, that wouldn’t be an option. At least twice when I have inquired about how big a portion was or what the dish came with, the server answered in such a rude way that it discouraged me from asking them anything again. Often, even when I have to ask for silverware or a napkin, I feel like I am putting them out and they are annoyed. Normally, I would feel that because I am making a purchase, paying for the food and service, then I should be able to ask for what I need but since being in Spain, I have become much more timid whenever I am in a dining situation due to the attitudes of the servers. This is not to say that I haven’t had great experiences eating out and that I haven’t had servers who were very attentive and interested in making sure I was happy. The negative experiences here just seem to be building up more here than they do in the United States. I would be interested in whether this is a cultural thing, a reaction to something I am doing, or just a series of unlucky encounters.

Taking it for Granted

This weekend I had two friends studying abroad come visit me here in Seville, one from Prague and the other from Florence. I was so excited to show them my little study abroad world here in Seville but also a little nervous. I wondered, “Will they like it as much as I do?” “Will they be able to see the culture and traditional values?” “Will they think it’s as fun and exciting to be here as I do?” So many questions ran though my head and now that they are both on flights out of Seville, I can say I had one of the best weekends of my trip because I was able to see Seville through the same lens I had upon arrival. My friends were constantly commenting on how lively and engaging the locals are as well as the employees of tapas bars and restaurants who loved to strike up conversations with us. I realize these last few weeks of being here I have taken for granted all the amazing things Seville has to offer. I’ve been too Plaza de España plenty of times but this time I actually took a moment to just sit and take in its beauty. We strolled through Parque de Maria Luisa and admired how lush and green it is in there amongst fellow travelers as well as locals spending quality time with family and friends. I usually don’t eat out because I have a host mom but I know some of some great tapas bars and traditional Spanish restaurants. When I took my friends to these places they were amazed at how easy it was to find local places that served traditional food as opposed to fast food or more modernized restaurants. Overall I had a great weekend showing them around and it was the wake up call I needed to remind me that I am so lucky to get to spend this time living in such an amazing place and as the trip quickly comes to an end I want to be more present and aware of my surroundings, because here in Seville they are truly amazing.

Halloween Experience in Sevilla

I didn’t expect to celebrate Halloween in Spain, especially with Spaniards, as it is a major holiday in the US brought by the Irish, and not a traditional holiday for Spain, but there I was, at a Botellón in the Alameda surrounded by hundreds of locals in costume. As expected, I found that Halloween is celebrated quite differently here, though this perhaps could be attributed to the fact that there aren't as many suburban parts of Sevilla where there are homes that provide an easy way to trick-or-treat. I saw that in general, more young children dress up than do adults and adolescents, which is largely the same in the US. However, I was surprised that the costumes worn by those who were adults or young adults, for both genders, were much scarier than the majority of costumes worn by the same age group in the US. In fact, as I was leaving my apartment building, there was a young-appearing man who was wearing a very creepy mask that covered the mouth and nose, who proceeded to chase me and my friend to scare us for entertainment until the point where we were screaming so loudly that my all of my neighbors in my apartment came outside to see what was going on. There was one older woman who was calmly staring at the ordeal as we continued to scream for the masked man to stop, and then after about 5 minutes when he stopped, she walked over to us, revealed that it was her 13 year old son and then had him apologize. I found it so bizarre that she didn't do anything whilst he was in the act, but I digress.

 Any who, in my experience, in the States there is a huge emphasis on “sexy” costumes for women and especially university students, but the “sexy” costumes I saw worn on halloween were worn by transgender and gay youths who I actually spoke to at the botellón (who told me of their sexual orientation without me asking, I wasn’t just assuming). This group I spoke to shared with me that a large majority of young adults who were dressed up at the alameda either identified as gay or transgender or were part of a group that is accepting of those individuals, which is both surprising and interesting. Overall, the night was a memorable cultural learning experience and it was fun to see how the American halloween culture is assimilated here and who is most influenced by it. 

The Locals

From the moment I arrived to Sevilla in September, I noticed the welcoming nature of the people. Interestingly, I am not referring to the regular passerby on the street or to my homestay family who has taken me in these past months.  I am most referring to the nature of the seemingly large young population of Sevilla that, in my mind, is the most accepting of American students. Throughout this semester, my friends and I have had the privilege to meet a variety of locals in the restaurants, cafes, and bars in Sevilla. All are around our age, and they all instantly invite us out with them and their friends, get our numbers, and actually follow through in texting us to meet up and go out together. We speak with them in Spanish, and almost as intercambios, they challenge us to say knew phrases and learn new words as we go back and forth throughout the night in communication. Oftentimes, I am struck by their extent of friendliness. I imagine myself in their shoes in the states, and I know that I would never extend the same amount of friendliness to a foreign student in my own city of Chicago. I might interact with them in the bars or restaurants and ask how their time is while travelling abroad, however, I know for a fact that I would never think to invite them out with my friends and I so that I could play hostess for a night. The concept is so new to me in fact, that whenever I do meet another local who wants to go out or receive a text from one who is trying to coordinate plans I never want to take it for granted. I love this aspect of the culture, and I think it is so special to see people my age—who have no responsibility or tie to me—being so welcoming and engaging. I think it is one of the best aspects of Sevilla.

The "regular"

Something that I’ve noticed with almost every tapa’s bar I’ve visited in Seville is the “regular” customer priority. At first I didn’t understand what was going on. I would be waiting on a list to be seated and other people would walk up and be immediately seated. Other times I would be waiting for food for what seemed like forever and I would see a person or group that arrived much later than me happily eating away. Thinking somewhat ethnocentrically, I thought they must dislike tourists here or treat the locals with much better service. After a lesson in my pop culture class, I realized that these bars and restaurants were simply taking care of their long-time regular customers, which is a very novel concept for an American. When an employee sees a customer that they have served many times before they are inclined to seat them first or treat them exceptionally well because the Spanish people are very big on maintaining relationships. In the states you would hardly ever see this behavior because employees are very concerned with tips from each and every customer so everyone is treated the same. Although I think both styles of interacting with customers have their pros and cons, I have enjoyed attempting to become a regular at certain places in Seville to enjoy this unique custom. 

The most important meal of the day, Landon Feuerstein

When I first arrived in Spain, I was traveling with my abroad program for about a week. We were constantly on the move and never really had time for breakfast. By the time I had gotten to Sevilla, I was very ready to finally have a nice sit down breakfast. At first, my host mother would just serve me toast with some olive oil on it. After about a week of this, I started to get worried. How long would this go on for? Would I ever get to eat a real breakfast in Sevilla? The answer to the former: Yes, it is still going on. I guess being brought up in the united states we are constantly told “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and so we eat accordingly. It is basically seen as eating enough food to “fuel” your body the rest of the day. I figured the rest of the world felt this way as well. I am now on month 3 in Sevilla and have realized I was very wrong (and naive) when I thought the rest of the world valued breakfast as much as us Americans do. I have finally become accustomed to the toast and olive oil for breakfast, however, that doesn't mean I don't crave a nice breakfast burrito with bacon, egg, and cheese…daily.

The slower pace, by Landon Feuerstein

Another aspect of Sevilla i had to become (i am still not fully) accustomed to is the slower pace. Coming from New York City, nobody even has time to breathe. When i decided that I’d be coming to Sevilla, one of the most popular cities in the world, i thought the pace be around the same as it is in Manhattan. Again, i was very wrong. While there are parts of the city and certain people that move very quickly, there seems to be an underlying la-dee-da type of mentality. Punctuality isn't nearly as big here as it is in New York, most people don't seem to be in a rush to go anywhere, and its almost as if everyone is on their own clock— yet somehow it manages to work. I find myself walking in the streets much faster than everyone else, constantly passing people. I find myself being early to meetings while other people casually show up 10-15 minutes late as if nothing happened. I find myself rapidly completing tasks in order to move on to the next one, just like every other New Yorker. But thats not how it is here, the Spanish value down time and value a slower lifestyle much more than anyone else i know.

Bull Fighting: Views from an American Outsider by Zack Abu-shanab

On September 25^th I attended the Bullfight in Seville. I personally do not agree with the practice, but I felt it necessary to participate to understand the culture. After 3 hours, 6 dead bulls, and a lot of images that were hard to stomach, I found myself disgusted and confused. How could these people cheer as these animals were slaughtered for a sport? How could a culture support this type of practice? It made no sense, yet I looked towards America and made connections to Dog Fighting. It is not man vs dog like the bull fighting is, but it is a type of sport that puts two beings against together to the death. In my opinion it is horrible, yet in the eyes of some people it’s a great sport. Another thing that I acknowledged was that not everyone enjoyed the sport in itself. People seemed to be split in their reviews. My homestay, for example, dislikes the sport and was horrified when I mentioned that I was going to the event. Others, predominately the older generations, seemed to like it and even cheered the loudest during the event. In the future I see this type of practice dying or maybe adapting in a way that the bull doesn’t die. I recognized the cultural difference, thus the reason why I can’t be too critical of it. 

City of Seville vs City of Chicago, by Zack Abu-shanab

   Chicago and Seville are very different in the ways that they carry out their daily lives. In Seville, I have found a “home” so to speak. The people in Seville are warm and often are happy to talk to you. The traffic, though a bit hectic at first, is the only place in the world in which I found works so well. In some work of a miracle, horse drawn tours, trains, taxis, buses, cars, bikes, and pedestrians all somehow share the same streets and very little accidents. These characteristics are not found in Chicago. In Chicago, the people are a lot more aggressive, I rarely have the opportunity to strike up a conversation because everyone is rushing everywhere. In my time I spend using transportation in Chicago, I have never felt comfortable driving because of the amount of people that drive like maniacs. The pedestrians are constantly running and screaming at each other. Now imagine trying to jam horse drawn tours and a train that was run in the middle in the road instead of being elevated. It would be impossible. And taking into the factor that the roads in the states are a lot wider, letting up to 4-5 lanes at times. Here in Spain, some of the roads are so tight, I am amazed in how some of the vehicles are fitting in. In the end, the cultures are very different for the better of their cultures. One thing is for sure, I am going to miss the type of lifestyle here in Seville.

the way people approach life in Seville, by Juliana Hudson

I’d just like to share a few aspects of my experience abroad in Sevilla so far. To begin with, I really enjoy the way people approach life here. For the most part, the people really like to enjoy things and take their time doing it. Meals here are valuable moments for the family to get together and just chat. They last a longer time and there’s never a hurry to move on to the next item on the agenda. It’s crazy to think of the difference between how people eat lunch here and in America where my mom sometimes eats lunch at her desk at work because they don’t have enough time to really eat.

I love the way people dress here. Everyone makes a conscious effort to look great in the morning. I can’t stop looking at girl’s clothes and just admiring. In my university back in Miami, while we’re known to always look good, the students there sometimes dress sloppily and it’s not appealing to be surrounded by people who don’t care enough to look a little bit nice. I believe it’s important to wake up and do our best to feel good and look good because it affects your confidence for the rest of the day.

I’m halfway through my experience abroad and I’m starting to feel it slip away. There’s still so much I feel I haven’t experienced to the fullest but I will continue to try it. Although, one thing I can say for sure is that Sevilla is a great city to spend a semester abroad because while it’s beautiful and super manageable it is also so friendly and welcoming. It’s easy to walk the streets and discover new things. I feel like Spanish culture agrees with my view on life. 

Linguistic Soup, by Carly Meador

            An interesting concept to me, is the acquisition of language through the lens of cultural psychology, social psychology, and developmental psychology. Travelling around various places in Europe, I feel as though I am swimming in language soup, and that it is always changing around me, I can never seem to adapt. I travel from Spain to Germany and I try to speak Spanish to everyone that I know cannot speak English to me, but speaking Spanish to them is a less successful means of communication. I go to France and pick up the term “merci” for thank you, and I cant seem to fit the context to the language so now I interchange, “thank you”, “gracias”, “merci”, and German “Danke”. It seems my mind is always shifting gears and I perceive my Spanish is getting worse because of it. In a cultural mishmosh I am acquiring a strange accent from who knows where. So my question is, what is the psychology of a brain shifting gears in language. How do those that speak fluently multiple languages jump around in this pool of confusion and manage to use the correct terms? What language do they think in? How do the languages run together into a sort of Spanglish, or germanch (german-french), or for the sake of cultural language soup (spanglishermanch)? Spanglishermanch is what I hear in my head and I cant even seem to make sense of my own thoughts as all these unrecognizable sounds buzz around my head. Foreign vowels, harsh constant sounds, differing gestures and body language. The struggle of communication! It is interesting to me that I have been able to deduce a person’s origin or native language based on their body language from meters away without hearing the sounds. I can see how widely they open their mouths, pick up what vowel sounds seem to be accented and formed by their lips, and although I don’t understand them or hear them, at least I can deduce an origin that’s something right? The last thing that I find quite interesting is the acquisition of language in children. Blank canvases learning from immersion in the language for their entire lives. I can see how their accents are formed in how they learn to produce each of the sounds by shaping their mouths. It is so different in every place and I am so utterly impressed by their ability to say words that I could never dream of pronouncing. Impressed by their ability to speak multiple languages already at such a young age. They’ve grown up in the cultural-lingua-mishmosh that I am finding myself in now. I would be extremely interested to see how the gears turn inside their little heads when switching between languages. Is this a simple task inert to those who learn the skill very young? Do they think in multiple languages? Is thought intrinsically linguistic or are thoughts merely ideas without a linguistic form? All questions of a budding cultural psychologist.

Difference in Hygiene: hypersensitive or under-sanitary?, by Carly Meador

In coming to Sevilla, I have observed major differences in the concept of hygiene as compared to the United States, particularly in schools. In the US, hygiene is a major concern particularly in public places in order to prevent illness. In schools, there are signs posted all over the restrooms that advise kids to wash their hands and take sanitary precautions in order to avoid catching the flu, or a common cold. In Sevilla, schools don’t provide soap, or toilet paper in the public restrooms. I have observed this in the University but also in the elementary school that I volunteered in for younger kids. Young kids playing in the park are allowed to use the street as the toilet because this is deemed as more hygienic for the children than using a public restroom might be. It would be an interesting study to compare the amount of children who get the flu in the United States versus a city like Sevilla, to analyze which method is better for our health. This is particularly interesting to me, because I have gotten very sick the past few days due to differences in hygiene and diet, but its possible that I am hypersensitive.

            Is it possible, that by exposing kids at all ages to more bacteria and “germs”, that kids build up stronger immune systems and are less likely to get sick during flu season than more sheltered children? Or do children who take better care of their hygiene (ex washing hands more frequently), generally get sick less than the children who don’t practice such rigorous hygiene routines? So the question remains, are American students “sheltered” and “hypersensitive”? Have we been cultured to need our “personal bubble” in order to maintain our health? Or is this sheltering good for our the maintenance of our health? Is there a “right” way, Or have we just been conditioned?