The Pace of Life in Sevilla, by Maxine Sachar

            One thing that I have really come to appreciate about Sevilla throughout my time here is the slowed down pace of life. I, personally, feel that, in America, life is “go go go” all the time. One example is that, in America, it is expected that the majority of people will go to school until they are eighteen, and then right after school they will move out of their house and go to college, and then right after college they will either go to grad school or get a job. This is the lifestyle I was brought into, and I have never second-guessed it. I have just assumed that that is how my life will play out because that is how it has for nearly everyone I grew up with. I have noticed that here in Spain it is different. In my homestay, my host parents have two sons, both my age, both in college, who still live at home. I have heard the same from the majority of other people who also live in homestays. From what I have gathered, it is much more common here in Spain for people my age to live at home while in college that in the United States. This is a big difference that I have noticed, and it ties into the pace of life here, because there are not in nearly as much of a rush to move out their houses than people are in the United States. I have also noticed the slower pace of life here in less significant observations. When I go out to eat at a restaurant with my host mom, we always stay there for at least two hours, continuing to talk while ordering more tapas and more drinks. When I am walking down the street, I very rarely see people carrying coffee or to-go cups with drinks in them. These things I have noticed are very different from the United States, where almost everybody takes their coffee to go, and usually when I eat at a restaurant with family and friends, we spend no more than an hour there. In general, I have noticed that, here in Spain, people take their time and they are not in such a rush when it comes to the smaller things such as eating and drinking coffee, and the more significant things such as moving out their houses to start their lives.