A teaching assistant Sevilla, by Brittney Richards

My first experience as a teaching assistant began here in Sevilla approximately a month ago. I had been warned that the school system was slightly different than its American counterpart– especially regarding language classes – but I had not realized just how prevalent the Spanish culture was inside of the classroom until I was in it myself. Teachers show a level of adoration and concern for their students that would be seen as taboo in the United States. Today, even, I watched as one of the teachers I was helping comforted a distraught third-grader by hugging her and kissing her forehead multiple times. A hug can be quite common, but kisses are unheard of. American parents would have a fit if they thought their child was being coddled by someone other than them.

Another obvious difference deals with the students themselves. They are extremely eager to learn. Their smiling faces greet me every Monday morning, and when I explain what lessons we will be learning today, there is rarely a single groan in response. My past experiences of being in elementary school indicate that this is unique in comparison; normally, even the teacher walking in and sitting at her desk in the beginning of the class results in pouting faces and rolling eyes. Not at Rafael Alberti. This is a school where the children are eager to show off their English skills to anyone who will listen. I am thankful that I am able to be a part of this experience, which will ease me into professions in education while I grasp cultural differences between my home country and Spain.

But… What’s my Grade? by Lauren Janitzki

Welcome to college, some of the most anxiety inducing years of your life. The never-ending assignments and the ever-present deadlines are just a few reasons that college causes stress. A more personal reason that college causes stress is the self-notion that a certain grade determines your worth. As a kid, I was taught that anything less than a B is unacceptable. On the American grading scale, that meant I could not receive anything less than 80% on any assignment. To meet these expectations, I developed an unhealthy study pattern. On more than one occasion I would pull multiple consecutive all-nighters, just to complete a project or to study for a test. I was exhausted and sick all the time. This changed a bit my sophomore year in college when I decided to study abroad in Seville, Spain.

The first difference I noticed when I got to Seville was that assignments are graded on a 1-10 scale and not a 1-100 (like in the US). Quite frankly, this freaked me out a bit. Then I went to a seminar which discussed that when converting the Spanish grades to US grades for our transcripts. During this seminar the presenter said the most profound thing. They said in order to get a passing grade, I only had to get a 5. To meet the expectation of receiving a B, I only had to get a 7. This stunned me because a 7 in America would be a C. It took a while to get used to this, but once I did, I started to develop better sleep patterns, and I started to relax more. I have been able to go out with my friends and enjoy their company instead of barricading myself in a Library to study. I’ve been able to live and experience life more in this semester than in my previous college experience. I do not miss being stressed all the time, and when going back to the States, I am going to try to continue this life style.

Struggles of Living with a Host Family

In the short time I have been studying in Spain, I have realized just how different it is to live with a host family compared to living at home in the United States, where students either live in a dorm, an apartment or with their parents. What is accepted and unaccepted vary tremendously. While living with a host family it is expected that the host parent will do your laundry, cook your meals, clean your bedding, pack your lunches, etc. What is unaccepted is inviting friends to the house, leaving alcohol or food in your room, and not following the specific rules of what your host family expects of you. There are also things expected of the student by the host family, like letting them know when your leaving and going to arrive back, that you keep your room clean and tidy, that you are on time for the meals being prepared, and that you respect their rules. This is very different then back home where many of us are already living on our own and these tasks and expectations are based on what we decide or want, which makes living with a host family difficult since you are relying on someone else to clean your pile of dirty clothes before you run out of things to wear, or having to wait to eat until the food is prepared and ready. All of these things that are given and expected of students take time to get used to since one can’t just do it all on their own as one is used to. One experience I have had while living with my host family is the difficulty with communication and what is normal to them. It happens very often that our host mom asks us a question and we think we understand what she is asking and answer, however, later we find out we didn’t understand her question and therefore didn’t answer her correctly. An example of this was a few weeks back when our host mom asked if we had eaten dinner already. We hadn’t, but accidentally answered that we did, so that evening around the time we usually were called for dinner, we weren’t. Another instance was in communicating when we were leaving and arriving home from one of our trips. Apparently the time we said was misunderstood, so our host mom was expecting us to arrive home a day earlier than we did and was worried where we were so got up every hour to check and see if we were back. Normally in the United States these occurrences don’t happen because there isn’t a language barrier and you’re the one cooking and preparing your own meals on your own time. This is the same for the other example I gave up above, you rely on yourself to get things done and the rules are what you make them. Living with a host family at first may be a struggle, but in the end you will realize that it was a very unique opportunity that makes your experience of going abroad an amazing one.

The Night Owls

After hours of overnight traveling and exploring a small section of Seville upon arriving, my friend and I decide to take a nap. Not realizing how tired we were we end up waking up close to midnight. We look at each other in sadness as we think about our empty stomachs and how dinner most likely isn’t served at this hour. Yet, we decide to go out and see if anything is open. To our surprise, it seems like every Spaniard is eating dinner now. The streets are full of people and music while every restaurant we walk by is crowded. I think back to the United States and how most of our restaurants close by 11pm. Now that I have spent two months here I have noted why there is such a unique night life. One part is due to the times they eat their meals, which is almost three hours different then back home so everything is pushed forward. Bars and restaurants in America also cost much more than here so it is cheaper to just stay in and make a home cooked meal. Looking even further into the night, the streets are still crowded with people. This is being a large assortment of bars and clubs, such as Abril club, close at 6:30am! It seems crazy to me that while I can stay out until the sun comes up, people back home must leave the bars and clubs since they close around 3pm. I know not all Spaniards enjoy their night life in this way, but for the ones that do I am sure the daily siestas are put into good use

Sneakers in Spain

In the United States, it is not uncommon to see people in clothing ranging anywhere from pajamas to a suit, slippers to heels, every day on public transportation. People from all walks of life with every type of outfit all contained on one bus or train. In Seville, however, that is not the case. You know, the old phrase goes, "Europe came up with it first, America is just six months behind." Meaning, America hasn't caught up with the trends of Spain. However, in the case of footwear, I think Spain is a little behind. Spanish people are rarely seen wearing sneakers and if they are, they are not practical shoes. I don't understand how it can be comfortable for the Spanish to walk around in heels all day, especially since the main form of transportation in Seville is your feet. Everyday when boarding the metro, I examine people's shoes, of all ages to see if one day I am going to see a pair of moccasins or a pair of ugly (yet functional) pair of sneakers and so far, I have yet to see it. Spain is the first place where I have seen women on bicycles in heels! While I think the United States has a lot to learn from Spain, the Spanish should take our advice and leave the heels at home.