From “Weird” to “Normal”, byTaylor Congdon

I have traveled to many different places, but I have never actually lived and immersed myself in a new culture. When I was told of the differences in the culture of Spain such as the different eating times, I thought to myself how abnormal it seemed. In America, I eat dinner no later than 7 pm, and here, in Spain, I have to wait an extra 3 hours to eat dinner. One of my favorite things about Seville is how often people spend time outside. In America, many people invite other over to their houses, or they spend most of the day at home, where here in Seville, there are always people of all ages and health, walking around, eating tapas, and drinking just to be social. One thing that I still have not accustomed to is that in the middle of the day, many businesses and stores close from 3pm to around 5pm, for siesta. Although I know this is common in Spain, sometimes when I make plans to go shop or visit certain stores I catch myself forgetting that late afternoon they most likely will not be open. Another thing I really have enjoyed observing here in Seville is the people’s value of the family. I always see large families getting together for meals and parents and grandparents walking their children/ grandchildren around the city. I’ve also noticed how here in Seville, people dress for the season and not the weather. Although this winter, temperatures rose to almost 80 degrees Fahrenheit, I would walk around and still see people wearing giant coats and long pants, which is very different from people in the U.S. who dress based on what the forecast is that day. People here have a different concept of time than most people in the U.S., where in America “time is money” but in Seville, “time is golden.” I constantly find myself walking really fast, passing everyone, because I am rushing to get to my destination, where the majority of people walking along the streets are enjoying the stroll. Something I find so fascinating about Seville is how there is so much history around the city, and you could just be walking around and instantly run into an extravagant building built thousands of years ago, such as the Cathedral. One last thing I have noticed about my friends from Seville is that they are “on Spanish time” which means that majority of the time they will be late to meeting up at specific times, where I think in America majority of the people there are punctual and arrive on time (though I think I fit in more with the people “on Spanish time.”)Through actually living and acclimating to the Spanish culture here, I learned that there really is no “normal” way to live and do life. I have been adjusting my schedule and other ways of living to fit the culture of Spain, and I no longer see it as strange, I see it as another way to do life; a new version of reality.