Startups in Sevilla, by Daniel Ziegler

When coming to Sevilla, I was not sure what to expect. I did not read much about cultural norms or how businesses worked, all I knew is that I wanted to participate in an internship offered by my program. As I began interviewing with different companies, it became somewhat overwhelming. I had 4 interviews in English and 3 interviews in Spanish. One of the interviews in English really intrigued me. It was with a company called Scope, which is a small tech startup that provides insights to improve productivity of software development teams. Once I had received the offer for the internship with Scope, I did not really know what to expect. I had previous experience in the prototyping stages of a small finance startup in the United States, but I really did not know how this startup would work. I soon learned that Scope is part of Andalucia Open Future, an acceleration program for startups in Andalucia. The building I worked in is called El Cubo, which had numerous startups working in a very tech-driven environment. At El Cubo, I worked on a software development team of 5 people. We had two small tables in an office building that had a very open floorplan. We were surrounded by other tech startups that were hard at work. Due to the fact that El Cubo is an acceleration program, companies there worked diligently to improve their software so that they could gain clients and investors in an effort to grow their companies. I mainly worked on developing the user interface and documenting the software of Scope, but I also had other tasks including proofreading presentations because my three bosses were all Spaniards who wanted help with their English. The startup work ethic here in Spain turned out to be very similar to what I had experienced in the United States. The only main difference was that here in Spain, I worked alongside numerous other startups.

Through my internship experience in Spain, I learned that although I had a set number of hours to complete each week, my bosses were not always going to be present when I was working. I had to learn to be more relaxed, work independently, and go with the flow. Another thing that I learned is that when someone asks if I want to go to get breakfast, I should always say yes. This is where I had some of the most valuable conversations with Spaniards. Overall, my internship experience taught me more than I could have ever imagined about Spain. When I look back on my semester abroad, I think that the first thing to come to mind will be all of the great experiences I had in my internship.

Drinking Water in Spain, by Olivia Eastwood

Within days of arriving to Spain I picked up on a major cultural difference… it seems that no one here drinks water! And the Spaniards that do are likely not carrying around a giant reusable bottle. I found myself constantly thirsty when I first arrived because having to pay for water at every restaurant and during every outing was hurting my bank account. At many restaurants a glass of wine is even cheaper than a bottle of water! The cultural norm in Spain is to drink more wine, and to just buy a water if necessary, rather than lugging around a reusable one all day. In the U.S. you are in some ways shamed for using plastic water bottles, as using a reusable bottle is more environmentally friendly and a signal of health.
This shows a difference in cultural values. In Spain, people value alcohol and convenience more, whereas in the U.S. people almost always use water bottles as a status symbol. The more expensive the water bottle, the “cooler” and “healthier” you are. However, here in Spain it is not considered trendy to carry around a water bottle. I found this very interesting because I am constantly thirsty here, especially with all the dehydrating coffee and alcohol I have been consuming! To me, and my culture, it is so much easier and healthier to constantly have my reusable water bottle, but in Spain it makes me stick out like a sore thumb because very few people here carry them around.

Reverse Culture Shock, by Savannah Vanduyn

I have been in Sevilla for just over 2 months now. The actions that seemed alien to me 10 weeks ago are now part of my everyday experience. When I first arrived in Spain, I didn’t recognize a huge culture shock on my part. I had been briefed by friends and family on what to expect and, in many ways, I had already prepared myself for life in Spain. There were, of course, things that I still had to get used to. Like waiving down servers, taking the metro every day, or even being surrounded by Spanish everywhere I went. Now that I recognize that my time in Spain is coming to an end quicker than I would like, I am starting to compare what I have become accustomed to in Sevilla to what I will return to in the U.S. Instead of walking to the store or hopping on a metro, I will drive. Even if the store is a 2 minute drive, I will drive there out of convenience, to save time in the busy life I live in the states. When I sit down to eat a meal in a restaurant I will feel as if I am being interrupted and hurried out so that the server can make a living wage. I will probably never have the opportunity to speak this much Spanish again unless I travel abroad. And while I felt prepared to enter the new Sevillan culture, I do not feel prepared to return back to my American culture.

In class, we have discussed how it is hard to analyze a culture without first stepping out of it. I didn’t truly understand the cultural differences in the United States until I came to Sevilla. The longer I stay in Spain and visit other European countries and cultures, the more I realize how much the U.S. is lacking in health initiatives. Our public transportation system is terrible, our health care system is non-existent compared to Europe, and our individualist thinking has led to a competitive atmosphere in the workplace and school. We could invest in public transportation or carpooling alternatives. A truly universal health care system would decrease stress in a lot of Americans. Taking a step back and realizing that there is more to life than work is something that many Americans will never get the luxury of doing. Because in America work equals money and money is what everyone needs to survive. My experience abroad has opened my eyes to different programs to help the health and happiness of both people and the environment.

Environmentally friendly?, by Devon Sarazin

According to The Telegraph, a major news source of England, Spain is the 6th most environmentally friendly country in the world. Spain is consistently ranks in the top 20 most eco-friendly countries in the world across a variety of other news sources such as Real Leaders and Environmental Performance Index; Spain is constantly ranking higher than the United States. I found this profoundly interesting, as one of my first observations in Spain was the amount of plastic being used. One example was water bottles; In the United States people tend to use reusable water bottles when out and about. Comparatively, when out and about most Spaniards seem to buy a plastic water bottle. Additionally, in the United States, when ordering water at a restaurant, bubbly or flat, it comes in a glass. Here in Spain you are often brought a plastic bottle at a restaurant. Another observation of plastic usage in Spain is the ice bags. When moving into our apartment, the program director asked if my roommates and I used ice. We answered yes and he recommended self-sealing ice cube bags. We actually ended up buying them by accident, meaning to buy Ziploc baggies. These bags are not reusable as you have to rip the plastic to get the cubes out. In the United States when making Ice cubes, people use reusable ice trays. These observations as well as a few others lead me to believe that Spain was wasteful. When I did some research, I was surprised to find just the opposite. According to Plastic Pollution, an article written in Our World Data, The United States uses significantly more plastic per capita than Spain. Spain is more environmentally friendly in ways other than just plastic consumption. There are less CO2 emissions because people walk, bike or scooter instead of driving cars. Also, people are more conservation with electricity and water than in the United States. It is interesting to see how emphasized environmentalism is in the United States, yet Spain, where at first glance environmentalism seems like less of a priority, can be making environmental strides in different and more effective ways.

Bibliography 

DeAngelis, Mark T. “2018 EPI Results.” 2018 EPI Results | Environmental Performance Index, 2018, epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-topline?country&order=field_epi_rank_new&sort=asc.

Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. “Plastic Pollution.” Our World in Data, 1 Sept. 2018, ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution.

Smith, Oliver. “Mapped: The World's Most Eco-Friendly Countries – Where Does the UK Rank?” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 22 Apr. 2017, www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/most-and-least-environmentally-friendly-countries/.

“Which Countries Are The Most Environmentally-Friendly?” Real Leaders, 14 Aug. 2018, real-leaders.com/which-countries-are-the-most-environmentally-friendly/.