A lot of guessing, by Emily Ramsey

When thinking back on Spain and my time living in Sevilla the first thing, I think of is the language. I had never taken Spanish before arriving in Spain so after meeting my host mom and realizing she spoke no English was a bit of a shock. I felt very ambitious to learn the language and be able to communicate. Although a different language was used more often in order for both my mom roommate and I to all communicate, the use of gestures and body language. A lot of acting was used when trying find a mutual understanding of what we were talking about. I can remember multiple times my host mom stood up in the middle of eating lunch to act out what she was trying to say or make silly noises. We often played a strange version of charades in order to figure out what was being communicated. A lot of guessing went into this tactic but it was pretty effective because we would never give up until we figured out what the other person was trying to say. Even if it meant taking our phones out and typing it into google translate. I remember one specific day when my roommate and I were telling our host mom we were going to the airport early the next morning. She went on to explain the Sevilla airport is small and we would get through security with no problem. She knew very quickly neither one of us understood by our confused faces so she popped up out of her seat and started to pretend to take her backpack off and put it on the security belt. We laughed a bit but ended up figuring out what she was trying to say.                           

         

Dressed up for Carnaval

When I first arrived in Spain my friends who are from Spain were telling me about all the major events to go to while I was here in Spain. I was told to go to Feria, Semana Santa, and Carnaval. I was curious as to what Carnival was because I never heard of it. When my friends were describing it to me it sounded more like a halloween just in February. Carnaval is celebrated in Cadiz. It is a 10 day celebration of people just celebrating life and excess.

When my friends and I decided to go, I was told we needed costumes. My group decided to go as the thieves from Casa de Papel. Before arriving there I was curious to see if a lot of people would actually dress up. I was also curious to what kind of dressing up would be done. I was very curious as to what this kind of atmosphere would be like. It sounded like it would be all day partying and people just enjoying the moment.

When my friends and I were heading to the train station to head to Cadiz I already knew who was on their way there too. I saw people dressed up in so many costumes. I was excited to get to Cadiz to see the rest of the costumes and be in the fun environment. When we got to Cadiz literally everyone was dressed up. I was surprised to see the different costumes and the creativity.

There were men dressed up as women and there were group costumes. People sitting in the bars dressed up and drinking and singing. People selling wings and other costumes. When it got dark that was when the party began. Everyone was outside, beer fenders were selling alcohol, people were buying others drinks, music was blasting, the streets were packed with people that were hard to move through. As the night went on there were performances from singers and the clubs were open for people to dance all night.

What was interesting to me was that so many people participated in this holiday. I thought it would just be young people but there were families dressed up and older couples with their friends dressed up. It was just a fun experience. I enjoyed seeing all the creative costumes and even seeing men dressed up. In the US this is not a holiday and it was fun to experience a holiday from another country.

Personality and sense of humor, by Samuel Henry

Of the many cultural differences, I have noticed between Spanish and American cultures, I want to focus on personality and sense of humor. When I arrived to Spain, it wasn't long before it became very clear that here in Sevilla, they do not hold back with what they are thinking or want to say. They are very outgoing and extroverted with their opinions. During discussions I have had with my host mom and "amigos espanoles," a fly on the wall listening in on the wall would summarize this "outgoingness" as a subtle disregard for sensitivity. Considering this, then therefore at the same time Spanish people have to be less sensitive themselves for it to be a cultural norm. A popular saying in the United States to describe this is that the Spanish do not "beat around the bush." An example of this is when one of my teachers here in Spain (I won't say names) teased someone in my class for standing very close to the urinal while going to the bathroom. It was extremely light-hearted and a hilarious joke. It is this type of sense of humor that I think Spanish people, especially sevillanos, resemble. On the contrary, in the United States, people are definitely more careful in what they choose to say and what to keep filtered to yourself. There is less of a teasing culture. I have to say that in comparison to Sevillanos teasing other people, with the American sense of humor or personality, as least speaking for myself and the relationship I have with my friends, the fun and laughing stems more from individuals teasing themselves embodying themselves as goofy. This could be explained by the tendency for people to share what is perceived as out of the ordinary. Within my friend group, we go back and forth sharing funny stories. It has been a magnificent experience to witness this first hand.