How Sevilla is wildly different, weird, awesome, and crazy from the United States

The other students and I have finished our intensive period, which marks the end of three weeks in Sevilla. I must say that I am at that phase in adjusting to a new culture where I’m frustrated with everything. I’m mentally and physically exhausted! However, I’m grateful for everything so far. I’ve learned so much new vocabulary, made new friends, and finally have somewhat of a compass around the winding streets of this city.

I want to share some of the major differences I’ve noticed while I’ve been here between Sevilla and the United States. There are good aspects that I love about the culture, and things I just can’t seem to understand. This is solely my opinion, and it doesn’t represent all of Spain as well as my experience of living in Indiana.

1. Smoking everywhere!

I have spent most of my life in a very green part of the States where I can enjoy fresh air just by walking outside my door, whereas in Sevilla I normally smell smoke on every corner. Many sevillanos smoke cigarettes at all hours of the day, which I am not a fan of at all. From this I’ve learned that I can’t do city living.

2. Platform shoes, all day, every day. Style. Class.

Many Spanish women daily wear heels, and it is both impressive and confusing at the same time. I don’t even wear heels, and yet I’ve managed to trip a few times walking to class. I applaud the women who can pull this off. Goals. Moreover, everyone in general just dresses better than the average American.

3. HIGH levels of public affection

Spanish couples, especially young teenagers, are very touchy-feely, if you know what I mean. I always see couples aggressively making out in public, and every time it is a shock to me. I immediately look away because it is rare to see couples do the same in the U.S.

4. Spanish men, or maybe just European men, wear extremely short shorts just because.

The average Spanish man is seen sporting pants, but every now and then you’ll catch a man wearing shorts that end right below his cheeks. It reminds me of my high school cross country team.

5. La pandilla es fuerte.

Pandilla is a word that we learned in class recently, and it has two meanings. The first one is a gang, but the way I will refer to it is a group of friends. Many young Spaniards have a close group of friends, and it is evident that friendship, as well as family, is an important concept to the Spanish person. This is something that I dearly admire about Spanish culture. In the United States, the concept of independence is so heavily stressed, those “me first” vibes, that we often forget to care for and spend time with the ones we love. Perhaps not all Americans feel the same way I do, but it’s something that I’ve noticed.