La Feria de Sevilla

Two weeks after Easter starts the week of "Feria" in Sevilla. During this week long celebration Sevillanos and people from all over Spain come together to party and socialize. The camp ground for the event is filled with little tents which are nicely decorated and turned into mini restaurants / bars. They serve food and the alcohol specialty of the week rebujitos - part sherry, part 7 up. It sounds weird, but it's pretty good. The Spanish people love to dress up and they spare no expense for Feria, with women dressed in incredible flamenco dresses and men in fancy suits. For these 7 days the whole city spends the day and night dancing, drinking, and socializing. Sevillanas is a flamenco inspired dance that everyone does all week and all of the people of Seville grow up learning it. To fit in a little more and not be bored when everyone was showing off their dance moves my friends and I took Sevillanas classes in the weeks leading up the Feria. Just picture us 21 year old Americans in dance classes with 7 year old Spanish girls! It was definitely worth it when I was able to take part in the festivities!! Here is a youtube video of a couple dancing Sevillanas - it's a bit amateur but it's closer to the real thing than a professional stage performance.


Poster by: Clare, Seville, Spain, Spring 2007

Semana Santa

Last week Christians celebrated Holy Week and no country celebrates this event quite like Spain. In particular, Sevilla is known for its Holy Week events that draw around 100,000 visitors during the week. Starting the Sunday before Easter many processions pass through the streets of Sevilla, each devoted to a scene in the life of either Jesus or his mother, Mary. This float, or paso, is carried by costaleros, who use their lower neck and back to withstand the heavy weight and usher the float through the tiny, zigzagging streets. Two of my friends in Sevilla were costaleros and their preparation for the processions was rigorous. Their necks were red for months! Accompanying the float are penitents wearing long robes and tall, narrow, cone-shaped hoods to mask their identity. The image is very moving and they symbolize the act of penitence for sins committed. The processions occur across the city, night and day, all week long and throughout the country, but with the largest and most elaborate celebration in Sevilla. Holy Week is a time for Sevillanos to be with their families, in the streets of their beloved city. Even those not particularly religious take part in the action of Holy Week, or Semana Santa, because it is as much of a tradition and community event as religious act.

It's a pretty complicated scene to explain and it's something that's very different in person but hopefully this youtube clip helps give you an idea: Semana Santa, Sevila


Posted by: Clare, Seville, Spain, Spring 2007

Honduras: Spring Break 08

This time last week I was in a pickup truck traveling through beautiful Honduras during a 6 hour ride to the airport for my departing flight. Penn State's first trip to Honduras with Global Medical Brigade was incredibly successful: we treated approximately 1300 villagers, who would otherwise have no access to basic health care. I'm so proud of my group for all their hard work! We performed 3 different "brigades" in 3 different rural locations outside the capital of Tegucigalpa. We set up these makeshift clinics in schools, using the different classrooms for the examination rooms, pharmacy, etc. Each morning when our bus arrived at the site there would be a huge line of people already waiting, many having walked hours for this opportunity to receive medical attention.

These rural villagers are basically untouched by the modern world - living in small shacks, on dirt roads, and forced to consume water riddled with parasites. Living in unthinkable conditions, these people maintained an incredibly happiness. Their spirit and gratefulness was truly inspiring. Beyond some additional Spanish vocab and conversation practice, I learned alot on this Spring Break trip. By interacting with the villagers and our Honduran trip leaders I was able to have an inside view of the country. For example, I learned about "Honduras time", in which everything usually runs 20 mins late and strict schedule, like those in the U.S., don't exist.

Penn State's Global Medical Brigade club hopes to continue trips to Honduras in subsequent years so to get involved look for information at activity fairs and around campus!

Posted By: Clare, Seville, Spain, Spring 2007

Volunteering Abroad

A great way to go abroad is through volunteering: its provides an opportunity to see the world and help out at the same time. When I received an email earlier this academic year about an Alternative Spring Break trip to Honduras I was immediately interested. The organization is called Global Medical Brigade for Honduras and this is the first year for the club at Penn State. Groups from universities across the U.S. organize student groups to spend a week in Honduras operating a free clinic under the supervision of medical professionals. The different areas the Penn State volunteers could work in are: in-take, triage, medical consultation, the pharmacy, the dental station, or data input. While I have no medical practice I'm looking forward to practicing my Spanish!

My group leaves Friday and we are all extremely excited. We have spent the past months working hard in preparation to make our brigade as successful as possible. Fundraising events have helped us raise money for the trip costs and through donations we have gathered medical supplies and medicine to bring to Honduras. As I prepare for my trip I expect to see much poverty and a completely different way of living than I am used to, but I am also confident in the progress of such grassroots organizations, such as Global Medical Brigade for Honduras. As a doctor's visit is as convenient as a trip to Ritenour, it is hard to imagine living without access to medical care.

Here some statistics about Honduras:
-80% of the population lives in poverty
-35% unemployment
-22% of the population is undernourished
-GMB provides health care to more than 70 villages
-30,00 patients were treated in 2006

Posted by: Clare, Seville, Spain, Spring 2007

Two Universities Worlds Apart

While studying in Spain I took three univeristy classes at the Universidad de Sevilla with Spanish students, Spanish professors, and a few other American or international students mixed in. In general, everything in Sevilla was much more laid back and this included the univeristy system. There was no registering for classes online or a strict seating capacity. In fact, we were given the first two weeks of classes to "try out" a bunch of classes and see which ones we preferred. The Univeristy was home to many international students, largely from America and Europe, so professors and students were used to interacting with other students still learning the language. Located in an urban setting, the different colleges were housed in separate buildings spread throughout the city, typically only a bus ride away. The location I studied at was known as the Tabacalera because the building used to function as a tobacco factory. With lecture halls around the outside of the building there were plenty of open plazas in the interior, adding a decidedly Spanish style and a fun place for students to hang out. In many ways Penn State was the complete opposite experience than the Universidad de Sevilla. As a typical American college town Happy Valley is dorms, no parents, school spirit. While in Sevilla, the University was one aspect of the students' lives but did not create their entire identity. Every day spent at the University I was able to learn through observing and interacting with my peers, quickly finding out about everything from the latest fashion to the most popoular slang.

Posted by Clare, Seville, Spain, Spring 2007

Our First Excursion: Madrid!

After about our first month in Seville, Spain my friends and I decided it was time to plan our first overnight visit to another city. We decided on Madrid, as it is a must see in Spain and a relatively easy trip to plan on the four days of preparation we allowed ourselves. We chose the cheapest mode of transportation to reach our northern neighbor, the bus. We scheduled the midnight bus and arrived in Madrid at 6am, with our excitement temporarily clouded by our sleep-deprived status. Feeling both adventurous and also skeptical about booking our first hostel on the internet, we figured since we knew a good deal of spanish at that time we would find a hostel once we arrived. And so, 3 American girls began strolling up and down Gran Via in Madrid looking for lodging in the early morning hours. We settled on the first place we found with a vacancy: Hostel Acapulco, a nice place, but a bit expensive. We did not yet know the ins-and-outs hostel living: good rates, the best websites, the different room options. The little, old madrileño working at the front desk let us know it would be a few hours until the room was ready, so with no other option we hit the streets. After a brief stop for a cafe con leche we got out our trusty map and began whizzing through the city. As the Spanish are known for their late nights and late mornings, we had much of Madrid to ourselves during our first hours of sight-seeing. We were so excited to explore the city and just see a new city for a change, as we had been itching to travel. Ever since high school Spanish classes I had learned about the great paintings of Velazquez, Goya, el Greco, and Picasso housed in Madrid museums. Seeing the paintings in person was like coming full circles as I could remember sitting in Spanish classes looking at these paintings in textbooks and dreaming of studying abroad in Spain one day. It was hard to believe the day had come. Throughout the trip we made near constant comparisons to Sevilla, as we had become so acquainted with it. We noticed similarities and differences in the food, the accent, the character of the people. Maybe it took out first trip away to see how connected we had gotten to the city, our new friends, and our host families. The weekend helped us see another side of the country of Spain, another aspect of its personality.

Posted by Clare, Seville, Spain, Spring 2007

Movie Review - Maria Full of Grace

María Llena de Gracias (María Full of Grace) is a great movie full of suspense with scenes in both Colombia and the United States. It tells the tale of María Alvarez, an outspoken Colombian teen fed up with her life of working in a factory to support her family. She does not want to follow in the footsteps of her mother and sister: pregnant, abandoned by the men in their lives, and barely surviving. Embracing her rebellious side, she becomes involved in drug smuggling, which promises opportunities to travel and earn much money, but with major legal, personal, and social consequences. Her character is very brave as she makes her way to the U.S., knowing no English and traveling with lethal drugs inside her body as a “drug mule”.

The movie is really riveting and held my attention intensely throughout the film. As the action takes place in Colombia I was really draw in by the beautiful scenery but also how frustrated María feels in her small, impoverished village. As the scene shifts to New York City the contrast between lifestyles and countries is drastic. I love immigrant stories so it was really interesting to see all of María’s struggles (language, culture shock, lack of material things) and all of the opportunities that were available to her also. This is a great international film and definitely worth renting!

Posted by Clare, Seville, Spain, Spring 2007