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

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