Every American needs to take a page out of a sevillano’s book. They are the most laid back people I have ever encountered. Last Saturday my roommates and I were enjoying lunch by the Puerta de Jerez fountain when we heard a small explosion. We turned around to see a geyser of water shooting out from the ground at the Hotel Alfonso XIII across the street. One of the construction workers doing repairs to the hotel entrance had clearly hit the water main and broken the pipeline.
Instead of the construction workers running around in a panic like any American would expect, they stood back and started laughing. Laughing hysterically, in fact, and pointing at the mistake. No supervisor came over to reprimand them and no news crews descended to report the breaking story.
We finished up our lunch and over an hour later the water was still bubbling. It had slowed from its initial gush but had started to flood the surrounding areas. The workers had hopped over the foot deep pool and were taking a cigarette break.
It’s refreshing to see a culture that doesn’t sweat the small (or even big) things. They take everything as it comes and enjoy each moment of the day. It is definitely a change of pace and a well welcomed one for me. It has enabled me to take a closer look at the lifestyle and of Sevilla after the craziness that was my initial few days here.
Days here are spent out and about. Travel is not from point A to point B. I think a lot of the sevillanos are on an all day bar crawl on the weekends. They hop from café to cerveceria to tapateria just to hang out. It’s not just the expected young adults. It is mostly older adults or people with children.
Kids are all over the place in Sevilla. They are running around in the alleys by my apartment or out shopping with their parents. They also dress better than half the adults in the United States. If they’re not in their proper uniforms after being picked up from school they are dressed smartly in tailored little outfits with their hair done. Babies are also all over the place in bonnets and blankets in these massive strollers. The moms here use their children to show off their own fashion sense because the mom’s are looking pretty fine themselves. Ever seen a majorly pregnant woman with a blowout, tight sweater dress, and four-inch heels in the middle of the day? I have.
Second to the kid population would be the dog population. There are dogs everywhere. I was expecting to see a few little European looking dogs peeking out of purses but it seems as though every other person is walking a golden retriever. And when the owners stop to eat, they let the dog off the leash and it curls up at the base of the table and stays. It’s really a sight to see!
I can say this because I have seen the whole city. Well, sort of. There is a new architectural sculpture in the Plaza de la Encarnación that looks like this futuristic set of mushrooms shooting out of the ground. It is aptly named Las Setas. They were built over the site of ancient Roman ruins of the city of Hispalis because the government forbids them from being removed or destroyed. My roommates and I traveled underneath the Plaza first to see the ruins and then to catch an elevator up to the top of the Setas. There is not just an observation deck at the top. There is a glass and open-air café as well as a walkway that juts out over the tops of the mushrooms. By walking along the top we were able to see every last inch of Sevilla including fields just outside the city limits.
Classes have all picked up and are going well. But they are early and long and you can see it in each student’s face that they’d rather be out wandering the streets of Sevilla rather than be stuck in a classroom. I really appreciate my Spanish class and feel as though I have learned so much in only two class sessions (since I missed the first…). Other classes I’m still on the fence about. I question my sport and culture class (deportes y la cultura) a little bit. I had to write about “how a sport in Andalucia (my region of Spain) influenced industrialization at the turn of the 20th century.” Ohhhhkay, that one was a little over my head and definitely out of my field of interest. But tomorrow I’m excited to travel with my architecture and painting class to visit more Roman ruins at Itálica.
Rep image courtsey of Megan Mansell