Culture Shock
There are many little differences between Seville and Boston but the most prominent one is the pace of life. In Boston everyone is rushing from one thing to another, carrying an ice coffee in their hand. If you look on the train or in the street everyone is on the phone texting or calling someone. If we don’t finish meals at restaurants we take them to go. In Seville that’s unheard of. You take your time eating at restaurants, usually using it as a social time as well as a meal. Same goes with coffee. Where it is possible to get a cup of coffee “para llevar” or to go, many places don’t even have to go cups. It is just the culture that when you go for a coffee you have time to sip it slowly while sitting. You never see people walking around with coffees unless they are foreign students! Also everyone just walks slower and takes their time getting from one place to another.
I will say that was one thing that bothered me when I went through my phase of culture shock. I was so frustrated with the slow walking in Seville because I’m used to rushing in Boston. But that was during the second phase of culture shock. When I first got to Seville I was enchanted by it. The city was so beautiful and different from what I was used to. But during the second phase of culture shock which kicked in around the second week, these same reasons were the culprits. I was so frustrated with all the differences. Why can’t I get an iced coffee to go? Why is everyone going so slow when I have to get to class? Why can’t people speak slower Spanish for me? Wherever you go you will get some sort of experience with culture shock that is hard to deal with.
But after a few more weeks I fell into a pattern each day. I knew where to go and i stopped having to use maps to get from place to place. I was more comfortable speaking Spanish to the locals. And I accepted I would never get an iced coffee that was the same as my Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. But that’s okay. I traveled to experience new customs and discover new corners of the world. What fun would it be if it was just like my life at home?
