I have been now working in Spain-Internship almost 2 months and I have had lots of good time here. In my first blog text I will tell about my first impressions of Spain and City of Seville.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do”
In Seville many locals don’t speak English at all. When I came here I knew only couple words of Spanish so at start there were some problems with understanding people. I still can’t speak Spanish, but learning numbers, greetings and some important words help me find a way to communicate with people. I think this language wall was biggest cultural difference for me, and if you plan to come in Spain, I recommend learning some Spanish before coming to make your life easier at start.
Second big cultural difference is that Spanish people are really relaxed. People don’t stress and hurry without reason, and I think here is the learning point to many other cultures. Like in my home country in Finland, people start to complain if they have to wait bus more than 5 minutes or if in grocery store there is more than 3 people in line. At first it was weird for me because I was used to be on time always and to be honest it cause lots of stress sometimes, but when you get used to local culture you will see that in this way it is lots of better, when you don’t have to stress about little things.
City of Seville
In my first weekend here, Spain-Internship organized an city tour for new interns. I kept this very useful since during this tour I met new people and learned how to walk around city. City of Seville (Sevilla in Spanish), is very old and beautiful city. The most famous place to see are Seville Cathedral, Alcázar palace complex and Plaza de España.
City center of Sevilla
Seville Cathedral (Catedral de Santa María de la Sede) is the largest Gothic cathedral in world. Inside Cathedral there is also buried part of remains of Christopher Columbus. Inside cathedral you can also access to Giralda tower. Giralda is the bell tower of the cathedral and if you climb there, it offers very nice view over the city.
View from Giralda bell tower
Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace in Seville. It is the oldest royal palace what is still in use in Europe. With cathedral it is part of UNESCO World Heritage site. The gardens of palace are really beautiful and I recommend visiting there.
Gardens of Alcázar
Alcázar baths and me
Plaza de España is a plaza inside Maria Luisa Park. It was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. In Plaza de España you can find tiled “Province Alcoves”, what are representing a different province of Spain. Plaza de España has been used also as a filming location in Star Wars Episode I and II and in the film The Dictator.
Plaza de España
Province Alcoves in Plaza de España