Part 7: Campus and

Culture

Part 7: Discover Seville

In this lesson, you will learn about:

• Basic Information about Spain

• Safety Information

• SJU’s Seville Location

• Local transportation

• Language & Culture

Bienvenidos a Sevilla!

Spain: Some Basic Facts

• Capital: Madrid

• Government Type: Parliamentary Monarchy

• Prime Minister: Mariano Rajoy

• Head of State: King Felipe VI

• Major Political Parties: Partido Socialista Obrero Español, El Partido

Popular

• Population: 47.4M (30th largest in the world)

• Most populous cities: Madrid (6.48 million), Barcelona (5.37 million),

Valencia (1.70 million)

• Area: 505,370 km² (a little more than twice the size of Oregon)

• Climate: temperate; hot summers, cold and cloudy winters

• Time difference to the east coast: 6 hours

• Major religions: Catholicism (71%), other (2%)

non-believer (17%), atheist (8%)

Safety Abroad: Sevilla

• Some emergency phone

numbers:

– Ambulance: 061

– Fire: 080

– Local Police: 092

– Police Department for

Foreigners: 954.24.95.96

– General Emergency: 112

Living Abroad: Spain - Classrooms and Housing

• Residence Facility: The Inturjoven Residence, a University of Sevilla-affiliated

dormitory, located in the Reina Mercedes quarter, a 15 minute walk away from

Plaza de España. The residence is shared by local Spanish, other international

students and tourists.

• Room Description: Students are housed in double or triple rooms, each with an

air-conditioning unit.

• Bathrooms: Private, full bathrooms are located within each dorm room.

• Amenities: The Inturjoven Residence has a large dining hall, 24-hour reception,

and weekly room cleaning.

Living Abroad: Spain - Classrooms and Housing

• Computers/Internet: Students have access to a small computer lab inside the residence; student rooms have wireless internet connections. Expect the internet to be slower than in New York.

• Laundry: Coin-operated laundry for student use as well as the option of using local laundromats.

• Linens: Bed linens, a blanket, and one towel are provided; the residence provides a free cleaning service for some of these items (details available on-site).

• Meals: Breakfast and Dinner are served in the residence dinning hall Monday – Thursday, plus an additional breakfast on Friday. Students also receive 8 meal vouchers worth 2.50 Euros each to use at local restaurants, supermarkets, etc. as in Italy.

• Classrooms: Located within the residence or on the Reina Mercedes campus of the University of Sevilla, about a 10 minute walk from the residence.

Living Abroad: Local Transportation: Sevilla

• Bus – Individual or books of tickets can be bought, as well as 1-day, 3-

day, and monthly passes

• Sevici – Bike Share Program

• Taxi

• Walking – The very best way to see the city!

Language Briefing

Knowing the basics of the local language is crucial for getting around,

meeting new people and making a great first impression. Practice the

words and phrases below to get a head start:

• Hola (oh-la) – Hello

• Buenos días (bwenos dee-ahs) – Good Morning

• Buenas noches (bwenas no-chess) – Good Evening/ Good Night

• Adíos (ah-dee-ohs) – Goodbye

• Por favor (pour fa-vore) – Please

• Gracias (gra-thee-ahs) – Thank you

• De nada (day na-da) – You’re welcome

A few notes on culture…

In case we haven’t stressed it enough, you’ll be dealing with a LOT of cultural

differences. We’ve also tried to stress that differences don’t have to be a bad

thing – in fact, they should be the reason you’re going abroad! It helps to

prepare yourself, though, so we’ve pulled together a few basic notes on Spanish

culture:

1. Dinner – Forget about eating dinner in Spain before 9pm. If you go out to

eat, most restaurants won’t really get hopping until at least 10pm.

2. Flamenco – Flamenco is not just a dance, but an art form that includes

guitar, singing, dancing and “palmas‘”(handclaps). There are lots of places to

see flamenco in Seville but make sure you know what will be performed.

3. Bullfighting – Although a touchy subject here in the United States,

bullfighting still goes on in Spain and in fact, Seville is said to be where

modern bullfighting originated.

Culture, Cont’d.

4. Siesta – Most businesses and schools close for a few hours during the

afternoon to go home and spend some time resting, eating, and

socializing with family before returning to work or school.

5. Tapas – Tapas are a way of eating food, not a type of food. Anything

can be tapas. Paella, cous cous, shrimps, even hamburgers. A tapa is

a small dish, usually taken with a drink (sometimes it comes free,

sometimes you pay for it).

6. Fútbol – Much like in Italy, soccer is like a religion in Spain. The

season runs from mid September to mid May and each Saturday and

Sunday sees over 100 professional games taking place across the

country.

Further Research

We could go on forever telling you about the language & culture

of these places, but the best way to prepare is to do some

research on your own and focus on the things that interest you.

Here are some resources to get you started:

• The Student Guide – made for SJU students by SJU

students, it has tons of info on each of our locations.

• LonelyPlanet.com – a website devoted to travel, with

general info on all of our locations and many more

• Wikipedia – for all its faults, Wikipedia can be great for

getting quick facts on things like geography, politics, people and

climate.