I’m writing to you from Seville, Spain. Like many students studying abroad, my experience still feels very fresh. I stumble when talking to native speakers in Spanish, I’m barely starting to understand the city’s geography and I constantly feel like a tourist.
Studying abroad is often described as transformative. Only time will tell if this experience truly changes me, and I’ve yet to leave the adjustment period. The period looks different for everyone: How proficient someone is in their location’s language, the subject they’re studying and whether or not they already know people in their program are all factors that can shape the first few weeks.
The pace of life in Spain is something that I had to get used to early on. On my first day here, I was exploring the city’s cobblestone streets with some students from my residence when we became hungry. We started looking for somewhere to eat, but every restaurant seemed to be closed. Was leaving for dinner at 7:30 p.m. too late? It was the opposite, in fact. Once we found one of the few open restaurants, we noticed that it only got busy around 9:00 p.m.
The Spanish schedule tends to be more relaxed and delayed than the American one. A typical day might involve eating lunch at 3:00 p.m., taking a siesta nap until 5:00 p.m. and having dinner around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. It’s also common for people to come home from a night out around 6:00 a.m., with many clubs closing after 5:00 a.m.
As someone who enjoys sleeping in and taking my time with things, I’ve come to appreciate the slower pace of life in Seville. I’ve gotten used to waking up past noon on days that I don’t have class, something I’d only do a couple times a year back home. After eating a big brunch, exercising and getting ready for the day, my friends and I often head to the city center around 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. If we go shopping, we stay out until the stores close around 10:00 p.m., which is when we go to dinner.
However, elements of this relaxed pace can pose an inconvenience. Marina Saad (Villanova ’26) prefers a more traditional routine. While Seville’s public transportation network is quite well connected, bus times can be unpredictable.
“Sometimes it comes early, sometimes it comes late, sometimes it just doesn’t come,” Saad said. “It also impacts my timeliness in arriving to things, which is irritating.”
While the inconsistent bus schedule clashes with her punctual nature, Saad reminds herself that everyone in Seville experiences the same delays, and that running late is a shared experience. Spanish culture is often characterized by a relaxed approach to punctuality.
“For students attending programs where they don’t know anyone yet, the adjustment period can feel like college orientation week all over again.”
Students studying in other European cities have different experiences with public transportation systems. Ryan Gaghen CM ’26 said he hasn’t had any issues with transportation in Stockholm, Sweden. He was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of its transit system; The city seems to operate at a quicker pace compared to laid-back Seville.
In Prague, Claire Moore CM ’26 had to adjust to the rarity of smiles. While unusual in the Czech city, in the United States, it’s practically habitual for strangers to smile at one another in passing.
“Everyone looks very somber and that can be an adjustment,” Moore said. “But here, a smile is the sign of pure happiness, not just something that you throw on.”
I’ve noticed that polite smiles aren’t a big part of Seville’s culture either. There have been times where I instinctively smile at a stranger and am met with a look of confusion. I’ve had to get used to different kinds of warmth in Seville: People often insist that strangers board the bus before them, and when I speak with locals, they typically show genuine interest in what I have to say.
For students attending programs where they don’t know anyone yet, the adjustment period can feel like college orientation week all over again. Harper Denniston SC ’26 feels like she’s met some great people in her first few weeks in Seville, but the constant introductions can take a toll on her social battery.
“It’s been a little bit draining just constantly being on and meeting so many new people everyday,” Denniston said.
Feeling like you have to build an entirely new social network is just another example of the constant novelty in studying abroad. In this adjustment period, everything is new: food, culture, schedules, people, language and so much more. But this unfamiliarity forces us to adapt and change our habitual ways of interacting with the environment around us. I’d call that transformative.
Columnist Parishi Kanuga CM ’26 is studying abroad in Seville, Spain this semester.
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