Spain: Ailyn Esquivel (Our Global Classroom)

Seville, Spain has offered some of the most beautiful experiences, many of which take place during class time. During my first two weeks here, we had an intensive Spanish course that allowed us to better our world language proficiency through immersion within the city and its culture. The first half of class consisted of a specific topic which would relate to a monument or location within the city. During the second half of class, we would navigate through the city to the monument or location related to that day’s topic so we could physically see the history for ourselves.

My professor told us that by the end of our two-week course his hopes were for us to be the ultimate tour guides of Seville. By leaving the classroom and being able to see the history for ourselves I felt like I truly retained more information than I normally would have. We started in the centuries BC and ended at present day. We went through thousands of years of history. By being able to physically see the mark that other cultures, civilizations, and religions have left on Spain, we could see how Spain’s culture was created.

A specific topic we covered was the Hispanic-Roman era of time which heavily impacted Seville and all of Spain. We talked about the Roman and Greek influences and how they worshiped multiple Gods one of which was the very well known, Hercules. After discussing his significance in Spanish history, we then walked a block away from the academic building where we were able to see the 3 remaining pillars from Hercules’ temple. Being able to see the immense size of the pillars really helps imagine the what the city looked like during the Hispanic-Roman era and the amount of work that the Romans put into this city.

 

Ailyn Esquivel

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Major: Psychology & Spanish

Program: CIEE Advanced Liberal Arts & Liberal Arts in Seville

As a native Spanish speaker, I look forward to learning about the culture of another Spanish speaking country and getting a hands-on experience that goes beyond the history you learn in your classes. Sevilla is a city that has everything I love from its richness in culture to architecture and fine arts.