Global Experience Bursary: Seville
14 July 2020
Nikki received funding from the Global Experience Bursary and spent three weeks in Seville, Spain.
My three weeks spent in Seville, in Southern Spain, was a much-needed break from London, where I spent most of my year and had very much come to associate with work and studies. Aside from being immersed in the language through formal classes that took place every morning to early afternoon 5 days a week, I also got to explore a tiny fraction more of the Sevillano way of life through school-organised cultural activities. These included guided walks through the city (with a teacher/guide who knew a lot about the city’s history in various aspects), Tapas tours and exploring some of the city’s museums in my own time. What was most noticeably different about Seville for me was the considerably slower pace of life there, and I quickly adjusted myself to the local habit of taking afternoon naps – or siestas – in the afternoons, and going out to explore only after the afternoon heat had dissipated slightly.
Admittedly, in just three weeks of spending time in Seville, there leaves much more that could be learnt about the Spanish language for me. Nonetheless, I have taken away a much increased confidence in my ability to not only speak the language, but also to find answers to doubts that I might later encounter in my continued study of Spanish. Beyond that, spending three weeks with newly-made friends over a Summer has allowed us to become a tight-knit bunch, and we will forever hold the memories we created close to heart while struggling to grasp the language. This opportunity was in large part made possible thanks to the Global Experience Bursary, for which I am grateful, and I hope others in the future will have similarly positive experiences with their time abroad.
By: Nikki Tanu