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Jan 26, 20202 min read

A Novice's Novice Guide to Spain

Blog I:

As part of my Honors Capstone, and to the delight of my adorning fans, I will be keeping a blog recording and reflecting on different experiences I have while studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain. One of the first assignments for my Capstone class was a paper that served as an overview of the economy, history, culture, politics, behaviors, and language(s) of Spain.

I have heard a lot about Spain from other people, as it is a common tourist and study abroad destination. Writing my paper, however, I discovered two significant knowledge gaps that I would like to rectify:

First, the Spanish economy: As part of the European Union, I have labored under the assumption that Spain has a strong economy that mimics the cycle of growth and decline in the United States (just, on a smaller scale). Although Spain is the 13th-wealthiest country in the world, their economy is not currently in great condition. A crash in the housing market 12 years ago struck Spain harder than in the United States; Spain’s unemployment spiked, hitting 26% in 2012. Spain’s unemployment is still at 14%, compared to 3% in the U.S. The Spanish government is currently sponsoring multiple construction projects that will offer part-time jobs to lower this figure.

The second major knowledge gap I had about Spain was regarding religion. I know that Spain is dominantly Catholic rather than Christian, which my research confirmed, as around 70% of Spaniards identify as Catholic. I was surprised to learn that less than 20% regularly attend service, even with such a high percent of religious people overall. According to Gallup News, in the United States roughly 70% of people are Christian and 37% are highly religious; interestingly, the United States is overall more religious than Spain, and I look forward to comparing religion in the two countries while I am abroad.

Finally, I would like to offer advice to anyone studying abroad regarding visas (not all students need a visa):

If you meet the requirements for your exchange program, I would schedule your appointment before you have been accepted. The spots fill up remarkably quickly – for example, when I made my appointment the earliest availability was 12 weeks away.

The Los Angeles Spanish Consulate shares a building with a few other consulates and is located close to the famous Republique restaurant, a French, fine-dining eatery / bar by night and a coffee bar / bakery during the day (my ham and cheese croissant pictured below). It’s a six minute walk, give it a try!


*Figures are drawn from Fodor’s Travel guide, which I would highly recommend to anyone studying abroad.









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