<p>My daughter is applying for study abroad in the fall and is trying to decide between programs in Barcelona and Seville. Both are through her college, and apparently the location doesn't affect the academic side of things, so it is just a question of where she would rather live for a semester. She asked me for advice but I haven't been to either city. In Seville, she would live in a home-stay situation, and in Barcelona, she would live in a dorm. Her goal is to become fluent in Spanish (she's already pretty far along the way), so it seems to me that a home-stay in Seville would be more conducive to this. She grew up mostly in NYC and goes to college in Philly so she is comfortable with cities and taking public transportation. One complication is that she's a vegetarian and is worried about what she will eat in Seville -- Barcelona seems like it would be easier in that regard.</p>
<p>Any thoughts from anyone who knows either/both of these cities or who has had a child who studied abroad in either? thanks</p>
<p>Homestay definitely. I also believe there’s more real Spanish spoken in Seville. A lot of Catalan spoken in Barcelona. If she stays in a dorm with a bunch of international or American students English will almost certainly become the lingua franca. </p>
<p>Regarding food - she’ll have to learn to ask about hidden meat - but I think she’ll be able to find plenty to eat. I know there are tapas made with chickpeas and spanish omelets just have potatoes and onions.</p>
<p>Barcelona is way, way, way, way, way cooler than Sevilla.</p>
<p>The Catalan thing is sort of a red herring. I spent a school year in Barcelona 40 years ago, and got very fluent in Spanish, but had to learn Catalan to get kids my age to talk to me. However, when I was in Barcelona a few years ago I was shocked at how much LESS Catalan was being spoken. There are so many immigrants from Latin America and other parts of Spain, you can’t reliably speak Catalan on the street, in shops, etc., and be understood. Sure, there’s a Catalan TV station now, but all the ads are in Spanish. And when I was on the subway with groups of students out for the evening, they were all speaking Spanish to one another. (In the 1970s, one would never have heard a group of students in Barcelona speaking Spanish among themselves. Never.)</p>
<p>That said, in Sevilla what they speak is mostly Spanish, that’s true. (Spanish with a recognizable accent – like sending a kid to Mississippi to learn English. And a little Arabic.) And homestay is better than a dorm for acquiring fluency, no doubt.</p>
<p>Vegetarianism would be easier to practice in Barcelona, but ought to be perfectly feasible in Sevilla. Sevilla will also be cheaper than Barcelona.</p>
<p>My son is currently in Seville for Winter Term, in a home stay & has had an incredible experience. He was surprised how little English is spoken and initially relied on his bi-lingual roommate. He has found the history & culture of the area fascinating – mix of Muslim, Jewish and Christian influences. He comes home Saturday, you can PM me if you want more info.</p>
<p>I also think, though it may be less cool there is something to be said to staying in a smaller somewhat less touristy city. My son has been abroad in both Irbid and Amman Jordan. In Amman everyone wanted to practice their English on him, in Irbid no one spoke English! There were also fewer amusements geared towards tourists so he learned to play backgammon in the local cafes as opposed to going to English language movies. Interesting (and sad) that so much less Catalan is spoken now - what I know about living in Barcelona comes mostly from an old boyfriend. Needless to say a long time ago! (JHS I wonder if you were part of the same program as my boyfriend - it was a high school program not college.)</p>
<p>My son spent a semester in Barcelona, and lived in a dorm. He loved Barcelona - a truly amazing, cosmopolitan city with tons of history and culture, and a relatively low-priced airline (Vueling) based there that he used to travel all over Europe.</p>
<p>On the downside, it didn’t do much at all for his Spanish. First, he lived in the dorm with an American roommate on a floor with a dozen other Americans. He said only once or twice did the Spanish students in the dorm attempt to interact with them in the gym or cafeteria. (not to blame the Spaniards, I don’t think S really tried to reach out to them either). From his experience most people in Barcelona do speak Catalan as their primary language, although all can speak Spanish as well. And quite frankly, a lot can speak English (shopkeepers, waiters, etc).</p>
<p>His program did have the option of homestays, and their information said that homestay families had been told to speak Spanish to the students. But S didn’t go that route.</p>
<p>I would opt for the homestay. While Barcelona is beautiful, I absolutely love Sevilla. The pace is slower and it is smaller (4th largest city in Spain, Barcelona is 2nd) but there are still plenty of things to do, and it is less expensive. The natives of that part can eat their “s”, and they don’t have the Castilian accent that you would hear in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia. </p>
<p>Spaniards eat a lot of fruits and vegetables as well as fish. I think she’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I would be leery of an extended homestay experience. So much of the student’s life would depend on the nature and style of the family and how well they connected–there would be all the typical roommate issues multiplied by the number of family members and complicated by the language barrier. I’d certainly want to be sure other students had stayed with the particular family and then have the opportunity to discuss with them how things went. My D went on a summer trip to France while she was in high school. It included a homestay of four days. My D’s family was very nice and took her on several excursions, but the constant heavy cigarette smoking (so common in Europe) was a problem for her. Another girl in her group was stuck with a family that didn’t speak to her, barely fed her, had no children her age, and didn’t take her anywhere–they were clearly in it for the money, and she was miserable. After a couple of days she contacted the sponsoring organization and they removed her from the home. So I think a lot of investigation needs to go into any homestay plan. Even something as trivial as the location of the home and the commute to classes needs to be acceptable if the time abroad is to be optimal.</p>
<p>Sevilla! Way back when…did my study abroad there as a 20 something… Perfect on every level. Great location, we travelled on a lot of the weekends. Big enough for a cool experience but small enough that you really become part of the culture. Also if your daughter is there in the spring she will get to experience feria which is a consuming week of fun. Super cool city lots of students, very welcoming to the students. I roomed with someone from germany and france. Not sure if it is the same but the college bar was always packed in the mornings!</p>
<p>Almost forgot - food in Sevilla is fish, fish, and more fish. Throw in some potatoes,eggs, and fruit. I don’t think I ever ate meat. I also remember eating more lentils than I thought humanly possible.</p>
<p>Thanks for all this information – very helpful! Sounds like Seville is the best choice if she’s serious about improving her Spanish. MommaJ, I hear you about the homestay; I wouldn’t like it but my daughter seems to like the idea. I’m less concerned about it for college than I would be for a high school student.</p>
<p>Barcelona is WAY cooler, more interesting, more youthful and better sited. Catalan and veg issues really won’t be issues. Agree home stay should be better for language development but always a little risky, can’t guarantee family will be all you hope for.</p>