Seville Slow-down

Five observations about Seville that I have found intersting. In general, no one is in a rush during any aspect of their day. A broad generalization, but we'll go with it.

1. No one walks up escalators. Just wait til it brings you to the top - you can stand on the left side, the right side, it doesn't matter, because no one behind you wants to walk up it. (A big contrast to London, where you walk on the left, stand on the right).

2. Crossing the street when you don't have a green symbol is unheard of. Today even, I was approached an interesection, a ONE WAY interesection with about ten spaniards waiting for green. I looked, no cars, I walked. After doing so, the entire group followed.

3. Sevillians walk really slow. They assume, because they're in Seville, that no one would be walking faster than them, catching them from behind. Therefore, abrupt turns, stopping or swerving on the sidewalk often leads to bumping into a fast-walking American.

4. People love crutches. They are different in shape than in the US, but they love em. I am being sarcastic when I say the following - it's almost a fashion statement. I feel that this is taken from the obsession with soccer, where somewhat real, somewhat fake injuries are tolerated. I probably counted 5 or 6 kids on crutches at the elementary school today, and 2 kids in wheel chairs with fully-functioning legs.

5. Sevillians over-prepare to exit a bus or metro train. A guy today got up from his seat and crossed the aisle, which made sense because in about 10-15 seconds we would be at the next stop. Nope, he was just making sure he would be ready for the second stop to come. I see this very often.

I love the Sevillian culture and people, I just figured you Americans reading this may appreciate what I have observed.

Austino