Nomadic Noles – Issue 6

Summer 2019

The road overtraveled European tourism is an issue for locals and visitors alike page 10

Black beyond borders A student journalist explores a question of race in Spain page 6

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

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Letter from the director

T

he world is a bit crazy. The humans are having constant disagreements and arguments. There are so many different issues that are causing conflicts and debates these days. It is happening in the U.S., in Europe, in Spain, everywhere! I am sure that you have some of these topics in mind right now. Problems, struggles, clashes, battles and conflicts…not to mention politics—or maybe yes.

And with all of this going on, am I going to study abroad? Am I going to stay for months in a different continent, country, and culture? Will those people be different, strange, or weird? What will they think about me?

And what will I think about them? Do they know about the U.S. and our issues? And, by the way, what do I know about that country, those people, and their political, social, or economic issues?

The answer is yes, study abroad! You have to see and experience it with your own eyes and perspective.

Well, our viewpoint and the experience of thousands of FSU students is that knowing other cultures, other languages, and other types of people helps our brains and our reasoning to be ready to listen and understand other points of view. These experiences will make us see the “big picture” and put the problems and situations into perspective. We will be ready to compare and express opinions based on this variety of new inputs that we will have acquired in our way of thinking and viewing of the world.

And this issue of Nomadic Noles reflects this train of thought. We researched, studied, and experienced the U.S.’s, Europe’s and Spain’s political and social controversial issues. We traveled to places of great interest and that are causing big discord, we debated and dialogued, we heard the opinions of locals, American citizens, Europeans, and people from everywhere. And with all of those ideas, words, and comments, we created and forged our own opinions and explanations. We all “traveled” from the discomfort of the polemics and disputes, to the ease of forming opinions through the journeys, through the guided and taught activities, and during our visits to places of interest.

In the end, no one knows all the answers, and no one can tell you what to think. But we can all give opinions and listen to other voices. And with that, we are creating a common knowledge that sometimes may get close to common sense.

Ignacio Messana FSU Valencia dean and director

2 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS FACES OF THE PROGRAM

8

Student identity abroad page 14

The study of economics becomes a less-stressful endeavor under Joe Calhoun’s guidance.

16

With an upbeat personality, Valencian Tamara Garcia passes along her love for the city.

18

Get to know cultural program coordinator Paula Acosta, a friendly leader and eco-savvy traveler.

22

Marian Blat passes along her enthusiam for language to students in her Spanish classes.

STUDY CENTER IN FOCUS

12

FSU instructors create unique teaching methods to capitalize on opportunities offered in Valencia.

20

Tracie Mahaffey unpacks the dynamics of consent in a new course for students abroad.

28

FSU Valencia provides outlets for student adventures across Spain.

34

Students become engaged in Valencia Fútbol Club’s historic finish in El Copa del Rey 2019.

BEYOND THE STUDY CENTER Valencia alumna Kamille Catala page 24

4

A proud Valencian recalls stories of romance, determination, and hardship.

6

Black beyond borders: One FSU Valencia student looks at how blacks are treated in Spain.

10

Europe is struggling under the burden of a crush of tourists, as Valencia tries to avoid the same.

30

Past international travel influences how students prepare for FSU study abroad programs.

36

Valencia is filled with street art, and students take in the visuals with awe and emotion.

EDITING, WRITING, AND MEDIA ALUMNAE

Archaeology revives ancient city page 32 Photo credits Top, Emma Jo McAuliffe Middle, courtesy of Kamille Catala Bottom, Miranda Sullivan Cover: Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences in the early evening. Photo by Jack Clifford

26

A Q&A with Claudia Gonzalez. who studied in Valencia in the summer of 2015.

27

A Q&A with Rosalie Peyton, who studied in Valencia in the summer of 2016.

FLORENCE, LONDON, AND PANAMA 39

Read about what is happening at FSU’s other study abroad centers.

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

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By Melissa Kindma

Photo by Melissa Kindma

W

ith the arm of her daughter, Gemma Pascual, grasped in one hand and a cane in the other, Ángeles Domínguez-Barberá shuffles her way through the outdoor tables of Café Lavin as she heads to a quieter place.

She greets everyone around her with a warm smile, a silent message of connection and kindness.

Her nails, painted an iridescent white, subtly glimmer in the sun.

At 97 years old, she clearly still takes pride in the way she looks. She wears a brown and white, patterned blouse, tastefully accented with gold jewelry.

“I made this shirt many years ago and it’s still perfect,” Ángeles, who goes by Angelita, says.

Her clothes are a testament to her youthful spirit, unchanged by time. She became a skilled seamstress after the Spanish Civil War. She says that before the war, her family was one of the most important families in Spain and one of the wealthiest in all of Europe. They developed a packaging company that became the first leading producer of burlap sacks during World War I. The sacks were used to carry loads of potatoes and other items, edible and not, across the continent.

Everything However, everything changed for Anchanged for gelita when her father and her brother, Pepé, were kidnapped in 1938.

Angelita when The introduction of the Second her father and Spanish Republic gave rise to the Combrother were munist Party of Spain, a coalition of leftkidnapped ist in political forces, who were the elected government before the conflict began.

1938.

They fought against the right-wing Nationalists with fervor in what came to be known as the Spanish Civil War, which lasted from 1936-1939.

During the war, the political climate in Spain was thick with tension, pitting neighbor against neighbor. The Communist Party of Spain was notorious for invading Spanish cities, burning churches, and murdering members of important nationionalist parties.

Angelita’s family was one of those targeted, belonging to a political party known as “El Partido Popular” (translated to mean “The People’s Party”). When her father and brother were taken to jail to be killed, she did everything she could to save them. She prayed to God and beseeched her closest friend, “Please help them. They are going to die.”

Her friend, the daughter of an important Communist leader, pleaded with her own father to release Angelita’s family from jail. Against all odds, they were freed, but not without a cost. The Communist Party of Spain took everything familiar to them -- their home, their business, their livelihood. For Angelita, it marked the beginning of a life that was unrecognizable in comparison to her first 16 years.

To avoid further conflict, Angelita and her family took refuge in a small town south of Valencia, called Agres, where the houses hung precariously on the side of a steep mountain. Even in the countryside, they felt the effects of war. She stayed in a house with Photo by Savannah Tindall four floors; she and her family lived on the second.

Doña Angelita

la historia de una Valenciana The bittersweet tale of a woman with nearly a century’s worth of memories

Angelita DominguezBarbera and her daughter, Gemma Pascual.

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In the evenings, they would move to “One day when we were out, he told What began as a family dish grew in the ground floor to protect themselves me ‘I love you,’ and I responded, ‘I love popularity after her husband encourfrom a real-life nightmare: the nighttime you too,’ and so he said, ‘Well then, let’s aged her to add it to their restaurant’s bomb raids. get married,’” Angelita says. menu. In this way, Angelita’s and her hus“Every time the siren sounded, it The two married in the fall of 1956, band’s passions, their family traditions, meant that they were bombing our city and their business worked in harmony. and that we needed to hide underHer daughter, Gemma, FSU Vaground,” Angelita says. “We lencia’s housing manager, would hide with much fear, admires her parents’ in[but] they would mostly focredible tale. cus on capturing and killing “My parents did not have the wealthy people and [peoan easy and comfortable ple in the] churches.” life,” Gemma says. “For 15 As the war raged on, Anyears, they didn’t have a famgelita’s family grew politically ily: no siblings, no parents, divided. One of her brothers nothing. It was just them. joined the Communist Party Even though both of their parand earned the rank of lead ofents had a lot of money, they ficer, in charge of all the guards. didn’t give our family anything Another brother worked as a when they died. They had to driver of Francisco Franco, head start from nothing… [but] their of the right-wing Nationalists, who loved flowed into everything; the would go on to become dictator of family, the restaurant [...] it was Spain until his death in 1975. relaxed. They wanted to last their When the war ended in 1939, Anwhole lives together.” gelita says the joyful atmosphere Left: Facundo and Angelita on their wedding While recording the interview was tempered by feelings of sad- day; Right: (from left) Pepé, Vincenté, for this article, Angelita caught a ness and loss. glimpse of herself in the small screen Angelita’s mother (Ricardo in the womb), “Madre Mia, we celebrated with of the cell phone. her father, Angelita, and Juan. a party,” she says. “However, the “I look so small,” she said as she adman that saved my father and brother despite their families’ vehement disap- justed her position. She inched forward was put into prison and killed by them proval. Angelita’s parents and brothers on the simple, black couch and contin[the Nationalists]. To this day, I am still considered their marriage a dishonor. ued to muse about her life in Valencia, friends with his daughter. We go out to- Her mother and father didn’t speak to about her family, about Gemma. gether, but we do not talk about the war. Angelita and Facundo for more than 15 As she spoke, her eyes sparkled with Those days are behind us.” years; even after all that time, their mar- pride—a true Valencian through and Angelita’s parents went on to estab- riage was never forgiven. through. There is nothing small about lish a successful transportation service Though their situation was challeng- this incredible woman’s spirit nor the in Spain. Angelita stayed in Valencia be- ing, Angelita and Facundo overcame powerful stories she eagerly shares. cause that’s where her family lived, but their struggles by opening a restaurant Her life is a reminder of a great reshe followed a different path, and be- and starting a family of their own. In sponsibility to not only participate in hiscame a skilled seamstress instead. She addition to having a daughter, Gemma, tory, but to preserve it, to share it—and made everything from simple they had a son, Javier Pascual, both for younger generations, to simply listen. shirts to wedding dresses, of whom live in Valencia. even her own.

When asked why she de“I started sewing becided to stay in Valencia She found cause I liked sewing,” despite her traumatic love in Valencia. she says. “I made my history there, Angelita reHer whole life dress for my wedsponded matter-of-factwas there. ding, but I didn’t want ly, “I love Valencia.” She to dress up in white. I found love in Valencia.

Valencia is was so tired of sewing Her whole life was there. home. [white] wedding dressValencia is home. ings.” Angelita sewed a They called the restaurant black wedding dress instead.

“El Trinquet de Pelayo,” the There was a lot about her wedname of a popular Valencian game ding that was unconventional, most similar to tennis, but players use their importantly, the man she married. Her hands instead of a racquet. It was there husband, Facundo, was the son of her that Angelita became known for her father’s cousin. In the beginning, she warm greetings and a spectacular rice found comfort in their simple friend- dish made with sardines and cauliflower. ship. So did her parents. She says that “I would cook sardines, beans, caulithey were never concerned when Facun- flower, and paella,” she says. “Sardines do took her to the movies because they are delicious. The most important is the were family. cauliflower.”

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

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Black beyond borders What’s it like to be black in Spain?

African-Americans share their experiences interacting with Afro-Spaniards in Valencia

By Kamari Pless

A

s I counted through the heap of clothes—jeans, skirts, tops, T-shirts, shoes (most of which are heels) and dresses—it was evident that I overpacked. On suitcase number three, it was time to address the anxiety at hand. So many questions sprinted across my mind: Are you ready for this? Will you make any friends? Most imporKhari King enjoys her viewpoint overlooking the tantly, how many outfits do you need?

Yet, beneath all those questions was another: Mediterranean Sea during the 2019 Valencia summer program.

Photo courtesy of Khari King the elephant in the room.

This is a question that simply can’t be answered by flipping through Valencia brochures, and no ness owner in Valencia; and Amber Lewis, a former FSU amount of orientations can prep you for this experience. Valencia student.

What would it be like for a black girl in Spain? Africans With these interviews, I gained a wider perspective on have long had a historical presence and influence in black experiences in Spain, learning that each experiSpain. Due to this, black lives in Spain sparked my in- ence is a unique story to be told. terest.

King studied in FSU’s 2019 summer International ProFortunately, I was not the only one with similar ques- gram in Valencia. While enjoying a cafe con leche, she tions. walks across the stone road past the Torres de Serranos Seeking answers, I interviewed Khari King, a Florida and into the classroom. As she walks, she realizes that State University student studying in Valencia in 2019; Jori the Afro-Spaniard presence she expects to see is lacking.

Davis, a professional women’s basketball player from “I can only think of about 10 black people that I have the U.S. who played for Valencia; Marcia Porter, an FSU seen, that I know are Spaniards or Latino, based on music professor; Toni Hermano, a Nigerian-born busi- hearing them speak Spanish or asking them for direc-

“I can only think of about 10 black people that I have seen, that I know are Spaniards or Latino, based on hearing them speak Spanish or asking them for directions.”

—Khari King 6 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

tions,” King says. Although she has encountered some black people, overall, blacks in Valencia seem few and far between. This makes King’s presence somewhat of an anomaly.

Students are not the only ones who have noticed this lack. Davis played professional basketball for a year for the Valencia women’s team, until fall 2019, when she was traded to an Italian team (Costa Masnaga). However, Davis says that she did not get much exposure to the black community while living in Valencia.

“I did meet one girl—she was from Nigeria and played soccer in a lower division,” Davis says. “I met one guy from Senegal, and he was in Valencia to study. Those are the only two black people that I came across.” Outside of her teammates, Davis rarely interacted with other black people when living in Valencia.

Valencia is Spain’s third largest city. Part of its history includes the assimilation of Africans, Afro-Spanish or Afroespagnols, into the Spaniard culture. These terms are easily understood by some.

Davis is all too familiar with immersive cultures. “Coming from New Orleans, we are Creole,” she says with pride. “I know the Spanish had slaves and Afro-Spaniard is that mix, like Creole.”

Likewise, Lewis—who studied in the Valencia program

in 2017—has background knowledge about the term. “I have heard the term Afro-Latina,” Lewis says. “While extremely different, it can be compared in the sense that it is a person of African descent, from Spain.”

Similar to the term Creole, “Afro-Spaniard” holds significant historical trauma. Alessandro Stella, a historian and author at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, writes about the long presence of slavery in Spain.

“Slaves were present in early-modern Spain, starting from the mid-16th century,” Stella writes. “Seville had a population of 7.4 percent slaves while other cities reported as many as one in 10 residents were slaves.”

After Spain lost her empire in the 19th century, most slaves were freed, and the African population became part of the general Spanish population. Today, Afro-Spaniards have a variety of origins and migrate from across the globe.

Though most people interviewed for this article had not seen lots of blacks in Valencia, the city is speckled with Afro-Spaniards.

Porter, a professor of voice, has spent three summers teaching in Valencia. When not teaching, she often explores the city. As she strolls past museums, parks, and churches, she notes the black people she sees.

“I saw black street vendors around the main tourist areas and a few women braiding hair at the beach,” Porter says.

Vendors sell purses, shoes, fans, and other items laid out on sheets, while braiders set up shop alongside stands on the shore walks.

However, peddling is frowned upon by the police. “The street vendors were often noticeably anxious, aware of potentially being told by police to pick up their goods and move,” Porter says.

At first glance, it seems as though the black community lacks legitimacy. With negative connotations attached to the work of the street vendors, it is no surprise that they did not want to be interviewed for this article.

Nevertheless, we can see some Afro-Spaniards thriving in both business and Spanish integration.

Take Toni Hermano, a Valencia restaurateur, for example, who was interviewed for this article via WhatsApp. Hermano, a Spanish citizen, comes from Nigeria but has lived in Spain since 2001.

“A typical day includes meeting suppliers of essential commodities and products we use in our restaurant, quality control, and distribution of stocks in our department after receiving orders,” Hermano says.

Yet as a black entrepreneur, he notices the lack of representation of his black peers. “Well, unlike in GB (United Kingdom) or France, blacks here in Spain are still in hiding,” he says. “It’s a bit complex when it comes to setting up entertainment businesses or things like that.”

Hermano says he has some “mixed feelings” about his experiences in Spain, having been stopped by authorities for document control. “The sad part is that whenever they police, it only falls on those that look different, for the See BORDERS, page 44

Women’s professional basketball player Jori Davis, in her Valencia uniform.

Photo courtesy of Jori Davis Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

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The man behind the Hawaiian shirt Meet Joe Calhoun

By Caroline Murkey

H

awaiian shirts featuring bright colors mixed in with action shots of people surfing or of calming seascapes and flora are usually worn by tourists on vacation who don’t mind drawing attention to themselves. However, in the Principles of Microeconomics class at FSU Valencia in summer 2019, the Hawaiian shirt was worn by the instructor and self-proclaimed introvert, Dr. Joe Calhoun, while teaching about foreign exchange rates and other economics-related topics.

Economics can be a daunting subject to many people. The concept of money alone can be a source of stress for lots of people, even without getting graded on their knowledge of it.

But not for Calhoun. Though he started off as a business major, Calhoun soon turned to economics and finance while at Illinois State University. After this change,

it seemed like a puzzle piece had fit right into place, and Calhoun knew what he wanted to focus on. Even though he double-majored in economics and finance, economics was his true passion.

“I was going to be a business major, and my advisor said ‘[take] economics’ and I said ‘OK, I’ll take economics,’ and I just liked it more than anything else,” Calhoun says.

After graduating from Illinois State, Calhoun continued on to DePaul University in Chicago, where he earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA). While at DePaul, Calhoun came to understand what he really wanted to do with his life: teach economics.

The college level was where he wanted to teach; therefore, as it was explained to him by his advisor, he needed to get a Ph.D. in economics. So, after gaining his MBA from DePaul, Calhoun headed down south to the University of Georgia, where he earned his Ph.D. in economics.

After a brief, part-time position with the University of Georgia, Calhoun was hired at Florida State University 15 years ago.

He has been at Florida State ever since.

“I feel valued, I feel like I’m doing a good job, and my students affirm that I run my class pretty well,” Calhoun says.

“I just enjoy it.”

In summer 2019’s second session, Calhoun was teaching two courses—Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics—in Valencia, Spain with FSU’s International Programs (IP).

He describes his teaching style as very interactive.

“Dr. Calhoun does a great job making the class more collaborative and hands on despite it being a standard textbook class,” says Megan Blankenship, a student in Calhoun’s Valencia microeconomics class. “He really gives the students a chance to ask questions and participate in class.”

In Tallahassee, Calhoun usually teach-

“I feel valued, I feel like I’m doing a good job, and my students affirm that I run my class pretty well. I just enjoy it.”

— Joe Calhoun 8 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

es classes of around 500 students, whereas in Valencia it’s closer to 10 or 15 students.

“I’m having students lead us through the chapter in terms of giving us what the overall structure is, kind of giving us an outline, defining the key terms and just giving me their impression of the chapter,” Calhoun says. “I’m trying to make it a more collaborative type of learning as opposed to individual learning.”

Students appreciated the collaborative approach. “[Calhoun] makes sure that his students are understanding and participating with the class the entire time,” says Lia Dealvarez, another student in Calhoun’s Valencia microeconomics class. “[He] tries and succeeds at making the class very enjoyable.”

Speaking of success, Calhoun has won numerous teaching awards, including an Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award from the University of Georgia, two Undergraduate Teaching Awards from Florida State University (2008 and 2016), and the Service Excellence Award for Teaching from Phi Eta Sigma at FSU (three times).

Besides having won many awards, Calhoun is known by students in Valencia and in Tallahassee for his signature Hawaiian shirts, which he wears to almost every class. After a dear friend died, Calhoun was given 15 to 20 Hawaiian shirts by his late friend’s wife, who wanted him to have them.

“So I said ‘OK, I am going take on this new way of dressing, and I am going to wear Hawaiian shirts on a regular basis,” Calhoun says. “So now I have started to purchase my own, and so when I travel abroad I try and get one or two just as a nice memory, again as another story to tell in class.”

He also uses them to tie topics like foreign exchange into class.

“So I can say, ‘Hey, today we are talking about foreign exchange, and I happen to be wearing my Hawaiian shirt that I bought in Valencia with euros,’ and it allows me to kind of have fun with students,” Calhoun says.

In addition to wearing Hawaiian shirts in memory of his friend, Calhoun mentions that his pastor likes Hawaiian shirts as well. Calhoun defines himself as a Christian, specifically Anglican. He acknowledges that being Christian is a big part of his and his family’s life, as they are all part of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee.

“I am Christian all the time, and I like that to come through in my words, my

Photos by Caroline Murkey

Joe Calhoun (left and above) teaching his Principles of Microeconomics class in Valencia. He has won two FSU Undergraduate Teaching Awards.

thoughts, and my behavior,” he says, “so I like to act as consistently as possible.”

Calhoun is easy to talk to. His demeanor is welcoming and easygoing but also professional and respectful. He talks in a straightforward manner and knows how to get his point across.

It’s not hard to understand why he is so highly regarded by teachers and students alike. His friendly but respectful demeanor results in a very likeable person who can teach economics like no one else.

If students were to take his class, they would have to work hard but they would have their instructor in their corner, rooting them on.

“I can tell he truly cares about his students. He wants to get to know his students and really shows his determination for his students’ success.”

— Connor Ryan

“I can tell he truly cares about his students,” says Connor Ryan, another of Calhoun’s microeconomics students in Valencia. “He wants to get to know his students and really shows his determination for his students’ success.”

Blankenship also appreciates Calhoun and his teaching style.

“I love that in this class I’m still given the opportunity to have a say … and have in depth discussions about the subject,” she says.

When teaching in Valencia, Calhoun takes his family, which consists of his wife, Kimberly, and his four daughters: Tayla, Savannah, Kendra Miriam, and Lucy. As a family, they enjoy exploring Valencia by going to different restaurants or taking long strolls through the Spanish streets. Calhoun describes feeling a sense of community when he sits outside of a restaurant among other people of Valencia.

Calhoun says that one of his favorite things about Valencia is that you can walk virtually everywhere. In Tallahassee, like other suburban U.S. cities, walking is sometimes a good option, but for the most part it is easier to drive to get around.

However, in Valencia, more often than not, it is much easier and more pleasant to get around by walking than by public transportation or driving.

In addition to teaching in Valencia, Calhoun has also taught at FSU’s campuses in Florence, Italy and in London.

“I’ve spent two summers in Florence and one summer in London, and I love them all and I hope to go back many times,” Calhoun says.

Yet even though Calhoun loves teaching abroad, he doesn’t think that he could ever teach in Valencia permanently. “I don’t know if I could live outside of the United States,” he says. “I’m in love with America, and I really am a homebody at heart.”

Despite being a self-described homebody, one thing that Calhoun made very clear was his admiration for study abroad. He thinks it’s one of the most important things that students can do in college.

“I just think it’s hugely important for their personal maturity and development, their educational maturity and development,” Calhoun says. “I’m a huge, huge advocate for IP and study abroad.”

To underline his point, Calhoun would like all future or current students of FSU to hear this: “Go study abroad, ’Noles.

It’s just so important that you go see the world. And the world is such a cool place.”

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

9

The road overtraveled

Valencia combats the tide of overtourism

By Ericka Rivera

F

or many, the chance to travel to Europe and immerse themselves in a culture so much older and different from their own is a once in a lifetime opportunity—with visits to humanity’s most iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, and the Acropolis topping most travelers’ bucket lists. But after years of saving and months of careful planning, travelers embark on their whirlwind tour of Europe only to discover while wrestling through herds of camera-clicking tourists that half the planet also had the same idea.

“When I went to Paris, the Louvre museum was so crowded that I didn’t even try to wade through the crowds of tourists to see the Mona Lisa,” says Melissa Kindma, an editing, writing, and media student who studied at FSU Valencia in summer 2019.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, international travel has become a lopsided picture, with European countries receiving the brunt of in-

10 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

ternational arrivals. Travel has become cheaper, more appealing, and more convenient than ever, spurring a travel boom that has left European countries struggling to keep head above water under the waves of tourists.

In 2016, Spain alone received 76 million foreign visitors—30 million more than the county’s total population— with the majority of tourists swarming the already populous cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

While far removed from Barcelona-levels of overcrowding, FSU International Programs’s hometown of Valencia is also feeling the effects of overtourism, which has led to some resentment from local residents and discussions about how to regulate the effects of tourism boosters such as Airbnb.

While overtourism’s impact has been increasing since the mid-2000s, the term was not widely used until 2015. Overtourism occurs when tourists flood a destination in such large numbers that it strains resources to the point it becomes unsustainable for the affected city or region.

Local residents feel most of the negative impact. Cities’ infrastructures become overloaded, causing crowding in the streets and sidewalks, overfull buses and metros, and long lines at public restrooms.

“Tourism puts a strain on resources in terms of accommodating people,” says Dr. Joe Calhoun, who taught economics at FSU Valencia in summer 2019. “When you put more than a million people into a physical location that is used to only a million, it’s is going to put a strain on existing resources.”

The natural environment and cultural treasures are also threatened by pollution, overuse, disrespectful visitors, or neglect from the host city’s overextended financial or human resources.

Apartment buildings become hostels as Airbnbs flood residencies with a revolving door of noisy tourists, destroying any sense of community for people who like to know their neighbors.

Moreover, the cost of living begins to soar as real estate speculation results in high taxes and raised housing prices.

Corporate interest and establishment of chain stores threaten not only local mom-and-pops but the city’s very cultural identity as it undergoes “Disneyfication,” morphing into pseudo-travel resorts to become more appealing to traveling consumers.

Even the quality of the tourist experience begins to suffer as people are forced to wait in long lines, stumble

Left: A tour group in Valencia’s Plaza de La Virgen. Photo courtesy of Eliza Green Center: A 2017 anti-tourism protest organized by Valencia-based EntreBarris.

Photo courtesy of Heraldo Right: Graffiti in El Carmen district.

The original text read “The Tourist Guide Lies,” but that is crossed out to read “The Tourist Guide Loves.”

Photo by Ericka Rivera

through crowded museums, eat at overpriced restaurants, deal with increasingly overtaxed service workers, and fight with hundreds of other tourists to take the perfect picture of the same thing.

A perfect storm This sudden surge in mass international tourism is caused by a perfect storm of factors.

Primarily, the growing middle class in developing countries like China, India, and Brazil means there are suddenly billions of people with disposable income. The dispersion of this new, huge tourist population is spread unevenly as they flock toward travel meccas such as Paris, New York, Venice, and Barcelona.

“With economic growth comes spending money,” says Dr. Jeff Overby, professor of marketing and international business and director of the Center for International Business at Belmont University. “And that’s where you really see the huge difference in the number of tourists coming from what were traditionally developing economies.” Overby was previously on the faculty of FSU in Tallahassee and has taught at FSU Valencia many times.

Overby is not alone in this view. Calhoun agrees. “[There has been] a surge in all incomes, especially middle-class incomes, over the last 20 or 30 years, which simply gives people the ability to travel,” Calhoun says.

Furthermore, with the Internet, people have access to more images of these iconic, far-away destinations. Websites such as TripAdvisor, Booking.com, and other reservation platforms make it easy to gather information and plan trips abroad. The price of airline travel has decreased while the speed of the airplanes has increased, meaning travelers can arrive cheaper and faster than before.

Social media and search engines such as Google have increased awareness of

potential travel destinations. Even more, social media culture itself has created an emphasis on showing off travel and other similar experiences as a form of status signaling.

“Experiential travel is the new kind of materialism,” Overby says. “It sounds like an oxymoron: The words experiential and materialism don’t seem to go together because materialism traditionally relates to something material, an object. Yet, people are spending money on that as much as they are on tangible products.”

As a result, the recent generations of millenials and Gen Zers have expressed more interest in travel than their parents or grandparents ever did. According to

Anti-tourism street art near Park Güell in Barcelona.

Business Insider, 18- to 34-year-olds are most likely to spend more money on vacations than any other age group.

“The desire of people to travel is stronger today than it was 40 or 50 years ago,” Calhoun says. “People just want to go out and see the world more. I don’t remember very many conversations with my immediate family when I was a kid about this huge desire to go see the world. They were just very content in their own town, doing small vacations, maybe going to another state just to see something different.”

A blessing and a curse?

Noticing the trend of overtourism in certain cities, in June 2019 The New York Times published an article titled “6 Places in Europe Offering Shelter From Crowds.” The article recommends Valencia as a travel alternative to Barcelona, stating, “Valencia maintains an under-the-radar vibe and is blissfully free of masses of tourists racing from monument to monument, leaving plastic water bottles and local resentment in their wake.”

While Valencia’s service-oriented businesses and tourism board were perhaps overjoyed to see their city garner the attention of crowd-weary tourists, the Valencia-based anti-tourist organization EntreBarris was less than pleased.

Fearing that the article would lure a large number of tourists to Valencia, and with them much of the economic and cultural problems that plague Barcelona, EntreBarris responded in a June 17, 2019 Facebook post: “The model of overtourism is copied from one city to the other. Barcelona is overcrowded, let’s go then to Valencia and overcrowd it. #VLCforSale.”

According to Ajuntament de Valencia’s statistics summary of the city of Valencia, overnight stays by tourists have slowly increased from 3.2 million in 2012 to 4 million in 2017. Unsurprisingly, Valencia’s variety of attractions makes it an appealing destination. The nearby beaches, the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, Ciutat Vella’s Gothic marvels, and the traditional festivals—not to mention the abundant sunshine—attract tourists of all kinds.

“Having been here since 2001, [I have] seen the number of tourists really explode,” Overby says. “[There’s] more of everything: more tourists in general, See OVERTOURISM, page 45

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

11

Walking the talk

FSU students leave their chairs behind to use Valencia as the ultimate classroom

Photo by Amy Huber

Assistant Professor Amy Huber’s students in her Sketching in the City course complete a drawing exercise in Valencia’s Plaza de la Virgen.

By Emily Voytecek

can learn from these opportunities in a way that complements coursework. hen students decide to “It does no good to have a student study at FSU Valencia, they come 4,000 miles and keep that student are preparing for an experi- in a classroom,” says William “B.J.” Biringence of a lifetime. Students er, a professor in residence at FSU Vabuzz over what they are going to eat, lencia. where they will travel over the weekBiringer, having worked with FSU Vaend, and which photos to post to Insta- lencia for 19 years, knows the benefits of gram. But left out of this excitement is taking students outside the classroom, an important aspect of study abroad: and even Tallahassee-based faculty the classes. Students might assume that members who are new to Valencia take because they are taking FSU courses, their classes on field trips. classes will be the same as in TallahasFor example, in summer 2019, during see. However, most students will also be her first time teaching in Valencia, Amy able look forward to exciting classes that Huber, an assistant professor of interior are more than long lectures. design on the Tallahassee campus, decid At FSU Valencia, professors develop ed to take students outside the classroom curricula to ensure that students experi- to “use the city as a canvas,” Huber says. ence the city while taking the course. StuBecause of his experience, Biringer dents benefit from the opportunities has devised a specific approach to teachthe city provides, such as festivals, mu- ing students while abroad, which reseums, and historical ruins. Classes are volves around Valencia itself. He takes carefully tailored to ensure that students the students out on “field work” to gain first-hand experience of the materials they “When you’re here looking at are studying. For inhistorical venues and historical stance, in summer Biringer dismonuments in a city like Valencia, it 2019, cussed the presence makes an impact on the mind that is of the Roman empire in Spain, with his looking to fill itself with culture.”

Spain: Culture and — William “B.J.” Biringer Civilization course. In-

W

12 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

stead of looking at pictures of artifacts on a computer screen, he took the students to museums such as L’Almoina to see Roman ruins in real life. L’Almoina features architectural ruins left behind by the Romans, such as roads and communal baths. Biringer believes that seeing these historical remains up close has an influential impact on students.

“You can interact with it, and I think that makes a world of difference,” Biringer says. “When you’re here looking at historical venues and historical monuments in a city like Valencia, it makes an impact on the mind that is looking to fill itself with culture.”

A student in Biringer’s Spain: Culture and Civilization course, Gabby Gajo, a junior international affairs major, enjoyed the frequent excursions.

“Not a traditional class but so much better because we can talk and learn about something and then go out and see it and experience it firsthand,” Gajo says. Besides L’Almoina, the class visited Valencia’s city hall and Spain’s National Ceramics Museum, also located in Valencia.

Biringer’s academic and life experience in Valencia means he has inside knowledge about important Valencian cultural activities that take place outside museums. Biringer is heavily involved with the Valencian Fallas festival and

uses his status as vice president in his local Fallas association to give the students an inside look at preparations for the festival.

The Fallas festival, a centuries old tradition, takes place annually in Valencia and is recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The springtime festival has evolved into a collection of community Fallas associations building giant sculptures that are works of art, all to be eventually burned in the spring alongside music and festivals celebrating Valencian culture.

Because the Fallas festival is so important to Valencian culture, Biringer has established an entire course devoted to it.

Participation in the course allows students to get a full appreciation and understanding of the festival and the effort required to create it every year.

Students get a taste of all aspects, including “the artistic point of view, how the monuments are built, the portion of pyrotechnics, and Fallas fashion,” Biringer says. “We study the selection process for the women of being on the city court, how the festival is organized in each individual commission, and how contracts are handed out to the providers. We also study memberships, the service awards, how the money is generated to pull off this festival, and how we raise money.”

Photo by Emily Voytecek

Professor-in-residence William “B.J.” Biringer explains an assignment before taking students on a city tour.

Caroline Bing, a student in the Sketching in the City class, drew this image of Italian gelato for an assignment.

All of these aspects are directly illustrated with examples taken from his Fallas association, and this proximity to the logistics allows the students to gain more knowledge about how the festival is designed and developed by Valencians.

Meanwhile, Huber, despite not having 20 years of experience in Valencia to rely on, came prepared. Having studied abroad in college herself, she already knew she wanted to get the students into the city and began planning locations last spring to “align that with the learning topics and see where those best fits were.”

Huber taught two courses in Valencia in summer 2019: Sketching in the City, as well as Design and Human Experience. Both classes left the classroom every day to explore Valencia, visiting museums and cultural sites. For Sketching in the City, she took students out to examine small details, with sketch sites including “urban landscapes and fountains,” Huber says. For Design and Human Experience, students explored museums and reflected on how the design of exhibits conveys information about the exhibits.

According to Huber, taking these classes in Valencia, as opposed to Tallahassee, offers unique advantages for students.

“Aside from all the cultural experiences, there are so many opportunities to sketch a range of different architectural styles,” Huber says. “Tallahassee doesn’t have that wide variety. We have

anywhere from Gothic to very modern Santiago Calatrava work [in Valencia].

For Design and the Human Experience, just an array of museums. Tallahassee does not have those opportunities.”

Huber’s students agreed that Valencia offered advantages, and credited Huber’s curriculum.

“Professor Huber found a way to enhance my educational experience in Valencia by allowing our class to venture outside of the classroom to many different museums,” says Sarah Reimer, a sophomore nursing student. “She created an interesting way to incorporate outside activities within the course to make it a class different than any other I’ve taken, creating an amazing and unique academic and cultural experience.”

By teaching with an emphasis on culture, Biringer and Huber help students studying abroad return to Tallahassee with an in-depth understanding of class materials. Students take in the history of Valencia through the city itself, by engaging in cultural activities and exploring Valencia’s history in museums. Both tools allow students to learn from the city of Valencia, as opposed to a textbook, and this approach allows students to interact with the smaller details of Valencia.

Though Biringer and Huber built their classes in separate ways, with Biringer focusing on larger Valencian cultural events and Huber focusing on smaller artistic details, students get the same benefits, such as gaining academic knowledge through irreplaceable cultural experiences.

A sketch of a Valencian street by Caroline Bing.

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

13

Get lost, to find yourself Students studying abroad learn about their identity in a foreign environment

By Emma Jo McAuliffe

T

here are few moments in life more frightening than leaving behind everything you have ever known, even if you know you will eventually return. Florida State University students who study abroad start that process by throwing an overstuffed suitcase onto the airport conveyer belt, embracing their dazed dream of exploration, without really knowing what they will find along the way.

FSU student Jennifer Walker studied in Valencia during the summer of 2019.

Light brown curls hang over half of her face as she thinks back to her mindset before leaving for Spain.

“I never could commit―it is scary,” she says. “I knew I was going to go alone because none of my friends wanted to study abroad.”

This potentially life-altering decision to study in a foreign country becomes a thrilling-yet-distressing reality for many FSU students. They leave their friends, family, and country to discover more of the world and more of themselves.

A person’s identity is often interwoven with the communities they are part of—from religious groups and political affiliations, to sexuality and their major.

Without the comfort and expectations of these communities, their true selves are forced to the surface and have to be confronted in the chaos of the unknown.

“My whole life I have been labeled

14 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

as the shy quiet person,” Walker says.

“Sometimes I think I accidentally play into that because I think people don’t expect me to go to first, to raise my hand and answer the question, so I’m not going to do something they don’t expect.

“Here, no one has those expectations of me. They don’t know me.”

Away from any previously established presence, Walker and students like her are able to push themselves to come into their own.

“Here [in Valencia] I have to actively seek out the social connection,” Walker says. “I have to talk to random new people and talk to people in class and I like it. I don’t know what I was afraid of.”

Dr. Lauren Schoenberger is fully aware of that fear students can experience in these situations. She is the communications director for FSU’s International Programs and studied abroad in London when she was in college. She says she felt free there to learn who she was and begin to accept her identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Going to school in the United States, “You still might know people who know your parents. You’re still in this mindset of how you’ve always been,” Schoenberger says. “Even going to school far from home you’re still going to have a connection, you’re probably going to feel comfortable to some sense.”

After Schoenberger pushed herself beyond the security of her communities, she felt free enough to begin embracing her sexuality and confidence. Those newfound insights inspired her to write her dissertation on LGBTQ+ identity abroad.

“I don’t think you can fully get yourself out of your comfort zone, [by] staying

Photo by Emma Jo McAuliffe

Jennifer Walker works on her journal in a garden near FSU’s Gold Study Center in Valencia.

in the States, even if it is far from your home. You’re still comfortable with the language, the money, the culture, the way of life,” Schoenberger says. “I really think it [takes] removing yourself completely from your comfort zone in order to be comfortable with yourself. I really think it is to be able to free yourself.”

In her role with IP, she established an LGBTQ+ training program and safe space for all of FSU’s overseas programs that has helped many students.

Schoenberger’s work has influenced the experience of many students, including Andrew Barone, a senior at FSU who decided to study abroad in hopes of not only improving his Spanish but also improving himself.

“I feel like there’s always room to grow.

Especially immersing yourself in a com-

Lauren Schoenberger

pletely different culture, a different language,” Barone says.

Small silver hoops line both of his ears, and piercing blue eyes declare his unapologetic confidence.

“One of my friends, who is also a member of the LGBTQIA+ community was studying abroad in Madrid and he told me how much he has grown and expanded as a person,” he says. “I thought, ‘I want to do this for myself.’”

Before his arrival in Valencia, Barone expressed concerns of not being able to make friends because of who he so fiercely is. After meeting the students who would be his roommates during the summer of 2019, there was a moment when it seemed his fear was coming true.

One roommate said to Barone upon first meeting, “I’ve never really met someone like you before.” Barone responded, “Like what?”

ter, Barone said he and his roommates grew to better understand each other.

“They called me their bro and their dude. You know, heterosexual things,” Barone says with a room-filling laugh.

Looking back over his time in Valencia, Barone says he is in awe of how much not only he but also everyone around him has grown: “90 days seems like so little time, but there’s so much expansion in those days.”

FSU’s Valencia campus has a way of connecting everyone, of getting them to release the boundaries they once felt.

One community at FSU that is seen as remaining in self-appointed silos is Greek life. Scott Erikson and David Atkins are members of Florida State’s Inter-Fraternal Council, and they both admit that one reason they came to Valencia was to get off the so-called island that students can place themselves on.

Now, however, a bond has been established.

“We will definitely stay friends when we get back,” Erikson says. “I mean, that’s why we came here really. To meet new people that we couldn’t meet on [the Tallahassee] campus.”

People still may define themselves by their social groups, but when they are removed from those environments, personal identity growth can happen.

“It’s their identity that is there. It is just the first opportunity you have to actually explore it. That’s the bottom line,” Schoenberger says. “Whether that’s your major, your sexual identity, your religious identity―it could be a million things really.”

Studying abroad, away from those familiar communities students find comfort in, can lead to uncomfortable moments for students. That time meeting new people, however, also has the potential to reveal a more true and confident version of themselves.

Andrew Barone (left) went to Valencia wanting to learn more about himself.

Scott Erikson (bottom left) and David Atkins both say meeting new people in Valencia was their goal.

Photos by Emma Jo McAuliffe

The roommate then made a slight grimace and motioned both hands up and down the length of Barone’s torso, palms down with fingers partially spread out, and said, “This.”

After that initial encounter, Barone made a decision that surprised himself.

He decided to spend time teaching his roommates more about gay culture.

“If I am not going to do it, who is?”

Barone says. “And if don’t do it, how are they going to change? How are they going to learn? And if I burn bridges, they are going to look even more negatively on my community.”

At the end of the first summer semes-

“I didn’t know anyone when I signed up to study abroad,” Erikson says. “I wanted to meet new people.”

Erikson and Atkins say their study experience was amazing and enlightening, as they got to know new people they likely would never see around campus, denying them any opportunities to meet.

“We love our roommates Matt and Trevor, but we have such different lives in Tallahassee we would probably never see each other,” Atkins says.

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

15

She’s there with a smile for students and faculty

Tamara Garcia’s own study abroad experiences fuel her drive to care

By Emily Voytecek

T

Tamara Garcia gives academic advice to FSU student J.P. Burke.

16 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

amara Garcia found herself drawn to her job with Florida State University’s Valencia study abroad program because of a simple reason: a love of the English language.

Garcia is FSU Valencia’s faculty service coordinator, and as a college student at the University of Valencia, she majored in English language and literature and studied abroad in England. Those experiences left her with a desire to use English regularly in her everyday life.

“I always enjoyed and loved English,” Garcia says. “I’ve always dreamed of being able to do it and work in something that was maybe studying English. It’s not always easy to find jobs [in Valencia] working in English instead of Spanish.”

Garcia’s role with FSU Valencia allows her to wear many different hats. For example, Garcia spends time coordinating with International Programs in Tallahassee, helping the Valencia campus keep the academics in order: She guides Valencia students through the drop-add process; works with Valencia’s Dean and Program Director Ignacio Messana to pick the courses to offer each semester; and ensures that faculty members have the resources and information they need to keep classes running smoothly.

Messana appreciates Garcia’s efforts and her contributions to the Valencia team.

“When you leave her “Tamara is always ready to help a student or a faculty desk, you always feel member,” he says. “She is very better than when professional and at the same time very personal, if the sityou arrived.” uation requires so. When you —Ignacio Messana leave her desk, you always feel better than when you arrived.”

All of this administrative work can be challenging, Garcia says, but the most difficult part is “to keep up with my own expectations about myself sometimes.” While striving to keep her part of the process running smoothly, Garcia admits that the hardest time period in her job is during the summer session. The numbers of faculty and students traveling to Valencia increase, “and everything gets a little bit hectic.”

“I don’t get bored in my job,” Garcia says. “I really love my job, and it gave me the opportunity to meet people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

FSU music Professor Larry Gerber is one of those people. He has taught in Valencia’s study abroad program many times, and he says an important feature in the program’s success is the availability of staff to assist students and faculty.

“Tamara is key to the success of faculty programs and class visits outside the FSU buildings,” he says. “Here are just a few words in a litany of praise I have for my colleague, Tamara Garcia: helpful, caring, generous, perceptive, affable, and wonderful. I cannot imagine Tamara without a smile, on her face, or mine.”

Though Garcia spends most her time working alongside the program’s faculty members, her favorite part of the job comes from interacting with the students.

“I like to see the perspective of the students of my town; it’s like

“Studying abroad really opened my eyes and gave me different perspectives of life. I made friends from all over the world that still to this day I am friends with.”

— Tamara Garcia seeing your own town but with different eyes, exciting new eyes,” she says.

And Garcia knows Valencia very well. She grew up in the city, and both of her parents are from the region as well. As a Valencian, Garcia enjoys what the city has to offer.

“I love a nice walk on the beach in the afternoon just when the sun is coming down,” she says, adding that typical Valencian food is a treat as well. “I wouldn’t be a good Valencian if I didn’t say paella, but it has to be the seafood one for me.”

The family tradition of raising children in the birthplace of paella continues, as Garcia is now raising her own son, 1-year-old Diego.

Garcia admits to gaining a new perspective on studying abroad once she became a mother.

“I did it myself when I was 19, when I went to England,” Garcia says.

“I didn’t see any problems or danger. Now I understand my dad.”

Despite her new understanding, Garcia still encourages students to study abroad, based partly on her own experience.

“Studying abroad really opened my eyes and gave me different perspectives of life,” she says. “I made friends from all over the world that still to this day I am friends with.”

Garcia also feels comfortable with her recommendation based on what she sees every day at FSU Valencia. The program is prepared to support students, she points out, taking care of everything from academics to students’ health.

“We are there to help you out whether you feel homesick or if you feel sick or are having an issue,” Garcia says. “So, on that side, I would really have peace of mind knowing my kid is well and taken care of.”

Garcia wishes more students could take part in studying abroad: “It’s going to be such an experience and you’re going to make friends forever,” she says.

She gives her advice with confidence, due to the involvement Garcia has with FSU Valencia and the fact that she studied abroad herself. She knows the value of study abroad, and she hopes one day to see those benefits through her son’s perspective.

“I would definitely love for Diego to experience when he is older the living abroad experience as I did,” she says. “I truly think that it is so eye opening, and life changing.”

The staff, faculty members, and students at FSU Valencia are certainly better off thanks to Garcia living up to her own words.

Top and left: Tamara Garcia and her son Diego, now 1 year old.

Photos courtesy of Tamara Garcia Tamara Garcia works with FSU Professor Larry Gerber, who says she is “key to the success” of FSU Valencia.

All office photos courtesy of FSU Valencia Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

17

FSU’s insider on Spain’s sites Cultural Program Coordinator Paula Acosta knows the ins and outs of Spain so she can plan events and excursions for FSU students

All photos courtesy of Paula Acosta

By Caroline Murkey

ing crowds of college students into small buses, Acosta is a pro.

“Paula works very diligently, not only in fulfilling her daily tasks in assisting students and the cultural part of the program, but also in cooperating with the team she works with, creating a positive work environment,” says Alicia Martinez, associate director of FSU Valencia.

When planning trips, Acosta considers the way students might benefit from places such as Peñíscola, a coastal town

the Netherlands.

“I’m really interested in sustainable, eco-tourism,” she says. Her degree, her he flamenco dance began with active lifestyle, and her natural ability to hands clapping and feet tapping. connect with people from all walks of life Gradually, a man began accomare a perfect fit for her role as cultural panying the woman dancing program coordinator at FSU Valencia. with song, while another played intricate “I enjoy what I do. I like planning…I notes on a Spanish guitar. like traveling, I like talking to people— The dancer twirled with the clapping, but also the work environment is good,” tapping, singing, and guitar playing. As Acosta says. the tempo quickened, the dancer moved During her two years as cultural proin time. Each loud slam of her foot was gram coordinator, Acosta punctuated with a rePaula works very diligently, not only has planned many trips, sounding “Ole!” from her taking care of the itinercompanions on stage. Her in fulfilling her daily tasks in assisting aries and working with dress mesmerized onlookpeople in the other cities ers as she threw it around students and the cultural part of the proto pull off everything. For with pointed aggression. example, the Madrid trip Paula Acosta, cultural gram, but also in cooperating with the usually involves a day trip program coordinator at team she works with, creating a positive to the Valley of the Fallen FSU Valencia, made this and Segovia, all planned experience possible for work environment. out carefully by Acosta, as students. It is her job to — Alicia Martinez she takes care of museum plan trips and activities for fees and other students in the program. associate director of FSU Valencia entrance necessary details.

During the 2019 Summer Acosta also pioneered a trip to a new Session II of the Valencia program, in eastern Spain, or the Bioparc, a zoo in destination for FSU Valencia, the island Acosta organized a four-day trip to Ma- the heart of Valencia.

Acosta has lived in Spain for the past of Mallorca, off the coast of Spain. That drid, where the students attended the flamenco show, among various other seven years. She grew up alongside her journey took place during the first sumexcursions. Other trips from previous three siblings in Uruguay before coming mer session of 2019. Due to not having semesters have included Barcelona and to Spain to attend Polytechnic University visited the spot before, FSU had no preof Valencia, located near her mother’s vious relationship with businesses, hoMallorca.

As the brains behind the trips, Acosta family. During her time at Polytechnic tels, or tour guides in the area.

Most of the research and planning fell needs to be organized. From planning University of Valencia she studied ethitrips at the desk in her office, to direct- cal tourism and also studied abroad in on Acosta’s desk, but she happily em-

T

“

”

18 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

From advising students what to do if their wallet is stolen to suggesting the best Mediterranean restaurant in Valencia, students have a knowledgeable insider as soon as they arrive in Spain. braced the challenge. Even though she was a bit nervous with the logistics of completing such a daunting task, students appreciated her efforts.

“I loved the Mallorca trip,” says Joshua Meinert, a program assistant. “The activities were enjoyable and culturally relevant.”

In addition to major, program-wide weekend trips, Acosta also plans weekly student excursions.

Acosta describes her job in three words, “…challenging, fun, and demanding….” She says that even though some parts of the job can be stressful and overwhelming, knowing that she can be successful in planning trips that students and faculty enjoy keeps her motivated.

“I think that is the most rewarding part—at the end knowing that I can manage and figure it out [....] It would be a lot harder to do my job without the FSU team surrounding me,” Acosta says. “Even though it is a small team of people, we all rely on one another to get our jobs done.”

Acosta is dedicated to organizing experiences that students will remember for the rest of their lives.

With her direction, students feel supported in their endeavors outside the classroom. From advising students what to do if their wallet is stolen to suggesting the best Mediterranean restaurant in Valencia, students have a knowledgeable insider as soon as they arrive in Spain.

“Paula has not only been a wonderful co-worker,” Meinert says, “but has also become a dear friend.

Her English, knowledge of the city, and organizational skills make her an irreplaceable asset to the team.”

Acosta suggests studying abroad to all students.

“Every time you go abroad, you learn something new about yourself. You gain confidence and that’s huge,” Acosta says.

“Don’t hesitate. Do it [….] It really changes the way you think about yourself and the world around you.”

Top: Paula Acosta in Porto, Portugal.

Above: Acosta with her friend Isabel Pico Mak. Left: Acosta enjoying her time in the Spanish Pyrenees, located in the northern area of Spain.

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

19

Culture of consent Article and photos by Megan Magnole

I

n the wake of the #MeToo movement, many students and others are wrestling with the ethics of consent in sexual situations.

Fortunately, there’s a course that can help them unpack the dynamics of consent in such circumstances: “Yeses and Noes: The Ethics of Consent.”

The course was offered at FSU Valencia in the 2019 Summer II session and is offered on the Tallahassee campus during the regular academic year. On both campuses, it is taught by Dr. Tracie Mahaffey, an associate teaching professor and the director of undergraduate studies in FSU’s philosophy department.

Originally, Mahaffey proposed and planned a course that would focus on the ethics of consent in medical, sexual, and legal situations.

But then the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke in 2017.

“This is where philosophy and real life come together,” Mahaffey says. So she revised the course plan to focus heavily on sexual consent and how it affects college students today.

“This is where philosophy and real life come together.”

— Tracie Mahaffey

“Consent has this moral magic to it,” Mahaffey says. “You take something that the very same action is not OK, and when you consent to it, that action becomes OK—simply because you said yes.”

Mahaffey unpacks this point by explaining the four main components of consent: competence, information disclosure, voluntariness, and intention.

“You have to be competent,” she says. “You have to have enough information to make the decision that you’re making.

Your decision has to be voluntary—so you can’t be compelled or coerced or manipulated.”

Mahaffey then explains the fourth condition: intention.

“When we consent to something, we consent under a certain description, whether we make it clear or not,” she says. “So if someone asks to borrow my car, and I say yes, I assume I don’t have to say ‘But If you plan to use it in the commission of a crime, like you’re going to rob a bank and use it as the getaway car, that’s not OK.’ ” In the beginning of the course, students get the general idea of what qualifies as consent and what to look for in different kinds of social situations or relationships—whether platonic, professional, or sexually intimate.

While Mahaffey has taught the course on FSU’s main campus, teaching the course in Valencia adds a fresh element, allowing her students to reflect on how they can deal with cross-cultural dynamics of consent while studying in another country.

Tracie Mahaffey holds a group discussion with her students in the Summer 2019 Ethics of Consent course offered in Valencia.

20 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

“[Mahaffey] has made an effort to talk about the laws and current events in Spain that show you this is not only a problem in the United States, but it’s a problem globally,” says Sydney Dawson, one of Mahaffey’s students in Valencia in 2019.

For example, one of the hot topics discussed in their class was the significance of La Manada, or “The Wolf Pack,” case in Spain.

In July 2016, during a weeklong festival in Pamplona commonly known as “the running of the bulls,” an 18-yearold woman reported that she had been raped by five men. The woman told police that she was going to her car to sleep, and on her way there was accompanied by a group of men whom she had just met. She said the men pushed her into a doorway of a building, where they raped her and filmed the assault on their cellphones, after which they left her there and stole her cellphone.

The men, all from Seville, later shared the video of the attack in a WhatsApp group called La Manada. Police studied the footage and reported that because the woman, who had her eyes closed during the assault, maintained a “passive and neutral” attitude and did not attempt to fight back, it could not be regarded as rape.

Mahaffey explains that, under Spanish law, for a crime to be regarded as rape, the attacker must have engaged in explicit use of force. Because of this requirement, the men were originally found guilty of “sexual abuse,” which

carries a much shorter prison sentence than does rape.

However, on June 21, 2019, after major uproar from the public since the original verdict, Spain’s Supreme Court unanimously voted to overturn the earlier ruling and, instead, the men were convicted of rape. Each man was sentenced to 15 years for the rape, and one man, a military police officer, was sentenced to an additional two years for stealing the woman’s cellphone.

“It opened my eyes to how Spanish people deal with consent,” says Kory Rautter, another student in Mahaffey’s class. “It’s interesting because, like with personal space, they have very different rules, and what they view as consent might not be what we view as consent.”

Although there is some overlap in the way American and Spanish women react to the issue of consent, Spanish women have a way that they can create distance in their language, according to Mahaffey. Spanish women can use different pronouns and references to distance themselves verbally when they are setting boundaries.

For example, if a man makes unwanted advances to a woman that he has just met in a club, she could address him as “usted” instead of “tu.” In the Spanish language, if you don’t want to have a closer, more intimate relationship with someone, or if you want to keep the relationship more professional or formal, you would call that person “usted.” This pronoun immediately tells the person you are dealing with what

your intentions are in various social situations, Mahaffey says.

In contrast, in the United States, women are more likely to resort to awkward pleasantries to avoid confrontation and to avoid being seen as mean or difficult.

For example, let’s say a young woman walks into a club, and as she is making her way to the bar, a man walks toward her and positions himself behind her.

With his arm stretched around her, she giggles, avoids eye contact, and makes polite, hesitant conversation in hopes of getting him to go away.

He, instead, perceives her smile as an invitation and places his hand on her hip.

Still, not having said that she wants him to leave her alone, she shifts away, hoping to avoid confrontation.

Thinking she is playing hard to get, he persists with his unwanted advances. Then, a friend calls out to him from across the bar, giving the young woman a chance to quietly duck away into the sea of people.

Did this man have consent to touch the young woman’s body? What is consent?

Through the course, Yeses and Noes: The Ethics of Consent, Mahaffey hopes to encourage her students to be comfortable in expressing their limitations and in making decisions with the thought process of “my decisions are representative of me” and to be more reflective moving forward with these choices.

“In class,” Dawson says, “We have discussed that we should feel empowered to say ‘That is not OK.’ ”

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

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For the love of language Marian Blat teaches Spanish at FSU Valencia, giving students the necessary speaking skills to communicate in their new environment

By Caroline Murkey

L

anguage is a principal component of any society. Being able to communicate with each other is just as important as having an organized government and laws.

Through language, people convey their ideas, feelings, and emotions to appreciate one another.

Florida State University Valencia instructor Maria Antonia Blat Mir expresses the concept simply: “You need language to be understood and to understand,” she says.

“I work a lot on phonetics [in my classes] because I say to my students, ‘even if you know a lot of grammar but you don’t pronounce the words, you cannot be understood,’ and all of their effort means nothing.”

When FSU students sign up to study abroad in Valencia, Spain, many take Spanish classes to improve their proficiency. Blat, who also goes by the first name Marián, is one of several instructors who teach the language in Valencia.

Photo courtesy of Marian Blat

Marian Blat, during one of her visits to Bari, Italy, which was her home for seven years.

Language as a field of study inspires Blat, and she is currently working on transcribing and editing manuscripts from the 15th and 16th centuries for her doctoral degree. She says that seeing how language has changed over time is thought provoking for her. Blat says that being able to teach students about language balances out the stressful parts of the job.

“I love the language,” she says. “All the syntax, grammar, morphology, lexical, phonetics—everything.”

Blat studied language at the University of Valencia, and she was working on her Ph.D. while she taught two classes at Florida State University’s Valencia campus: Elementary Spanish I and II. Blat describes her teaching style as “changing.”

Originally, she focused on grammar, but now, Blat directs her teaching toward helping students navigate the streets and businesses of Valencia.

“At the beginning, maybe I was more focused on grammar but now…I’ve realized that students need to learn something that they can use,” Blat says.

Logan Foltz was a student of Blat’s in the Elementary Spanish II class in the summer of 2019.

“She incorporates many interactive activities that allow the students to apply the Spanish they’re learning to life in Valencia,” says Foltz, who is majoring in interdisciplinary medical sciences at FSU. One of the ways Blat helps her students to stay motivated and focused on the curriculum is through field trips and activities. One of trips she took students on was to a yoga class. At the studio, the students met with a yoga instructor who spoke only Spanish. The exercise was to help students better understand the parts of the body, and Blat wanted students to visualize the body parts as the instructor was saying them.

“She would say ‘move your right arm, move your right leg’ and then they might not know all the vocabulary but they understood most of it,” Blat says.

Blat also coordinates for students an activity similar to “speed dating.”

“Basically, how this works is she puts people in pairs to talk about a specific

“I love the language. All the syntax, grammar, morphology, lexical, phonetics— everything.”

— FSU Valencia instructor Marian Blat 22 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

“Get to know the culture because it will open your mind and it will make you a better person.”

— Marian Blat topic in Spanish—then after about two to three minutes, she changes the pairs and the students rotate around the room,” Foltz says.

These activities combined with Blat’s teaching style help her students grasp the language, even in the short amount of time they are taking classes.

“My favorite part of class with Professor Blat is how incredibly quickly I’ve learned Spanish over the past few weeks,” says Caroline Vaverek, another student in Blat’s Elementary Spanish II class.

Blat herself has learned other languages, in addition to English. She is originally from an area just outside of Valencia, called Burjassot. She also lived for seven years in Bari, Italy, where she taught Spanish at the University of Bari.

Although she admits that “there is no way to not miss Italy,” and she visits her friends there often, she always returns to Spain. especially so she can enjoy one of her favorite activities in Valencia: visiting the Mediterranean Sea. “It doesn’t matter if it’s winter or summer, because the sea is always beautiful,” Blat says.

She also enjoys being with her friends—“I love just sharing and talking

with them,” she says—going to the theater to see plays or a museum when she has free time. She also is careful with what she eats, saying even though she is not vegan, she prefers that kind of food.

Blat also enjoys exercise, but she had to take a break beginning in October 2018, when she had heart surgery to replace a valve. She recovered and her return to teaching for the Summer II session, “was almost therapeutic. I think that students can help you a lot.”

Belén González, a friend and coworker of Blat’s in the FSU Valencia program, says she is happy when she works with Blat, who interacts well with others in the study centers.

“It’s really easy to work with Marian… we have worked together before…in a class some years ago and it was really fun,” González says.

Blat considers the FSU Valencia program as a family, and she sees the effect that has on the students.

“I love the farewell lunch, because every year—like any relationship there are good and bad moments—but there, you can see what has been important during your semester,” she says “The balance is always positive for them and I like that.

I see they are very emotional and sometimes they don’t want to leave.

“I think that’s really sweet. And I feel part of that.”

Some people have misconceptions about studying abroad. For example, they might believe FSU students taking classes in a different country do not work as hard as students in Tallahassee-based classes. Blat says that may be the case for some students, but from her perspective, most of them are motivated to work and learn.

“The students who decide to learn Spanish—not all of them but most of them—really like to communicate and want to use the experience,” she says.

And for her, Valencia is the best place for FSU’s study abroad in Spain.

“It’s not too big and not too small…it’s a bit cosmopolitan, Blat says. “You can find art, there’s the beach, and the sea. I like how people from Valencia live.”

Blat is a true advocate for studying abroad, and she hopes students gain that experience. For students who do take the opportunity, Blat wants them to know this: “Get to know the culture because it will open your mind and it will make you a better person.”

Marian Blat teaching her Elementary Spanish II class during the summer of 2019.

Photo by Caroline Murkey

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

23

Skills in Spain & beyond FSU Valencia alumna Kamille Catala gained experiences abroad that continue to benefit her personally and professionally

K

amille Catala is thinly slicing fresh parsley and evenly sprinkling the herb over the bubbling mix in the large, cast-iron pan, adding the finishing touch to her paella.

She is learning to perfect this dish in a culinary class during the summer of 2017, when she studied abroad in Valencia, Spain.

Surrounded by smiling faces of other students, she is reminded of her experiences in Puerto Rico with her grandfather, when she first made the wellknown traditional Valencian meal.

Catala, who graduated from Florida State University in the spring of 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in English and communication, has always desired new and exciting adventures—from unique dishes to destinations, she takes the challenges head-on.

Therefore, the decision to study abroad in Valencia was an easy one for her to make.

Before she filled out the paperwork and made the commitment to join other FSU students in Spain, however, she

to cultivate her knowledge of Spanish culture, connect with her own family ties, and fine-tune her language skills.

“Discovering that a significant part of my heritage is from Spain opened up a different culture that I hadn’t had too much direct contact with,” Catala says.

“By being able to study abroad in Valencia I got to see and experience the Span-

By Kayla Walston

“I think Valencia is a lot nicer and a lot more developed than people would assume since many don’t even know about the city,” Catala says.

Valencia is a hidden gem on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, where Catala spent those five weeks of studying abroad immersing herself in all the city has to offer. Most of the activities and destinations in Valencia are unique and offer visitors a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of those bigger cities, she adds.

The city center is well-known for its Gothic architecture.

While strolling past the iconic Torres de Serranos every morning on her way to class, Catala says she admired its beauty along with the mouth-watering aromas of the food from the local restaurants.

She lived in FSU’s Gold dorm, steps away Kamille Catala paragliding in Switzerland from a few of the most popular parts of the city, which alish way of life. I wanted to get closer to lowed her to explore often. my heritage and learn where I’m from When her morning class ended around and this experience brought me closer noon, Catala would always opt for a to that.” salmon and cheese croquette from Pan When people consider traveling to de Queso, the locally owned restaurant Spain, they directly across from the Gold study centypically de- ter, as a quick and cheap alternative to cide to vis- a typical lunch. Her interactions with the it Madrid or staff and the locals at Pan de Queso alB a r c e l o n a . lowed her to practice her Spanish while Although Va- enjoying the fresh and local cuisine. lencia is not a “I’m always a very indecisive person —Kamille Catala huge tourist and the [Pan de Queso] staff members did a bit of personal research. Sorting destination, the city has a lot to offer its were always there ready to help me through her family ancestry, she dis- visitors. The scenic sandy beaches and decide,” Catala says. “They would also covered that a significant part of her jaw-dropping architecture in the city’s have such genuine conversations with heritage is rooted in Spain. Catala was central plazas are a small sample of the me that would help me practice even thrilled she would have an opportunity many attractions. more on my Spanish.”

Traveling enhances people and the world.

24 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

One aspect of Valencia that stood out to Catala everywhere was the people. She easily recognized something special about her temporary home compared to other places she has visited.

“Since studying abroad, the countries I’ve been to has skyrocketed,” Catala says. “I’ve been to Switzerland, UK, Austria, Netherlands, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Czech Republic, France, and Hungary.”

Comparing Valencia to other European cities, Catala says, “I had preconceived notions about this town, and I just knew that the people in Spain are really genuine and welcoming. The Valencian locals made it easy to adjust to my new surroundings, along with the amazing cuisine.”

Enrolling in International Programs’ Editing, Writing, and Media Program was an easy choice for Catala, even though she did not have much experience with journalistic-style writing at the time. Before she began the EWM program, she was not that interested in media or anything related to the topic. The program experience changed her outlook, she says.

“Before the EWM Valencia program I really didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do since EWM can lead to so many different careers,” she says. “But during the EWM program I started learning the editorial journalistic process and I really loved it. I loved the editing process of the magazine. That was the gateway to me learning the rest of Adobe Suite.”

During the two twice-a-week classes she attended, she learned useful skills that sparked her interest in this new subject matter. She learned computer applications such as Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, and she gained the experience of designing her own two-page magazine spread in the Summer 2017 issue of Nomadic Noles.

“Because we also got to add and edit our own pictures onto our pages, I loved moving everything around and creating a beautiful page with my design aesthetic,” she says.

The overall process strengthened her knowledge of the journalism field, and when she returned to the U.S. and to FSU’s main campus, Catala says she had a better understanding of what she wanted to do for her career. That led her to intern

with several different organizations, and she currently is a social content coordinator at the Zimmerman Advertising Agency in Tallahassee.

Well after the program ended, Catala realizes that her time in Valencia was worth the investment.

She uses the magazine experience as a reference during job interviews, and she includes her article in her résumé.

For example, during her interview for her current job with the Zimmerman Agency, Catala was asked, “You studied abroad in Valencia—please tell me more about that?” Catala answered enthusiastically by explaining the EWM program and all of the new skills she had gained from the experience.

Afterward, she reflected on the interview and realized how vital the EWM program was in separating her from others when applying for jobs.

“I just feel like employers are looking for something different and unique nowadays,” she says. “And the fact that I’ve studied abroad shows that I’m not a simple person who sits at home and does the same things all of the time. It truly takes a lot for people to leave everyone and get out of your comfort zone.”

Catala considers her time in Valencia as not only a oncein-a-lifetime trip but also an adventure that helped her establish and shape her future career path.

“Everyone should take advantage of this program,” she says. “When you arrive in Valencia, savor every moment. You will learn a lot about yourself when you travel to different places. Overall, traveling enhances people and enhances the world.”

Immersing yourself in a vastly different culture may seem difficult to do, but Catala says—and shows— that the payoff can be significant.

Catala in Valencia during the 2017 summer session

Photos courtesy of Kamille Catala

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

25

Q&A with Claudia Gonzalez

Summer 2015 alumna

Interviews and design on pages 26 and 27 by Kayla Walston Why did you choose to study abroad in Valencia?

How has the experience influenced your life?

How has living in Spain affected your view of the U.S.?

I got to study abroad in Valencia my last semester of my senior year. I had a couple of friends who had studied in Valencia a few years before me, and they had fallen in love with the city. I always knew that if I ever got the opportunity to study abroad, I would like to do it in Spain, as I know the language. Luckily enough, in Valencia there was an [editing, writing, and media] program, which made it an easy choice for me because I was able to finish the last few classes I needed to graduate. So really it was a no brainer.

Studying abroad truly changed my life. I quickly fell in love with Spain, the people, and the culture, and I instantly knew that I needed to come back one way or another. I went home and started looking for ways to get back as soon as I could. My mom’s friend, who lives in Madrid, informed her of a program that allows native English speakers to come to Spain to teach English at schools. I took that opportunity and I moved to Mallorca in 2016. Now, three years later I am still living in Mallorca and working as an English auxiliar.

After living in Spain for three years I have realized that my view of the U.S. has been negatively affected. With everything that is going on [in the States], now it is easy to look at where I live and see all the good things about [Spain]. However, I am not that educated in Spanish politics, so I am sure they do have their problems.

What advice do you have for students planning to study in Valencia or students who are already here?

I am Ecuadorian and my whole family speaks Spanish. However, I did move to the States when I was very young, so I’d say that I had lost a lot of my Spanish as the years went on. Still, I was able to understand a lot because all my family speaks to me in Spanish, but I was out of practice and my Spanish was rusty... Living in Valencia for that month helped me speak more Spanish than I ever did back at home.

Enjoy this experience to the fullest. As lame as that sounds it’s true.

Go on every trip your friends or the program [plans]. Eat all the

How well did you speak Spanish before coming to Valencia, and how did living in Valencia affect your Spanish?

What surprised you most about Valencia or Spain?

Coming to Spain all those years ago, everything surprised me. It was my first time in Europe, so it was all so new to me.

What part/thing in Valencia or abroad reminded you of home?

food. If you can, make friends with the locals. Don’t stay in your dorm because you don’t feel comfortable or because it’s too hot; go out there and experience everything Valencia has to offer. You really won’t be disappointed.

26 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

Honestly, everything seemed to feel like home to me. I instantly felt comfortable walking the streets and interacting with the locals. Maybe it was the fact that I spoke the language and was able to understand a lot of what was being said or maybe it was the fact that my friend Millie Aburto came on this journey with me, but once I spent a couple of days in Valencia, it instantly felt like home to me.

Q&A with Rosalie Peyton

Summer 2016 alumna

Photos on page 26 courtesy of Claudia Gonzalez Photos on page 27 courtesy of Rosalie Peyton

Why did you choose to study abroad in Valencia?

Before studying abroad in Valencia, I studied with FSU in London for a broad curriculum program. I had greatly enjoyed that experience. I then heard about the [editing,writing, and media] program that FSU offered in Valencia.

Being an English major who also loved traveling and studying abroad, this seemed like the perfect experience for me. I had also traveled to Spain with my high school after my senior year, and I was feeling the pull to return.

How has this experience influenced your life?

I recently spent 10 months living in Madrid, as a teaching assistant in a bilingual school. Studying in Valencia definitely opened me up to that idea.

It helps to have had some extended time in a country before completely jumping into living there for almost a year. I think it also made the transition of living in Spain a lot easier for me. I was able to adjust faster to the Spanish culture than I perhaps would have otherwise.

that it has a different sort of flow than the U.S. does. People in America tend to focus a lot more on their career.

Everyone is always asking you what you do or what you plan to do next.

Being someone who has never been too career oriented or had any idea what I’m going to do with my life, that sort of goal-orientated mindset has always stressed me out. Perhaps that is why I have found so much comfort in the more life-orientated Spain. Family and happiness seem to be more at the forefront in Spain.

What have you learned about yourself? What effect has this experience had on your life goals?

I have learned to be more open to new experiences or opportunities that may seem intimidating at first.

With both of my experiences studying abroad (in London and in Valencia), I had some anxieties beforehand. However, they both ended up being some of the best times of my life. I know now that I can adapt to new places and find my space wherever I am.

How well did you speak Spanish before coming to Valencia, and how did living in Valencia affect your Spanish?

I had taken some Spanish classes before, but with the acquisition of languages not being a strong suit of mine, my Spanish level was very low. I didn’t take any Spanish classes while in Valencia, so I

What advice do you have for students planning to study in Valencia or students who are already here?

Don’t be afraid to explore while you are there. Put yourself out there in order to get the most out of your experience. Sometimes you may be a little uncomfortable, but I think that can be a good thing. Within the discomfort there is growth.

How has living in Spain affected your view of the U.S.?

I have spent a lot of time in Spain.

It keeps managing to pull me back somehow. I have traveled there, I have studied there, and I have worked there. In all that time, I have found

wouldn’t say that my proficiency improved much. I did grow more comfortable attempting to actually converse with people in Spanish, something that I never had to do in the U.S.

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

27

Oh the places we go...

Planning group travel destinations for FSU students means to see great sights and to soar to high heights

Visiting the city of Segovia is a side trip for FSU students who go to Madrid.

P

lanes, trains, boats, buses, and beyond. Castles in Segovia, museums in Madrid, and beach excursions in Mallorca.

These examples are just a fragment of the travel plans Florida State University organizes for students who are studying abroad in Valencia, Spain.

Coordinating even a one-week vacation for a few people to a new city provides a challenge. Imagine accomplishing this goal for about 220 study abroad students in a foreign country. Who chooses the educational exhibitions and destinations that make the cut while traveling to these new places?

A big part of the answer comes down to Paula Acosta, FSU Valencia’s cultural program coordinator. She started working for FSU in 2017, and she spends her days coordinating travel plans and educational activities for FSU International Programs students in Valencia. Originally a native of Uruguay, Acosta went to study at the University of Valencia in 2012. She received a degree in ethical tourism, and she has stayed in Spain.

Where does Acosta even begin with the planning, since these trips are too

complex to be put together overnight? In fact, sometimes these trips are booked up to one year in advance.

An important decision in the planning process, according to Acosta, “starts with the hotel.” Destinations are chosen not only for the purpose of culture, education, and experience but also the relativity—what’s around the area; what educational experiences FSU can show students that they may not be able to access on their own?

Once this has been established, the excursions and other details can be planned. Location scouting for the organized student trips can be a challenging task, however, keeping in mind political situations, cultural events, and security.

“We have to think about everything,” Acosta says. “Do we have the police phone number? What happens if a student gets hurt? Do we have the city hall number?”

Barcelona is usually a top choice in travel destination for both the spring and summer semesters, “because you know… it’s Spain—you have to do it,” Acosta says. However, in 2019 the political situation was unpredictable, as many controversies surrounded the region,

By Chloe Addleson

Photo by Chloe Addleson

Catalonia, at the time.

In fact, FSU’s chosen dates for the trip to Barcelona were during the Catalonian political elections, and FSU chose to avoid traveling to an area of risk with such a big group of students.

In addition, the planning team had been thinking about changing things up for 2019 anyway: “This was the perfect opportunity to try something new,” Acosta says.

So, in the spring of 2019, FSU took students to the region of Andalusia. Within this region, students had the chance to explore the cities of Cordoba, Seville, and Granada.

“We chose these three cities because of all the history,” Acosta says.

The second organized trip of the spring semester was to northern Spain, where students had the chance to explore the cities of Burgos and León.

“We did a bit of Camino de Santiago—a pilgrimage around 500 kilometers long that normally takes months—but we did just a tiny part of it,” Acosta says.

All of these trips were chosen to highlight Spain—its culture, history and landscape—giving students learning experi-

“We have to think about everything. Do we have the police phone number, what happens if a student gets hurt, do we have the city hall number?”

— Paula Acosta, FSU Valencia’s cultural program coordinator 28 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

Photos courtesy of Steffanie Pasquale

Steffanie Pasquale (center) traveled to Mallorca (left) during Summer Session I. On the right is Segovia’s Roman aqueduct.

ences and memories of each element.

The first summer session of 2019 is when things became really exciting. For the first time since planning trips for students, FSU traveled to Mallorca. While there, students were able to experience a little bit of everything.

They took an overnight ferry to the island, explored ancient caves, and went to the Rafa Nadal Museum Xperience, which spotlights the Spanish tennis pro and his achievements. Students took time to sightsee in the city of Palma de Mallorca, and they rode a 100-year-old historical train through the island.

During the second summer session, the program took students to Madrid.

“It was so cool to immerse ourselves into a new city and new culture, right here in Spain, that felt so different to our home base of Valencia” says Kayla

Walston, a Summer II student who attended the trip.

In and around the country’s capital city, the students toured a castle and had an up-close view of an ancient Roman aqueduct in Segovia, visited the Valley of the Fallen, viewed the works of historically famous artists at El Prado Museum, and had the chance to attend a live flamenco show.

“The trip was the perfect combination of sightseeing, while also getting to appreciate some of the world’s greatest art, in combination with some tradition and fun at the flamenco dinner show,” Walston says.

FSU student Steffanie Pasquale, who studied in Valencia for both 2019 summer sessions, was lucky enough to attend both the Mallorca and Madrid trips.

“All of the staff members put the students first and made sure we were all comfortable and experiencing everything to the fullest,” Pasquale says. “Although it is necessary to do the ‘touristy’

“Now I always look forward to these trips because of how much one learns.”

— Paula Acosta, at the Valley of the Fallen

things sometimes, I loved how we could experience places that not many people get to go to, doing things that many don’t get to do.”

As a staff member, Acosta sees the planning of these trips as challenging in a good way.

“I get stressed—especially about Mallorca—I have to trust tour guides and rely on their word,” Acosta says about her first time planning an organized trip to that location. ”At first it was a lot of pressure, but now I feel ready for the next time and that I can take on anything.”

She adds that there’s comfort in success, but you still learn to work faster and harder: “Now I always look forward to these trips because of how much one learns.”

For students, these trips provide opportunities to see parts of Spain and to participate in activities not normally or easily accessed by students. In the future, whether by planes, trains, boats, or buses, FSU will continue to help students discover Spain.

León

Segovia

Burgos

Madrid

Barcelona

Manacor Palma Cordoba Soller Granada Seville

Photo by Chloe Addleson

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

29

Been around the block FSU Valencia students relive their travel experiences

By Savannah Tindall

1

C

alm, cool, and collected, Florida State University student Claire Chiarotti confidently hands the airport security personnel her U.S. passport. He opens it and stamps “SPAIN,” adding another country in the book.

The stamp is next to Japan and Germany, two countries she once called home.

Growing up with a parent in the military introduced Chiarotti to many different cultures around the world, which inspired countless hours of Chiarotti applying for and planning her study abroad trip.

Once she is in Valencia’s city center, she walks around the arches of the Torres de Serranos. Chiarotti smiles as she takes in her new, temporary home, seeing that her hard work paid off.

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, FSU student Amber Cumiskey is shakily boarding an airplane alone for the first time. She texts her parents—her biggest supporters for studying abroad in Spain during the 2019 spring semester—and lets them know that she got on OK. Traveling without her family for the first time, Cumiskey sits down in her seat next to strangers and peers out the window, anxiously awaiting her first-ever sights of Europe.

When she finally lands, she is surrounded by the unknown, but when she enters her apartment she sees a familiar face: Chiarotti, her best friend.

30 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

With Cumiskey’s trip anxiety out of the way, the two have the best three months of their lives.

“These memories and moments are so precious to me because they helped me to establish roots going forth with my 20s,” Cumiskey says.

While previous travel can fuel some students’ dreams of studying abroad, such as Chiarotti’s experiences, the same can be said of the reverse. Cumiskey’s curiosity to venture into the unknown drove her to apply to Valencia’s study abroad program.

“Not traveling abroad made me want to study abroad even more since studying in another country for a whole semester is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Cumiskey says.

Whether or not students have previous travel experience, traveling to other places once they are at their study abroad location opens up completely new experiences for some students because of their newfound freedom.

No longer do they have to double-check their plans with their family.

Instead, they set the terms for what activities they are doing, who they are going with, and where they are going.

Not only did students interviewed for this article enjoyed the freedom they experienced during their independent traveling, Chiarotti adds, “traveling is a form of education that in and of itself is a

2 teacher that continuously teaches someone a lesson long after the experience is over.” Now more than ever, independent travel is a fixture of the study abroad experience, regardless of students’ prior travel experience.

While Cumiskey did some traveling with just her best friend, they typically traveled with their roommates Travis Ward, Colton Herrmann, and Michael Carll. And even though Cumiskey’s previous travel experience was minimal, she quickly found her footing and was planning trips both inside and outside of Spain not only for herself but also for her entire group of friends.

After nights of planning and one flight later, she and her friends arrived in Dublin, Ireland, and had such a good time that she is planning on returning to the country in a year.

Students who participate in a study

abroad program typically have an appetite for the unknown and the foreign, which can stem from their previous experiences with travel. Ward, for example, says that his travels before coming to Valencia were “more of an incentive” to study abroad because he wanted to see how independent he would be in a foreign country.

From traveling with his family to now being in charge of his trips, Ward learned “the intricacies of planning a trip like lodging, packing, transportation,” giving him a newfound sense of responsibility.

While being responsible is one of the obvious lessons learned from independent travel, Carll says that he appreciated traveling with people his age. That aspect opened him up more to the culture of the particular place he was visiting since his group’s agenda was less streamlined and he was meeting locals his age.

Tales of students’ adventures from the Valencia program inspired other students to plan trips together as well.

Julia Fernadez, Hallie Moehring, Chloe Addleson, and Julia Ewers ventured out in various combinations, taking trips that encouraged bonding, immersion in various cultures, and personal growth.

Fernandez and Moehring took an independent trip with their friends to Amsterdam. Both say they enjoyed the freedom to plan their vacation the way they wanted and the ability to choose their company.

Fernandez admits she never had “a burning desire” to go to Amsterdam, but her friend’s interest in going piqued her own curiosity. She researched the city and decided to go.

“The scenery is just so beautiful and there were just so many things in Amsterdam that looked interesting to me,” Fernandez says.

They both enjoyed their time and ac-

3 tivities in Amsterdam.

“I thought all of the flowers and greenery were just breathtaking,” Moehring says.

“We all had a blast making the best out of our short weekend trip together.”

Since that trip was such a success, Fernadez and Moehring traveled again with friends, this time to Interlaken, Switzerland, during the Va- 4 lencia program’s final weekend in late July.

Ewers, one of the more adventurous of the bunch, led a draining two-hour hike up Mount Harder Kulm—with an elevation of about 4,300 feet—and helped motivate everyone else to keep going to the top. After surviving the steep climb and the high altitude, the students looked out in awe of the view and what they had accomplished.

“Getting to experience such a beautiful sight with six new friends by my side was the peak (pun intended) of my weekend trips,” Addleson says.

Traveling with people you have just

met in a foreign country might seem intimidating, yet the students spotlighted in this article encourage others to do so because of the lasting memories and the personal growth, Herrmann says. “[Before traveling,] I wouldn’t say I had a limited worldview, but for me, I never really thought past the United States,” he says. “I hit the arrogant American stereotype where I thought everyone else in the world was just trying to keep up with our culture.

“I learned through study abroad that my identity and story is one of many and not more relevant than anyone else’s.”

Photos: (1) Claire Chiarotti and Amber Cumiskey on a weekend trip to Málaga, Spain. (2) In March 2018, Travis Ward traveled alone to Chamonix, France. With a friend he met there, they visited the top of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. (3) Julia Fernandez poses in July of 2019 with tulips at the Bloemenmarkt in Amsterdam. (4) From left to right, Chloe Addleson, Shawna Fissell, Julia Fernandez, Paige Eastland, Julia Ewers, Skylar Keenan, and Hallie Moehring gather for a group photo at an Amsterdam canal in July of 2019. (5) After a long hike to the peak of Harder Kulm in July of 2019, Julia Ewers performs a plank.

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Photos courtesy of (1) Claire Chiarotti, (2) Travis Ward, (3) Julia Fernandez, (4) Hallie Moehring, and (5) Julia Ewers.

Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

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Dusting off the past Archaeological sites surround FSU’s Valencia study centers, and Juan Salazar shares why his field is so important

By Miranda Sullivan

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he bell chimes clear and loud, adding to the melodic chatter and bustle of the Plaza de la Virgen below. El Miguelete, or as the locals say, Torre del Micalet, has stood watch over Valencia’s Carmen district for centuries.

The landmark has become a thread in the fabric of the city itself, pacing people’s day from the opening of shop doors, through the afternoon siesta, and then on to the paseo at night.

Marvels such as El Miguelete are planted throughout Valencia’s city center like

flowers. They are beautiful, yet they aren’t considered rare in Europe. For students in Florida State University’s study abroad program, the walls of El Miguelete become one of the first familiar faces of their time spent in Spain.

“When I first saw the bell tower, I felt so small compared to it and it was kind of terrifying,” says Stephanie Newman, a senior who studied in Valencia during the Summer 2019 second session. “Then we climbed [the tower], and it made me feel so lucky to have the chance to love this city.”

In Valencia, FSU students have the opportunity to take interactive archaeology

Photo by Miranda Sullivan

The view from the top of El Miguelete showcases some of the other ancient buildings in the city.

32 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

courses and visit important excavations. Ruins and archaeological sites, some within easy walking distance of the study centers, are a good way to learn about cultural development. To Valencians, they remain an important symbol of the past.

Valencia certainly has a rich history.

Underneath the city’s streets lie ruins dating from the times of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths, the Moors, and the eventual Christian conquest in 1238.

Each of these groups influenced the city in some way, leading to the Valencia we see today.

With sites such as Los Torres Serranos (the gates of the medieval city) and L’Almoina (a museum that showcases part of the Roman city under Valencia) within walking distance from students’ front doors, it’s easy to get glimpses of how the city must have looked ages ago. In FSU’s Garnet study center there even is part of an 11th-century wall, which once circled the city during the Islamic period.

“It’s nice to be in an ancient city and to have a classroom where we can touch the walls built by the Moors,” says FSU archaeology major Carlos Fernandez, who took related classes at FSU Valencia in the 2019 Summer II session. “It puts things into perspective and really sets the mood for the class.”

The Moorish wall and El Miguelete are essential reminders of life in Valencia.

They bridge the gap between the city’s interesting past and its flourishing present.

“We are very lucky in the sense that Valencia is a 2000-year-old city,” says

Opposite page, top: Tile from L’Almoina, a museum that shows the setup of an ancient Roman town. Many other ruins lie meters beneath the modern city streets.

Dr. Juan Salazar, who is a professional archaeologist and FSU Valencia instructor. “We can explore buildings, collections, and objects...you can really experience the history of the city first hand.”

Salazar, along with other locals who grew up in Valencia, has a different appreciation for the ruins from what tourists sense when they see them. Salazar often works on projects that include rescue archaeology, where he and others excavate ruins that have been discovered during construction work in an area.

This can delay the new building from being completed, but the importance of preserving the past outweighs the timeline of construction, and Salazar says these archaeological sites are important to the culture of Valencia. Locals do not come to the ruins to marvel at how old the city is—that’s a given fact to them. Instead, the ruins represent everyone who has come before them and everything

“When I first saw the bell tower, I felt so small compared to it and it was kind of terrifying. Then we climbed [the tower], and it made me feel so lucky to have the chance to love this city.”

— Stephanie Newman, FSU student in 2019 Summer Session II that has shaped their nation.

“They mean something to me. They are a part of my identity,” Salazar says.

He elaborates on archaeology’s value to Valencia. “From an academic point of view, it is of huge importance because we consider those sites [to be] part of the identity of the city and of the people. People still celebrate the ninth of October as the conquering of Valencia by the troops of James the first [in 1238]. The medieval city is present…it’s very much alive.”

In contrast, in the U.S. a new narrative is being written. Because the country is young by comparison and is so di-

verse, Americans are less connected with the physical past surrounding them than those in Europe. There aren’t medieval streets lying beneath Tallahassee. Therefore, archaeology in the U.S. is approached differently than archaeology is in Europe.

“You have this influence in archaeology of anthropology because your native people are alive,” Salazar says. “For Courtesy of Miranda Sullivan example, in New Mexico EWM students Kayla Walston and Ericka Rivera you have Taos, the oldstudy in an FSU Garnet study center room, est neighborhood in the surrounded by a Moorish wall.

States, and it’s still alive.

“That’s like having a Roman architect students can discover the past through living today. It’s amazing.” interactive classes and an immersion in In Europe, archaeologists rely much history. more on practical skills. They interact “It was fascinating learning about the with construction companies, building history and culture of the people who owners, curators, and other archaeolo- lived here before us,” FSU Valencia progists to unearth the physical footprints gram assistant Joshua Meinert says. of the past. This makes it a very logistical job, with many people involved in one project.

Nevertheless, archaeology has progressed in Europe and in America in solving the past. Even taking a walk in Valencia is like taking a walk through time: Answers to some of history’s mostasked questions lie just beneath a person’s feet.

Many question marks are still left in the timeline of human history.

“We still don´t know how the people in the Jewish quarter lived because there are not many archaeological excavations in that area,” Salazar says. “We also don´t know how the last Moors living in the city disappeared.”

Archaeology is like a giant puzzle because it aims to piece history together and fill in the blanks. Those question marks could hold answers to why our world is the way it is today. There Photo by Miranda Sullivan is still a lot of work for arFSU student Caroline Vaverek sits at the top of chaeologists to do.

Luckily, FSU Valencia Valencia’s bell tower.

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Fútbol en la

ciudad

By Kelly Rico

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Students take a shot at soccer to enjoy Spanish culture and to learn “the beautiful game”

he final outcome topped the headlines and made many jaws drop. The score even made history. Valencia Club de Fútbol beat Barcelona FC 2-1 on May 25, 2019, to clinch its eighth King’s Cup. Valencia CF faced off against the 30-time winners of the cup, and they beat them. What makes this victory all the better is that it happened in the team’s centenary year. The club was founded March 1919, which makes 2019 its 100th year of competition.

The King’s Cup, also known as Copa del Rey, is a Spanish football tournament consisting of several rounds. Founded in 1903, this year’s tourney began in September 2018 with 83 teams, before the final two teams were decided in late February 2019.

With victories like this one and 100-year anniversaries come celebrations.

Humiliating one of the best European teams to date is certainly a reason for Valencians to pop a couple of champagne bottles. Some of the celebrations that have occurred since Valencia CF’s incredible victory against Barcelona include everything from honoring Spanish King Felipe VI with a jersey with the number “100” on it in a ceremony that took place in Valencia to street parades filled with fans painted head to toe in Valencia CF’s colors.

“Soccer brings the city together more than politics and social issues combined,” Florida State University Valencia Dean and Program Director Ignacio Messana says. “It brings us together as a society like nothing else.”

Messana was born and raised in Valencia, so he has watched the progression of soccer and he sees the powerful impact the sport has on the community. He says he has always been a fan, and he has a heartfelt appreciation for the sport and the team.

Scoring its two goals in the 21st and 33rd minutes, Valencia CF took advantage of opportunities early on in the game, while Barcelona waited until the 73rd minute to put its lone goal in the back of the net.

Statistics even show that Barcelona took more than double the shots on goal than Valencia CF. The four-time defending champions, Barcelona, had possession of the ball for 80 percent of the game, and they even had 600 more passes. At the end of the day, however, what matters

34 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

is which team can finish, and that team was Valencia CF. Since the unexpected victory, the city of Valencia has come together to show its elation. The appreciation for soccer and the overall culture of Valencia grew a couple of notches when the team came out on top.

Locals wearing jerseys with “Valencia CF” across their chest are on almost every soccer field. The fans are ecstatic.

Soccer has a huge presence in Valencia, of course, and FSU students studying in Valencia in 2019 were treated to the enthusiasm the sport creates in the city. The high energy of fans at local restaurants was the first indicator to two in particular that residents hold soccer very close to their hearts.

FSU students Alexa Janeiro, a senior advertising major, and Cassidy Barker said they could barely have a conversation because of how boisterous the local fans were while watching Valencia CF play the Swiss football team Sion on July 23. Being in this atmosphere was when they realized how important soccer is to the locals, so they decided to make soccer a part of their study abroad experience.

They began showing up for the soccer games FSU Valencia holds every Monday and Wednesday night on a local pitch. “We aren’t the most talented soccer players, but we definitely try,” Janeiro says.

All students, regardless of skill level, are welcome to the friendly games. Everyone is there for a good time and some exercise to burn off the tapas.

“I’ve really been able to see how much of an impact the soccer culture of Valencia has on the students,” says Annemarie Jude, a program assistant for FSU Valencia during the 2019 summer sessions. Jude earned bachelor’s degrees in spring 2019 in business marketing and media communication studies. “It translates to the field, and it’s been so fun to watch everyone come together to play the beautiful game. We’ve even had some Valencia locals join in on our games and teach us a few things too.”

Valencia’s lively soccer culture encouraged other students to get on the pitch and stay active during their time abroad.

FSU student Trey Snyder says he is passionate about the sport and adds his love for soccer grew during the summer session.

He especially appreciates how the locals build on the sport’s importance to bring in more participants.

“Once I got to Valencia, I saw how everyone really embraces the idea of a team and the culture behind it,” says Snyder, who played in those twice-weekly games, and says he even met

FSU student Alex Ramirez heads toward the net to score his second goal of the game.

“Soccer brings the city together more than politics and social issues combined.

It brings us together as a society like nothing else.”

— Ignacio Messana some of his best friends in the program through the smallsided (7-on-7) games. “I thought that was a fantastic example of Spanish culture toward sports. They really embrace soccer as a collective community more than just as a team.”

The impact Valencia CF has had on the city and, in turn, the students who become temporary residents is significant. The sport of soccer can unite a community, even the world, like nothing else. For the FSU students who join the local games, Valencia becomes less of a place “abroad,” and more of a place to call home.

FSU students get together for a team picture after a friendly 7 vs. 7 match.

All photos courtesy of Alexa Janeiro

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Painting the streets

By Rebecca McCandless

Discover the depth behind Valencian street art that inspires the city

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Street art featuring La Nena Wapa Wapa and David de Limón.

Photo by Rebecca McCandless

n walks through the streets of Valencia, travelers unfamiliar with the area might discover an interesting, even welcoming, contemporary surprise: street art.

Layered over walls centuries-old are murals painted in every color imaginable—bright amber, cerulean, magenta.

Myriad geometric shapes depict creatures from Aztec myths, 50’s-esque pinup girls with sly smiles, and even ninjas who peek out from behind corners. It is difficult to imagine Valencia without the vibrancy of these modern additions, but in

“I want to say with all my work that paint can be positive.”

— David de Limón

36 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

the not too distant past, these walls were in a state of total disrepair.

While leading Florida State University students through the neighborhood of El Carmen, tour guide Catalina Benito Mulet explains the positive impact street art has had on the city since the flood of 1957. She is referring to a torrential rainfall that led to an overflow of the Turia River. The overflow discharged more than 70 trillion gallons of water into the region, devastating countless homes and landmarks. Years later, Valencia still feels the effects of the flood; many buildings remain abandoned in the area.

Calle de Moret, better known as La Calle de los Colores, or the Street of Colors, is a stop along the tour. According to Mulet, the street had once been one of the most neglected in Valencia—housing loiterers and sex workers and also the studio of photographer Alfonso Calza. Reportedly tired of the dirt and odor of urine, Calza began an urban art project to revitalize the street.

His unique initiative invited artists to interpret his photographs and translate them onto the street’s walls. Thanks to Calza, Calle de Moret was revitalized by art and came to be known as La Calle De los Colores.

The most famous of the paintings features a kiss between two people in the London Bridge Station. Couples across the world travel to this painting to snap a selfie of themselves

Photo by Miranda Sullivan

Above: Victoria Cano Perez illustrates the flood of Valencia.

Bottom right: The ninja painted by David de Limón. kissing in front of the mural and post it on social media sites with the hashtag #KissMeVLC. Because it has become such a popular picture, Calza is currently trying to find the original couple.

“Street art is supposed to make you feel something,” Mulet says as students look on in awe. “It is created to evoke emotion or make people think.”

Caroline Murkey, an FSU English major says, “Street art [in Valencia] seems like it’s more connected with its people, focused on spreading kindness and ensuring that people feel empowered. [Uniting people] wouldn’t be going too far. I think it reminds people of [the past]—there’s a lot of street art about the flood.”

That is not to say, however, that all paint in the streets is equally welcomed.

David de Limón, the artist behind the prolific ninja figure found on almost every wall in El Carmen, explains the differences between legal street art and vandalistic graffiti.

“Visually, the difference is that graffiti is letters, and street art is drawings, but this is not the total truth,” he says.

“There is some graffiti with drawings and some street art with typography,” Limón continues. “The real difference is the intention behind the drawing. The intention of a graffiti drawer is to paint for the graffiti community—to outdo one another on top of a building, on a

train. They don’t think about the people or that they are destroying a door or a wall. They just want to have their paint in all the places.

“Street artists think about the street art community, but also the people who are going to see [their work]. They have an artistic intention.”

In the past, city officials have attempted to regulate the paint on the streets by enacting laws, but according to Limón, the new mayor of Valencia is beginning to make some exceptions.

“If you don’t have permission to paint on private property, it is illegal,” Limón says. “[But] If you paint on an abandoned building, the owner doesn’t report you, and [if] the painting is not against religious or political beliefs or racist, the police won’t fine you,” he explains. “The owner can still clean the paint. It is not a protected work, but you won’t have a problem with the police. The new government says if you are not destroying anything and you are doing something that is not against anything, you can do it and there is no problem.”

Limón confesses that he used to participate in graffiti, but explains that he matured and transformed his art to follow a mentality closer to street art. “I wanted to do something more artistic,” he says. “This is why I think I am half of a graffiti writer and half of a street artist… I love the graffiti part of bombing.

Bombing is to repeat the same signature in a city until people begin to recognize the signature. I love it because it is a type of advertisement, but I don’t like the part of destroying or aggression.”

As he rolls a paper cigarette and flicks his lighter, Limón says, “I prefer to do something that people will think ‘I see this a lot of the time, but I love it.’”

Limón says that he wants to improve areas of the city and make them beautiful for the citizens of Valencia but admits that his work does not have an underlying philosophical meaning.

“When [people] do street art, they want to insert a message.

I don’t like this too much because I am not sure of my

philosophy. I was sure about one thing—I [know] I want to translate that paint can be positive,” Limón says. “I never put letters or typography with my character.

I want the character thinking of something. The most common [shape] I use is the heart because the heart translates the positivity of painting.”

FSU students who saw the murals spoke about the emotional impact of Limon’s work and the work of other street artists in the area.

“My favorite street art is a mural that’s down an alley around the Plaza Del Virgen. It has a river of water and two arms breaking the surface which hold a baby above the waves,” Miranda Sullivan, an FSU junior, says. “I just think that it’s a unique mural, and I appreciate that it pays homage to the city’s past.” Sullivan speaks about how she interprets the waves, painted by Victoria Cano Pérez, to represent the flood of 1957.

From the oddly elegant Aztec figures

by Disneylexya, to the pinup girls by La Nena Wapa Wapa, to the ninjas of positivity by David De Limón and the work of many other artists whose work appears on the walls, one thing is sure: Students, tourists, and residents alike cannot deny the captivating effect of the art that colors the streets.

See the next page for a longer Q&A with David de Limón.

courtesy of dissenycv.es Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

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Rebecca McCandless interviews Valencia street artist David de Limón Rebecca: What inspired you to become a street artist?

David de Limón: I come from graffiti.

I started doing graffiti because I knew two friends who were painting graffiti.

And I said, “Oh, that’s amazing because I love to paint and to paint something that other people can see.” I was 17 years old, and for me it was amazing.

But, when you grow up and start thinking differently, you are not such a vandal. You start to appreciate more that things are beautifuå, and you want to do beautiful things. When I studied fine arts, it was a transformation from a graffiti artist to a street artist because I grew up. I like to do things that the people will like too.

So you started in graffiti?

I started in graffiti but all my life I loved to paint. That was one thing more or less that I knew—I wanted to be a street artist.

How does your signature represent you?

My [ninja] character represents my signature. This is why I designed my character in black and white. It is not because I love ninjas—it is because I was thinking of designing a character for my signature. David is my real name, but Limón is my tag. Before, a piece of lemon, a lemon that you have in the glasses that is cut in slices, was my first signature. I chose the lemon because it is the opposite of the Valencian orange. Because I started doing this type of signature, I started to think about changing to a character. A lemon is nice, but a lemon can’t do anything. Well I started before to do this type of lemon [as he draws a lemon with eyes and legs]. But finally, I decided to put a little mask inside of the lemon and designed the final character that I am drawing now. I decided to do it in black—only one color—like when you paint a signature you only have one color. When I designed it, I was thinking about a character that I can paint quickly and with only one color.

What is it like to collaborate with other artists? What is the process?

At the moment, this process is so natural because I started painting around 21 years ago. I know about 90% of street artists that live here and other street

38 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

Photo by Rebecca McCandless

are very good, and when you paint a color over another color, they cover. If you buy another brand, it is a disaster.

This brand is made for graffiti artists. […] It is so funny because I had a meeting one month ago with the people from the government—the people who make the bike lanes. We made a collaboration with them because I proposed to paint all the boxes that are along the bike lanes. It is funny because I put my character with a phone—a mobile phone—with a line through it because [the message is] “Don’t use your mobile phone in the bike lanes.” I am not telling you all this because I want you to think “David is a cool guy.” I am telling you this because, at the beginning, the government didn’t like street art, but if you propose something interesting, they have no problem.

artists too because I went to university.

I know the most productive artists. It is so easy to collaborate. For example, I see a nice place and I think, “Oh, I’m going to call my friend Disneylexya.”

Do you have a rough estimate of how many paintings you have done?

Well, no. Go to my profile and look at how many posts I have—882—that is 90 percent of my paintings.

How do you pick the places you paint?

Usually, it’s when I’m walking and when I make my trips in the city. What I look for is a place where the owner wouldn’t worry because what I want is to improve the place. I try to take note when I walk or motorcycle if I see a good place, on a good street with a lot of people.

This is one way, and the other way is to go to the street and think. For example, now I am here, and I remember a place on Calle Colon. I walk to this place and find another new place, little places you know? I am always thinking about doing something positive.

What is your favorite project that you have worked on?

My favorite is the Graffiti Art Festival that I organized with my team, La Nena Wapa Wapa, and four others in Cheste.

It is a little town close to Valencia. This is the most important project because it was not only a big wall for us, but we also selected six big artists from around the world, too. Now, as artists always say, you must never think that something is your best design or piece of art. You don’t have a best drawing and you don’t have a best design because if you have your best design, close up and go home.

You must always improve and renew.

What do you use to paint? Do you have a favorite brand?

Yes, in Spain we use Montana Colors [a Barcelona-based spray paint company]. In Valencia, you can [see a lot of] paint from around four and a half [years ago] because the city government changed. Before, we had a more conservative government, and they used to “clean” all the graffiti or paint with a gray color. Montana Colors came out with a kind of gray color with the name of Rita. Rita [Barberá] was the former mayor of Valencia. This is the brand we use because the colors

Is there anything else you would like me to know?

I want to change the mind. Ten years ago, if you were carrying around paint, they [the police] could ask you, “What you are doing with paint?” And you would say, “Oh my God, it’s paint!

Not guns or bombs!” But I created a masked character to say that he has to be hidden to paint, because it is necessary to hide in order to paint. I am the same way. I paint in the morning. I try to hide a little because some people may know me.

Gala in Gaiole:

For a museum of the origins of Chianti Conversation with Professor Nancy de Grummond

By Cameron Pfister

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s the wind strengthens, blowing down brown and red leaves from hilltop trees, Florida State University students work diligently to weed and sweep the mossy stone walls of Cetamura. Cetamura, located in the green rolling hills of Chianti, has the ancient remnants of Etruscan, Roman, and medieval settlers.

The students, mostly undergraduates, are under the guidance of archaeologist and FSU Professor Nancy de Grummond, who has been excavating the Tuscany site with the university since the early 1980s.

When asked which artifact stood out the most, personally, de Grummond decided on the bronze head of a feline that was attached to an Etruscan bucket, due to its visual appeal and state of high preservation.

“The head looks like a lion,” says the archaeologist, “but since it is spotted, it is hard for us to tell exactly what type of cat it is supposed to be.”

Among all the thrills Cetamura has offered throughout the years, the most exhilarating find for the director was a votive, or offering, pit with the offerings still within it. De Grummond explained that the 2006 discovery completely altered her view on the ancient village.

“This let us know that a large sanctuary stood here,” de Grummond says.

“We had been working the site for years and had no idea until we found that.”

Despite the treasures Cetamura has revealed, the site is not without its negative aspects.

“The worst experience,” de Grummond says, “would have to be having really bad weather. We have been very lucky as to not have had any terrible accidents. Only poor conditions that have caused us to waste time and equipment that could have been spent digging.”

De Grummond took the helm of the excavation in 1983, and though it was intended to be only a temporary position, the rewarding and intriguing nature of the work saw her retain the position for more than three decades.

“I was only supposed to be here for three years,” she says, “but the work Professor Nancy de Grummond was so satisfying that I stayed.”

The wooded, hilltop site has pro- (center) with her students in Gaiole duced a plethora of objects that allow in Chianti. scholars and Florida State excavators “The museum means a great deal to alike a clearer glimpse into the daily reality of Italy in antiquity. These range from me,” de Grummond says. “It will be like golden statuettes, which the Etruscans the completing of a cycle. Countless may have utilized as idols, to ceramic hours of hard work will be shown to the pitchers that retained the water for the public.”

On December 7, 2018, students of the citizens of the Roman Empire.

Eventually, a permanent gallery dis- Florida State Florence Program, includplaying the artifacts uncovered by de ing those with firsthand experience at Grummond and her students will be un- Cetamura del Chianti, accompanied de veiled in the small town of Gaiole, near Grummond to a celebratory dinner to Cetamura. The meaning of the Gaiole commemorate almost 40 years of dedmuseum to de Grummond cannot be ication on the part of Florida State Unioverstated. After almost four decades versity and its staff.

This article was originally published in of hard excavation, the director of the Cetamura dig is overjoyed to finally have the Fall 2018 issue of ItaliaNoles, a stuthe artifacts she and Florida State alumni dent-run publication based at FSU’s Florence campus, and has been edited for style. have discovered on permanent display.

Photos courtesy of ItaliaNoles

The museum in the town of Gaiole, Italy, that will house artifacts uncovered by Professor Nancy de Grummond and her students.

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Summer 2017 students pose with a set from the Harry Potter films at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour near Watford, England.

Photo courtesy of Giselle Parks

England,

Enchanted

By Jennifer Walker

Y

ou’re not 11 years old anymore. But that doesn’t matter when the letter finally arrives, because regardless of the time it took to reach you, you’re going to Hogwarts.

During a four-week study abroad program in London, Florida State University students can explore the Wizarding World, Middle Earth, and Narnia where the novels Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia are studied in the heart of their birthplace—England.

The Religion, Fantasy, and British Culture course—referred to as the “Harry Potter Class” by FSU students— seeks to identify the origin of these novels within the context of British history and religion. Ultimately, it helps students grasp the oversaturation of these works in popular culture.

“It’s taking over the world,” says Sonya Cronin, who teaches the Harry Potter Class abroad and has a Ph.D. in humanities. “You don’t understand culture if you don’t understand this modern fantasy.”

Cronin explains how these works of fiction have saturated our culture so heavily that their fans have even cre-

40 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

ated a common language. As these works of fantasy are passed down to subsequent generations, they continue to permeate cultural ideologies.

“If the impacts of these novels are going to dictate the course of our future—even indirectly—then it is vital to examine their undertones and influences,” Cronin says.

With the added element of studying in London, it is difficult to leave this course without a deeper understanding of the literary works.

“I realized that putting this class in the context of the location where these stories were written could add

the Wizarding World, as it is called in Harry Potter, but also the worlds of Narnia and Middle Earth. From the doorstep of the London Study Center, to every museum and historic site, “Nowhere is not a teaching moment,” Cronin says.

Students can navigate King’s Cross Station and Platform 9 ¾ just as Harry Potter did on his journey to Hogwarts.

They can stroll in the footsteps of authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien in the streets of Oxford, and they can go for lunch at The Eagle and Child pub, where Lewis and Tolkien would often come to write, and drink in an atmo-

“ J.K. Rowling did not create the world of Harry Potter—the world was England. What she did was enchant it.”

— Sonya Cronin yet another layer of depth to the course,” says Zoë Crook, the International Programs coordinator for this program.

Students who take the class have the opportunity to explore the places that inspired the creation of not just

sphere that undoubtedly bled into their respective literary works.

“Hearing about these locations through the lens of [literary] fantasy changed the way I will see not only these spots, but the world around me forever,” says Sarah Jamison, who took

the inaugural abroad course in 2017.

Although the novels are all fantasies, there are real parallels that can be drawn between England and the fictional universes.

“J.K. Rowling did not create the world of Harry Potter—the world was England. What she did was enchant it,” Cronin says.

By experiencing the locations that brought the books to life, students gain an insight into the authors’ minds.

“I could have taken it as a lecture class in Tallahassee, and it would have been fun,” says Giselle Parks, who took the class abroad in the summer of 2017. “But I feel like my experience was made so much more valuable [by] quite literally walking the same paths these authors did, and learning about the culture and rich history of each place while learning about these stories.”

on literature, particularly in World War II, when Britain stood in Europe at the end “as the last bastion of freedom holding back the darkness,” Cronin says.

This idea of Britain being the final defense reflects a powerful parallel between the World Wars in England and the stories that were written thereafter. The Order of the Phoenix in Harry Potter also stands as the last defense against Voldemort, the primary villain in the saga. Similarly, in The Lord of the Rings, if the villain Sauron wins, the entire West falls.

In addition to history, religion has also played a vital role in the shape of British literature. When she initially signed up for the program, Parks expected to learn about the writing processes behind these series.

“What I didn’t expect,” she says, “was leaving this experience with so much more knowledge about these fantasy series and how closely interwoven they are with some of the most well-known tropes in Christian religion.”

The class discusses the origins of good and evil, and the ways religious depictions of evil are typically portrayed as a fall from good.

It is a concept that has been mirrored in Photo courtesy of Giselle Parks the three main novThe 2017 summer class gathers at The Eagle els studied by the and Child pub in Oxford, England. class—villains who fell into darkness.

A large element of the course Through pub culture, the World involves specific focus on British Wars, and religion, “British conculture and the effect it may have sciousness was transmitted to the had on the authors’ works. This world through fantasy,” Cronin prompts visits to pubs—a staple says. of British life—and many historic These stories have had an unsites that have played a significant deniable influence on the world. role in British history. For example, Whether or not you’ve read them, Cronin brings the students to see you know they exist and you know the crown jewels at Tower Bridge. that millions of people share a love It is a uniquely British represen- for them. Children in the 1990s grew tation of generational power that up with the Harry Potter books, and stretches across all three works— now their children are, too. as with the One Ring in The Lord of As new generations of children the Rings series. follow in the footsteps of Harry and Students also visit the Imperi- his friends, this FSU program has al War Museum in London, since left students with a better underboth World War I and II left a last- standing of the path Harry is leading scar on England and inevitably ing them down.

Worldwide

Wizarding World

By Jennifer Walker

T

hough the universe of Harry Potter is set in England, the fan base is not merely made up of native English speakers.

Along the streets of Valencia, Spain, Harry Potter-themed statues were placed in popular tourist locations—a teaser for tourists and locals alike. In fact, those wonders awaited fans in the summer of 2019 at the City of Arts and Sciences within the Valencia Harry Potter Exposition.

One local Harry Potter fan, 9-year-old Victoria Messana, explained that the stories are just as much of a phenomenon in Spain as in predominantly English-speaking countries.

“One of my friends has seen all the movies in Spanish and English,” she said.

Victoria was particularly determined to locate all four of the statues hidden throughout Valencia before visiting the Expo. The final statue, conveniently enough, was located right in front of the Expo.

After posing with the giant statue of the sorting hat—which determines your Hogwarts House in the books and movies—Victoria was able to visit the Expo and be sorted into a house by a more accurately sized reproduction of the sorting hat. A brave Gryffindor, Victoria then ventured deeper into the exhibit, where she pulled a screeching Mandrake plant from its pot. She even played a variation of quidditch—the sport played on flying broomsticks in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Thirty magical minutes later, Victoria had seen all of the exhibits at the Expo with her father, FSU Valencia Dean and Director Ignacio Messana, more passionate than ever about Harry Potter and the friendships his stories can inspire. With this newfound enthusiasm, Victoria smiled and said, “I want to go to London, because I want to see the Harry Potter Studios.”

Photo by Ignacio Messana

Victoria Messana hugs the sorting hat from Harry Potter, located outside the Harry Potter Expo in Valencia.

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FSU 2+ 2 Panama

A scholarship program builds a bridge to facilitate an easier transfer process for FSU Panama students

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he distance from Florida State University’s Republic of Panama campus to the Tallahassee campus is approximately 1,500 miles, a daunting trip no matter what travel method is used to make the trek. College students who are citizens of a Latin American or Caribbean country can ease their journey, however, with the institutions’ 2+2 Scholarship Program.

Through a joint effort between administrators at both locations, qualified students are eligible to complete two years of undergraduate studies at Panama’s main campus, transfer to FSU’s main campus, and finish earning their degree in the U.S., paying in-state tuition. Students also receive a $500 stipend each semester of enrollment.

The savings for students in the program can be around $15,000 in tuition.

The 2+2 program began in January of 2001, and since that time 887 students have transferred with the program. Alexandra Anyfanti, Panama’s vice rector for academic affairs, says that the number of transfers has risen steadily over the past decade or so.

“It has been increasing over the years, from 29 in 2007-2008 to 108 in 2017-2018, the biggest number so far,” she says.

“Nowadays, we have about 73 to 95 students transferring with the 2+2 program per year, with the fall semester being the biggest group. Currently, there are 181 students—104 are female and 77 are male— in the program.”

Carlos Langoni, rector of the Republic of Panama campus, and Anyfanti answered these other questions for Nomadic Noles.

Nomadic Noles: Which countries do most of the participants come from?

Ninety-eight are from Panama, 38 Venezuela, 12 Colombia. The list also includes students from Nicaragua, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Cuba, Argentina, Bahamas, the Dutch Antilles, Uruguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Brazil.

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Has there been an uptick (or drop) in the number of students from Venezuela in recent years? If so, can you comment on whether (and how) that is related to the current political situation there?

Yes, the number of students from Venezuela reached its peak about three or four years ago and since has been declining slightly. I assume it’s because most who can afford to leave Venezuela have already done so. Of course the migration of families is 100% related to the political situation. We have observed two categories of students: one group whose entire family left Venezuela to seek opportunities in Panama. In the other group, at least one family member stayed behind because they still have businesses that can still operate.

Are certain majors more popular for students in the program? If so, what are they and why?

Traditionally, the programs in the College of Business have been the top preferences of the students from Latin America, followed closely by programs in engineering. Lately, there has been a increase also in the programs offered by Arts and Sciences such as biology, psychology, and Computer science. The order of preference is usually like this: business (finance is top choice), engineering (industrial mostly, but also mechanical and chemical), arts and sciences (biology, psychology and computer science), social sciences (economics and international affairs). This year we had the first 2+2 student transferring from our campus to the main campus in the College of Motion Picture Arts, a highly selective academic area that admits between 15-20 students every year.

What does your campus do to help students with the cultural transition?

After two years at FSU Panama, students become very familiar with the university system, curriculum, courses, etc. Most of them transfer as a junior, having completed the pre-requisites for their intended majors and the requirements for the AA

Photos courtesy of FSU Panama

A total of 887 students have transferred from Panama to Tallahassee with the 2+2 program. The students above are all part of the program.

certificate. Some already have friendships when they transfer, so they may even share apartments, which helps minimize the cultural changes.

We have also seen a trend among our students to visit the main campus before their actual transfer semester, so they get to know their way around the campus and the city of Tallahassee. Our campus has also started to offer Transfer Tips presentations which provide information on how to be involved, how to make the most of their main campus experience, and what resources they can use. A recently completed doctoral dissertation on this student population revealed that the classroom culture at the main campus is the most notable change they experience as they change locations, and not so much the overall cultural differences between Latin American and the U.S. A student organization at the main campus called PTY at FSU is composed of

Daniel Goldoni: Q&A with 2+2 student

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aniel Goldoni, who grew up in Panama City, Republic of Panama, is a beneficiary of the 2+2 program. He came to FSU’s main campus in the spring of 2019 after finishing his two years in Panama.

Participating in the program, Goldoni says, “was mostly an economic decision, because by having 3.0 GPA or above we are considered as in-state students when paying tuition.

“But also it gave me the chance to stay few years at home before coming to college (the real deal),” he adds. “I think spending two years in Panama before coming [to Tallahassee] helped me mature both as a person and as a student.”

Goldoni, who is 20 years old, focused on classes in Panama that helped him advance until he reached the main campus, where he could jump into his and career-related courses. In Panama he took calculus, chemistry, and English classes; now he is embracing his actuarial sciences major head on with upper level courses such as Introduction to Programming, Long-term Actuarial Math, and Risk Management and Insurance.

Goldoni answered other questions via email, and his responses are below.

What semester did you begin your studies at FSU Republic of Panama (RoP)?

In Panama we have a different schedule, so I graduated [from high school] in the fall of 2016 and started studying at FSU (RoP) the next semester, which was Spring 2017.

I transferred and started studying at the main campus in spring 2019.

Where did you live in your first semester on the Tallahassee campus?

I live in a student complex called The Venetian Student Living.

students that transferred from the Panama campus to the main campus and the help with the adjustment to the new location. Overall, since they spend two years at the small international campus they create connections among themselves that they rely on when they transfer to the main campus. So, although directly we may not prepare them for the cultural changes, yet the small campus enables the connections that “cushion” their transition experience once they transfer.

What are the language proficiency requirements for the program? The GPA requirements?

The students have proven English profi-

Please describe your transition from the RoP campus to the Tallahassee campus (and to the city of Tallahassee). What was easy, and why? What was challenging, and why?

At first, those two years in Panama felt slow, but when I arrived here I noticed how fast it went.

It was easier in the Republic of Daniel Goldoni, back line center, with his Panama because [I knew] the FSU Panama soccer team. majority of the students in the class. I’d also say the transition from my other classes I did not feel they prepared Panama home to my new one at The Ve- me as much. The main reason I think this, netian. The reason I consider it was easy is because over there is a different enis because I have been together with two vironment (having in mind it is just one of my roommates since primary school. It building with four floors) so you will most was a coincidence that we ended up in the likely know the majority of the people in same university. your classes, which is definitely not the But that aside, everything was kind of a case here at Tallahassee, and that tends challenge. For instance, transportation, I to help a lot in studying and practicing for knew it was going to be different because I exams or doing homework. was not going to have a car as I did in Panama, and now I have to be checking for the Please describe your level of proficiency bus not to leave me or I can be late for class- with English before coming to es. On the other side, I had to make new Tallahassee. Was it adequate? friends and start thinking of future connecI do feel it was adequate when I arrived, tions as my Dad would say. But out of ev- but to be honest I did feel a little bit of diserything, for me (I am a family person), the comfort due to the fact that besides the most challenging thing was to be far from classes, I was usually talking Spanish. Bemy parents. Not having their hugs and ad- cause of this I was not sure how fluent my vice in walking distance cause in me a mild English would be. But by being here (spring level of stress additional to the classes. and summer) not only meeting new people but also by talking with professors I felt my Do you feel that FSU RoP prepared English improved a LOT. you well enough for the Tallahassee campus? Please explain.

When do you think you will graduate, I would like to say yes to some extent, and what are your plans after that? Will but honestly not quite enough. And I do you look for a job in the U.S.? Return to not think this is FSU (RoP) fault because Panama? Or go somewhere new? of the huge difference it is here and back I am planning on graduating in Spring there. Why? Because FSU (RoP) is just one 2021. After that, I hope to work with building that can not be compared to this my uncle and mentor at Florida Blue for big and beautiful place. In terms of class- a few years. Then [I will try] someplace es, I would say the tough ones like calculus new [before] going back to the Republic or chemistry did prepare me, but for the of Panama. ciency upon entering FSU Panama, so by the time they transfer to the main campus they do not have to take any other language tests. The conditions of the 2+2 are as follows: — Students must have been admitted as degree-seeking hours at FSU Panama.

— Students must complete 60 credit shours at the Panama campus (transfer or accelerated credits do not count toward the 60).

— Students must complete the General Education requirements.

— They must have a 3.0 cumulative GPA upon transferring and must maintain it in order to receive the 2+2 benefits.

The scholarship is effective for a total

of six (6) semesters of enrollment at the main campus, and it can be extended to seven (7). We review their eligibility every semester of enrollment. Although we have not done an exhaustive data collection on their performance, based on our eligibility reviews every semester, easily 90% of those students maintain the conditions of the scholarship until graduation, stay at the university, and graduate on time.

Do you know where most of the students go after they graduate from FSU? The majority return to their home country, a few may find a work opportunity in the U.S., and others may go on to graduate school.

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Photo courtesy of Amber Lewis

Amber Lewis (center) takes a selfie with students in the FSU 2017 Valencia summer program.

Borders from page 11 color of their skin, face, or religion,” he says. “Despite odds, I didn’t allow such issues to weigh me down.”

However, Hermano says he does have issues with the term Afro-Spaniard.

“Afro-Spaniard is equivalent to African-American, but it is wrongly applied,” he says. “If Spain does not call those from Argentina, Peru, Colombia, etc. names that have to do with their origin, color of their skin, or hair, then it is not wise to use Afro-Spaniard either.”

Are those of African descent who live permanently in Valencia treated differently than tourists of African descent?

Hoping for an insider’s take, I talked with FSU Valencia Dean and Director Ignacio Messana, a native of Valencia.

In Spain, “racism is not related to the race,” Messana says. Instead, he thinks that immigrants’ socioeconomic status, as well as their origin, plays a role.

While Hermano perceives some racism in Spain, the African-Americans interviewed for this article did not share his experience.

“In Valencia, people are more drawn to the fact that I am American and speak English, rather than the color of my skin,” Lewis says, “whereas in America people obviously don’t

44 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019

care about me being American because it is expected, but my race may be the first thing they take note of.”

Other African-Americans inter-

Valencia, I left with some questions answered, others unanswered, lots of advice to share—and a new suitcase to fit it all.

Speaking with those I interviewed, I learned that I was not the only one curious about being black overseas.

Davis and I spoke at length about the baggage of being black in the United States.

“In America, the anxiety of being black is out of this world,” Davis says.

“You don’t realize how much of a weight it is until coming to Europe, where it is lifted.”

With this weight lifted, you can explore yourself, and Spain, to the fullest.

What is Lewis’s advice for African-Americans traveling to Spain?

“Don’t be nervous about traveling abroad because of your race— people can be more accepting than those back home,” she says.

My advice? When visiting Spain, specifically Valencia, come with an open mind. Be willing to immerse yourself in the culture and learn the language—both Spanish and Valen-

“In America, the anxiety of being black is out of this world. You don’t realize how much of a weight it is until coming to Europe, where it is lifted.”

—Jori Davis viewed for this article have the same or similar sentiments, surprised by the lack of racism they encountered.

“I was expecting there to be an extent of racism here, but I haven’t encountered people being mean, rude, or noticeably prejudice towards me,” King says.

Of course, everyone’s experience is different, but the similarities we share are comforting.

I don’t have all of the answers. I don’t know why Africans in Spain might feel some prejudice or why the treatment toward African-Americans might be different.

Is the lack of black representation due to limited access to resources?

Or does it help to discourage more Africans from immigrating to Spain?

As I packed my suitcase to leave

cian. If you come across black businesses, try to interact with them. Be yourself and let people get to know you. Lastly, explore—and have a great time doing it.

Kamari Pless, the author of the article.

Overtourism from page 11 more guided tours, and certainly more tours associated with the cruises.”

While not quite locals, FSU students have also noticed tourist activity in the Ciutat Vella (Old Town) during their handful of weeks or months in Valencia.

“When I’m trying to get to class, the tours are always in my way, riding their bikes, scooters, and Segways,” senior Kayla Walston says. “I’ve almost been run over several times.”

FSU junior Rebecca McCandless agrees.

“It was annoying how many crowds of tourists would try to push us out of the way while we were standing in Plaza de la Virgen,” McCandless says.

Touristic interest can encourage growth and opportunities for local entrepreneurs, but it can also attract corporate interests and tourism-driven gentrification.

Valencians have been impacted the most by an increase in housing costs. In the neighborhoods of Ciutat Vella and Ruzafa, the rise of hotels, tourist apartments, Airbnbs and other tourism-oriented buisnesses have increased rental prices and displaced families from their homes. According to a report made by the Ajuntament de Valencia, the number of apartments with rent less than €450 per month decreased from 2,093 in 2014 to 233 in 2017.

“It’s kind of a supply and demand issue: The more people are demanding real estate, the more likely the value of that real estate is going to increase,” Overby says. “And then that’s going to make the price higher, which is going to make it harder for people to buy.”

Some alienated citizens have been driven to protest. In a demonstration organized by EntreBarris in 2017, nearly 100 Valencians dressed up as fake tourists and marched about the neighborhoods of el Carmen, Velluters and Mercat de Valencia to protest the encroachment upon the historic center by touristic forces.

On May 11, 2019, 100 different organizations, including EntreBarris, joined together in a demonstration titled “València No Està En Venda” (Valencia is not for sale). Thousands of protesters marched to the local seat of government, the Palau de la Generalitat. According to the coalition’s website, the coalition strives “to stop overtourism through restrictive regulation of tourist accommodations.”

Tightening the rules Responding to pressure from local

residents, the Generalitat of Valencia is tapping the breaks on the growing number of tourist accommodations. According to Valencian newspaper Las Provincias, registered tourist housing has decreased for the first time from 5,906 in 2018 to 5,756 in 2019.

By Valencian law, each room used for holiday rental must be registered at the Registro de Empresas, Establecimientos y Profesiones Turísticas. Those looking to apply must meet stringent requirements and cut through bureaucratic red tape to register their properties.

If approved after such a complicated and time-consuming process, landlords receive a license number that they must place on all advertisements. Those without the compulsory license number will be levied a large fine. In this way, the Valencian government hopes to ensure that the demand for tourist accommodations does not replace housing for local residents.

However, the hospitality service brokerage site Airbnb has allowed non-registered Valencian properties to be listed on their database without the necessary license.

According to a February 2019 survey conducted by the Institutional Chair of Collaborative Economics of the University of Valencia on the effects of Airbnbs, of the 1,257 listings for Airbnbs in Ciutat Vella, 531 of them were illegal and operating without a license number.

“Booking[.com] and other booking websites require a number, but Airbnb does not,” says Francisco Redondo, economist, member of Valencia’s Chamber of Commerce, and former University of Valencia professor.

The landlord of the Cathedral Apartments since 1995, Redondo rents out his tourist apartments for FSU Valencia students.

“Airbnb does not meet the increasingly stringent requirements made by the Generalitat of Valencia, which has a strong bias against tourist apartments.”

Redondo says.

In response, the Generalitat is levying a sanction of up to €600,000 (roughly $660,000-$678,000 USD, depending on the exchange rate) against Airbnb. For its part, Airbnb reacted with a statement announcing the company’s plans to appeal the sanction and criticized the generalitat’s decision, which Airbnb says “goes against the tourism entrepreneurs of the community.”

Valencia isn’t the only city in Spain to regulate in response to Airbnbs. Barcelona has a similar law that requires all listings to carry a license number. In 2016,

Barcelona’s government created a website for residents to report illegal tourist apartments and used computer tracking software to scrutinize the listings. In Palma, a city on the Spanish island of Mallorca, a flat-out ban has been placed on renting any apartments to tourists.

“Some of the backlashes with Airbnbs is not just what it’s doing to value, to cost, and to prices, but people who want to feel like they want to know their neighbors,” Overby says. “And if a certain percentage of a building becomes Airbnbs, you’ve got a different group of people staying in the condo next door every week. And you want to feel like you know your neighbors and live in a community, and it becomes less of a community.”

Finding a middle ground While residents of overtourism capitals feel the brunt of Airbnb’s negative effects, its positive effects cannot be ignored either. Airbnb’s convenience and lower prices have made it much easier for people to travel, Calhoun explains, emphasizing what the savings can mean for consumers.

“I personally believe that Airbnb probably does more good than harm,” Calhoun says. “Because what Airbnb does is it acts as a middleman, and what a middleman does is reduce transaction costs. What Airbnb does is they come in and they help match information much faster and probably at a lower price.”

Ultimately, Airbnb problems are a side-effect of a bigger issue. With an estimated one billion more people joining the global middle class by 2030, the complex phenomenon of overtourism will not go away anytime soon.

“It is the new normal,” Overby says.

“But it can be managed.”

Growing tourism centers like Valencia must hit that sweet spot of watching and regulating tourism growth while at the same time not hindering tourism’s positive monetary effects on the local economy.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s 2017 report “Coping with Success: Managing Overcrowding in Tourism Destinations,” host cities should strive to encourage year-round travel, disperse tourists to less-visited areas, raise prices based on demand, regulate tourist accommodations, and limit tourist access to activities or destinations if the crowding comes to a critical point.

Pre-emptive tourism management and early planning by host cities are essential.

“When overcrowding goes too far, the repercussions are difficult to reverse,” the report says.

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WHEN IN SPAIN...

Florida State University students in the Summer 2019 editing, writing, and media courses offer their views—in images and in words over the next four pages—on what made their study abroad experience memorable.

When in Spain, students find themselves strutting through plazas— they are everywhere. Each plaza is unique, containing its own set of hidden gems, surrounding shops, musicians, artists, vendors, restaurants, and treasures within. From fountains to bright lights, these plazas are a signature part of one’s time in Spain.

Chloe Addleson

When in Spain, students row their way around the city of Madrid.

Nothing compares to listening to music on the water with your best friends on a sunny day.

Kelly Rico

When in Spain, students challenge themselves to jump into the unknown—whether that means trying paella for the first time, meeting new people, or climbing los Torres de Serranos. Studying abroad is a growing experience for all who participate.

Miranda Sullivan

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When in Spain, you will meet new people, eat amazing food, shop—a lot—see historic sites, explore, and create experiences that will last a lifetime. You won’t want to miss a moment of what Valencia has to offer.

Kamari Pless

When in Spain, students can explore castles older than the U.S. The city of Xàtiva, which is home to the Castle of Xàtiva, is a short (and inexpensive) train ride from Valencia. The castle carries an expansive history that you can see with each weathered stone.

Caroline Murkey

When in Spain, adventure is around every corner. While in Barcelona, it is fun to strut through the streets, get lost in the crowds, and gawk at the architecture of Antoni Gaudí. Exploring the gorgeous Spanish cities, it is possible for students to discover something new about the country or themselves.

Rebecca McCandless

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When in Spain, don’t waste one moment. Take every opportunity to explore something new, to meet new people, or to make new memories.

Keep an open mind, and be prepared to never want to leave.

Jennifer Walker

When in Spain, take advantage of city parks, such as Parque Del Buen Retiro in Madrid. El Retiro has been open to the public since 1767 and is filled with vegetation, monuments, and even an artificial lake.

Emily Voytecek

When in Spain, visit the City of Arts and Sciences. FSU students can admire the modern architecture while rowing through the water.

Kayla Walston

When in Spain, I had the opportunity to befriend a courageous woman who has an incredible story. Reflecting on the life she has lived made my experiences on the very same streets even more meaningful.

Melissa Kindma

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When in Spain, scaling the top of Valencia’s Torre del Micalet is a must for students. As Valencia’s beating heart, the bell tower has rung out the time every hour on the hour since the 15th century. It was an annoyance at first, but I’ll miss having El Micalet wake me at 7 every morning.

Ericka Rivera

When in Spain, students can explore more about the world and more about themselves, gaining confidence and perspective from their new cultural experiences.

Megan Magnole

When in Spain, you can visit Dorne—a.k.a. Seville—and connect with people who share your interests. I was able to find a great group of friends, and I made lifelong memories while visiting this beautiful country. I will always cherish my time here, and I will miss it terribly.

Savannah Tindall

When in Spain, lasting bonds form between students as they share new and unique experiences together.

Emma Jo McAuliffe

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ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS ADVISORS Susan Hellstrom Jack Clifford

STUDENT EDITORS Chloe Addleson Ericka Rivera Jennifer Walker

Chloe Addleson Chloe graduated in the summer of 2019 with an English major (editing, writing, and media concentration) and a minor in communication.

Originally from the Cayman Islands, Chloe enjoys traveling and is passionate about the entertainment industry. She strives to pursue a communication career in New York City after graduation.

Melissa Kindma Melissa will graduate with an English degree in December 2019.

With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to work as a freelance travel writer and photographer. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her exploring Tallahassee or cozying up in a coffee shop with her nose in a book.

Megan Magnole Megan Rylie Magnole is a senior who will graduate in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in English (EWM) and a minor in political science. Born and raised in Pembroke Pines, Florida, Megan enjoys writing about her upbringing in South Florida. She currently works as an intern at Bascom Communications in Tallahassee.

After graduation, she will move to Washington, D.C. to begin her career in political communications.

Emma Jo McAuliffe Emma Jo is a junior double majoring in English (EWM) and sociology.

A Tallahassee native, she spends her time eating at her favorite restaurants and then running off the pasta on FSU’s Mike Long Track.

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MAGAZINE ASSSISTANTS Melissa Kindma Emily Voytecek

Emma Jo also enjoys her campus involvement, from working for the organization Power of We to serving in Student Senate. In the future, she hopes to work for nonprofits in Washington, D.C. Rebecca McCandless A Jacksonville native, Rebecca is a junior majoring in English (creative writing) and minoring in communication. With a huge bucket list in life, she wishes to teach English abroad through the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program, write for National Geographic, and eventually write a novel. In her free time, she is either enjoying nature or snuggling with her dog while reading spine-cracked books.

Caroline Murkey Caroline is a junior from Annapolis, Maryland, working toward a double major in English (EWM) and classical civilizations. She hopes to one day become a book publisher. When not doing homework or being involved with her sorority, Caroline enjoys spending time at the beach and with her family.

Aziah Pless Aziah, who prefers to go by Kamari, is a senior English (EWM) major who will graduate in December 2019.

Growing up across the East Coast, specifically Atlanta and Washington, D.C., she will take her talents to Los Angeles after graduation. Her interests include fashion, entertainment, travel, modeling, and writing. With her options open, she hopes to find a career to fulfill all of her passions.

DESIGN CONSULTANT Vanessa Guirey

Kelly Rico Kelly is a senior majoring in English (EWM), with a minor in business.

Born and raised in Miami, she enjoys soaking up the sun and relaxing on the beach. After graduating in spring 2020, she hopes to work in a field that enhances her writing abilities. Kelly loves to play soccer, fundraise for Dance Marathon, and binge watch YouTube videos.

Ericka Rivera Ericka graduated in the summer of 2019 with majors in French and English (EWM) and a minor in communication. She plans to move back to her hometown of Orlando to work in hotel resort public relations and marketing. Ericka enjoys traveling with her family and breaking out into spontaneous song.

Miranda Sullivan Born and raised in Tampa, Miranda is a junior double majoring in English (EWM) and international affairs. She loves all things music, art, and outdoors. Next year, she is excited for her job as a public relations assistant at FSU’s student-programming board, Club Downunder. She also hopes to travel more around the U.S., and she plans to return to Spain after she graduates to walk the Camino de Santiago.

Savannah Tindall Savannah is a junior double majoring in English (EWM) and public relations. She hopes to graduate in the spring of 2021 and attend graduate school for journalism shortly afterward. Her passions include Game of

Students of the 2019 Editing, Writing, and Media Program in Valencia The City of Arts and Sciences, located about 2.5 miles from the FSU Valencia Study Center, stands in stark contrast to many of the buildings in the city’s historic district. Santiago Calatrava, a Valencia native, and Félix Candela designed the cultural and architectural complex, which opened in 1998. Several movies and television shows have used the location for filming.

From left: Jennifer Walker, Melissa Kindma, Kelly Rico (white shirt, green pants), Miranda Sullivan (behind Kelly), Emily Voytecek, Kamari Pless, Chloe Addleson (white shirt), Savannah Tindall (behind Chloe), Ericka Rivera (red shirt), Kayla Walston (behind Ericka), Emma Jo McAuliffe, Rebecca McCandless, Megan Magnole, and Caroline Murkey.

Thrones, her adorable cat Toby, and telling everyone about her studying abroad adventures. To read more of her work as a writer and as an editor, check out Strike Magazine and Blog as well as Her Campus FSU. Emily Voytecek Emily is a junior from Jacksonville and she is currently an English (EWM) major. Emily is set to graduate in spring 2021, and she enjoys

reading novels and drinking coffee in her spare time.

or following cute dogs around with her camera.

Jennifer Walker Jennifer is a senior double majoring in psychology and English (EWM) with a minor in communication.

With a passion for novel-writing in the passenger seat, she hopes to pursue a career in graphic design and editing. She can typically be found in bookstores, coffee shops,

Kayla Walston Kayla is a senior majoring in English (EWM) and minoring in education.

After graduating, she plans to move to her hometown of Orlando, where she will earn a master’s of education from Rollins College. Her favorite things are cold brew coffee, traveling, and spending time with family.

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52 Nomadic Noles // Summer 2019