International
Hans Rasch: Hans is in Valencia! Ole!
It has been 6 days since I have arrived in Spain and I already feel like I am where I belong. I am here with Dr. Tricia Young and Dr. Sally Sommer doing research into Flamenco, Spanish dance and everyday life as a performance. Every aspect of the city has its own personality and character. I have explored the city and the beaches, Cathedrals and Basilicas, amazing gardens and sat front row of an authentic and gritty Flamenco show in a dark club where the dancers perform on a stage of tables pushed together! During my time here...
read moreAlejandro Simon: Weekend of Exploration – Requena
Requena is a small town in the province of Valencia located an hour way from my place. Recent archeology studies have found evidence of sculptures and ceramic pieces that date form the 7th century B.C. I am glad had the opportunity to visit this town or village as its citizens call it. Every year Requena organizes “The Fair of Sausages”. Sausages (embutidos in Spanish) are very famous in Spain and have a very long tradition. Mentioning Spain and not talking about sausages makes no sense. My friend Vanessa and her husband took me to this...
read moreAlejandro Simon: Weekend of Exploration – Sagunto
Sometimes we seem to notice the world as a very small place where everything is connected. When I arrived at the airport in Valencia an ex-classmate and childhood friend of mine was waiting to pick me up. I have several friends from my childhood that live in Spain now, and one of them has being living in Valencia for two years now. Vanessa and I knew each other in 1st grade and stopped seeing each other when I left the island in 9th grade. After 10 years an airport in Valencia, Spain was the witness of our reunion. Vanessa and her husband...
read moreAlejandro Simon: Tablao Flamenco
One of the things that came to mind when I knew I was going to study in Valencia, was the great opportunity I was going to have of going to a life “tablao flamenco” performance, (a tablao is the place where flamenco shows are performed). For me this is of a supreme importance because since I was a child I used to go with my family to see these performances very often. In Cuba there is a huge flamenco movement and it is a big part of its culture. My sister started to study and practice these dance at the age of 7. Evidently, every show she...
read moreAlejandro Simon: A new land and its belongings
Alejandro Simon in Valencia The same thing I had said and experienced already two times in my life. The first one on March of 2002 when I arrived to the United States of America (Miami) to start a new life with my family, and the second one on August 2010 when I arrived to Tallahassee to begging my studies in pursuing a Master in Fine Arts. Both were shocking experiences in their own particular ways. Right now I am in Valencia, Spain going through a very similar feeling. It is that feeling of starting a life all over again in a very different...
read moreMandy Yourick (BFA ’10) | South Korea
In December of 2010, I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from FSU, and completed my TEFL-Teaching English as a Foreign Language- certification at the FSU Center for Intensive English Studies the following spring. The immediate transition from trying to express my ideas in a non-verbal manner to “studying language intensively” may seem incompatible. Truth be told, it was strange to shift from communicating through my art work to focusing on the spoken word. In retrospect, I wouldn’t change a thing. Both experiences are invaluable to...
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