Pablo Ramos Ferrer moved to Tennessee by himself when he was 18 years old and knew no one. He finished his senior year in Sewanee but Pablo’s home is Ibiza, Spain, a major port city in the country. He decided to make the move in order to expand his education and to see what the United States was all about. He learned English as a sophomore in high school and then made the move to America. He is now pursuing a chemical engineering degree and is planning on using his degree to work in Northern Europe someday.

3. Why did you come to America and choose to attend the University?

I got really tired of the type of life in Ibiza and wanted a better education. In Ibiza there are no colleges. You have to go to Barcelona or Madrid, but even then college in Spain is very different from what it’s like here. In Spain it is just one building with some classrooms in it. There’s nothing like the big campuses you have here. I chose UA because I had applied to several Southern schools and I liked this one the best.

4. What do you like about campus? What do you not like about campus?

The campus is huge, which I really enjoy. I’m also used to all of the humidity and sun so that wasn’t hard to transition into. I don’t like that drinking is such a big deal here. It is very different here than it is in Spain. Drinking is a much more laid-back topic back home. Here it is taken very seriously.

5. What’s the most different from your home country?

The school systems in Spain are very different. High school was much harder in Spain. We had eleven subjects per year and had seven classes each day. It’s also funny how time is looked at here. In Spain, if something starts at 4 p.m., no one actually shows up until around 4:30 or so. Here, everyone comes so early.

6. Was it hard to adjust to the culture here?

It wasn’t too hard to adjust. I do miss my family every now and then, but I know I will have a better job if I stay here. I go visit them when I can. It was hard to not kiss people on the cheek when we say hello and goodbye.

7. What’s the weirdest things Americans do?

Americans eat a lot. It’s very constant and the times that Americans eat are different. Back home we have late breakfast, lunch at 4 p.m. and dinner around 10 p.m., but here you eat breakfast very early, have lunch around noon, and then have dinner at 6 or so. It’s strange.