Country presentation: Russia and Spain

Another one of the traditional country presentations took place on Wednesday. Two very different countries were introduced to us – hot-blooded Spain and Russia with its mysterious soul.

As per usual, before the presentation, the guests could try out samples of the national dishes of both the countries. The Spaniards brought oranges, bread with tomatoes and, of course, the most refreshing drink of them all – sangria. The interesting parts of the Russian cuisine we could taste were the pelemeni or bread with pickles, which is traditionally eaten right after having had a shot of vodka – yaay!

After the food tasting the crowd moved to the lecture hall, where the presentations itself took place. It is generally known that Spanish people are not the most punctual folk, so naturally even this evening was not an exception to the rule. However, after some time everybody sat down and all was ready to start.

The Russian girls showed us right at the beginning a Russian dance, after which they presented us with some interesting facts about their country. Russia is, after all, an unconventional country, so if you wanna see something like an army tank on a street, unusual transportation devices or diverse unique ways, how to fit as much various material as you can in a single car, do not hesitate and visit Russia (or at least YouTube).

The Spaniards showed us that their country is not only one of the most popular tourist destinations, but also that it is home to many important and well know artist, singers and sportsmen. Beside that we cannot fail to mention the typical Spanish celebrations (fiestas), as for example the carnival in Tenerife, the festivals in Malaga, where the whole Spain gets reminded about the arrival of catholic kings, the festival La Tomatina (the tomato battle) or the wine harvest celebrations in the La Rioja region. At the end of the presentation there was a surprise in the form of a dance performance of one of the Spanish students. She showed us, how the Spanish flamenco is supposed to look like, which got broadly appreciated with a huge applause.

And because every country is so unique and the exchange students keep finding new and new ways how to present their country, we already can’t wait for the next country presentation!