This whole week in Spain is called Semana Santa, aka Holy Week, and there are celebrations and processions every night to celebrate Easter. Wednesday, I went out with a group of my friends to see a special procession called “Los Gitanos” (The Gypsies), which goes through the part of the town the gypsies live in, the Sacremonte. As we were hiking up the streets to make it to the caves to watch the parade, a felt a sharp smack on my ass- and as I whipped around it was none other than my entire host family behind me (minus Mari Lou, she still can’t walk). I was so excited, and probably a little buzzed, and we all started hugging and I introduced them to some of my friends. They started insisting I drink some of their “agua de la Catedral” (Cathedral water) and saying it was pure and a holy tradition. So, not wanting to feel rude I took some, and turns out it was straight up vodka. Thanks Spanish family! They all were dying of laughter after seeing my expression, but I just smiled and said “Salud!” and took another shot right after. Yeah, these are the people I have been living with for 3 months… Easter celebrations are a bit different on this side of the world.
That experience aside, I have had an amazing week break- this is our second “spring break” from school. Spaniards will basically take any excuse not to have to go to work or school. A bunch of my friends this week decided to do another long 10 day trip but to Italy, but I really wanted to experience Semana Santa here in Spain so I decided to stick this week out here. I think I would rather do Italy when I have the money to properly enjoy it, oh well, I have traveled quite enough this semester. I am probably close to the only person in my program that didn’t go on some big trip, but I’m glad I have been here. The first weekend I was with a bunch of friends and had fun going out, then Monday and Tuesday I did a trip to a small beach town about a 2 hour bus ride away (Nerja), and then Wednesday was the incident of Los Gitanos that I already talked about. Thursday my host family took me to go see Ides of the Titans in 3D, which was really good except for the fact that it was in Spanish- still understood most of it though! I’ve also seen The Artist and Snow White here, which I loved both!
So let me talk a little bit about my 2 day trip to Nerja. I had some friends who were staying there all week, but from Granada I was going to be arriving by myself to the town, and also staying in a hostel by myself. It was so relaxing traveling alone, especially since I speak the language (a bit). No stress about pleasing anyone but myself for a couple days. I went to the Balcon de Europa, a balcony overlooking the water, and ate some icecream and people watched for a little while. And then I sat on a very small, pebble filled beach for the whole day reading “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” which was actually quite good if anyone needs a book recommendation. I also explored some very small, non-dangerous rocky cliffs and just felt overall very satisfied with exploring the town. At no point was I ever alone at night or in a secluded area and the town is mostly rich British retirees, but either way I felt like a true backpacker- if only for like 5 hours. That night I met up with my friends and we went out to a plaza called “Tooty Fruity”, don’t ask why it’s called that we have no idea. And the next day we all went to the beach again, and then I hoped on a bus later and was home by dinner time! I wish I had a chance to see the famous Caves of Nerja, but when I went during the afternoon the ticket office was closed because their schedule changed last minute because of Semana Santa- oh well. Coulda woulda shoulda.
Hmm what else to catch up on…Two weekends ago I went to Barcelona and absolutely loved it. All the cities in Spain have been my favorite. Barcelona is known for its Gaudi architecture, which is so unusual and embraces “nature”, although the parks and buildings that Gaudi designed look like they should be in Mexico or somewhere exotic. My friends Emily and Monica have a friend who now lives in Barcelona doing research, so we went and visited her and her Barcelonian friends one afternoon in their apartment. The apartment had people from all over the world, and when we were all hanging out it was a mix of Spanish, English, and Catalan (the dialect they speak in Barca). They were all just so “go with the flow” “sure why not live in Spain” type of people, I loved it. They told us some amazing stories, from meeting each other on couchsurfer.com to travelling all over the world; it was really interesting to meet a group of young intellectuals who liked to travel. Usually in America it’s so strict, you go to college, get a job, end up getting married, popping out some kids. Sometimes it’s neat to see another perspective. But I digress.
Another neat thing about Barcelona was the “magic fountain”, which sounds hokey but was actually really amazing. It reminded me of the light and water show in Epcot in Disneyworld, but on crack. It was really beautiful, and we sat by the fountain for at least an hour the first night listening to the music and the choreographed colors and movements of the fountain. Hundreds of people were gathered around to drink, socialize, and watch. We were only able to stay in Barcelona for 2 days, so we didn’t get that much time to see anything besides Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, the fountain, and go out a bit. But I loved the city, and I think it would be really interesting to go back someday, especially when the infamous Sagrada Familia is finally completed. This church has been in construction for over 100 years I think, and it is unlike any Catholic church I have ever seen- Gaudi wanted to have the illusion that you were in a forest of sorts. But lack of funding along with many other problems has made the process very very tedious, and many more modern architects have also contributed to its design- it is very impressive to view and really unlike anything I have ever even heard of. So the expected date of completion I believe is 2026, so guess I’ll be heading back then!
Besides that, same old same here! I’ve been a little stressed registering for classes and figuring out plans for next year, I guess I have to remember sometimes that I also live in the real world, not just study abroad land. Only one more month left here in Spain L I am antsy to get home, yet I also do not want to leave. I have 2 more official trips coming up, one with the school to Alpujarras to go hiking for 2 days, and one with a group to Lagos, Portugal for a fun getaway to another beach town. I am definitely a lucky girl. I would like to try to make it out to Sevilla as well because it is only about a 2 hour bus ride away, so hopefully that works out!
