This past weekend was our April break giving us an extended weekend. For those of us in intensive, we almost got an entire week off. So for this break 4 friends and I went to a city in Spain, Sevilla, for Las Ferias which is a huge traditional fair. This fair is set up slightly different than the US. They have a huge area with all of the typical rides, like a ferris wheel, mini rollercoasters, those crazy rides that only adreniline junkies can go on, and some that probably don´t pass safety standards in the US. They also have fair food but with Spain´s little twists. For example they don´t have funnel cakes, but they have little doughnuts with melted chocolate and goffries which are hard waffles with all of the sweet ingredients funnel cakes have to offer and more. The other section of the fair was the part that is unlike the US. There are probably 100+ tents of people dancing and drinking. Most of them are private and belong to families or companies, but there are a few open to the public scattered around. We went to one public tent and soaked up the atmosphere. A huge majority of the people were dressed in traditional Flamenco dresses. In fact, we felt out of place because we weren´t wearing them. The dresses come in all shapes and sizes and every single one of them are beautiful. Women wear their hair up with fancy clips and a flower, along with humungous ear rings to match their dress. All ages participated in this. Babies who can´t walk yet to women well in their 60s. Older women usually just dressed fancier clothes but not in the Flamenco dress. Men also dressed up too in suits or in traditional Spanish clothes with black pants, white shirt, red scarf around their waist, and a flattish top hat. It was really fun to see everyone all dressed up. Las Ferias is a week long event and we got there the ending weekend. On the final night (Sunday) they had a fireworks show at midnight to conclude the festivities. They launched them over the river that runs through the city. We found a spot on a bridge and had a perfect view.
Earlier on Sunday we went to the amusement park there, Isla Mágica or Magic Island. I am not one for rides because I get motion sickness very easily, but I made the most of it. My first ride I made the mistake of not watching how it functioned first. I assumed that it was like the Galleon at Adventureland where it just goes up and down in a swinging "U" shape. However, the platform we were sitting on spun as we moved. Horrible first pick for a ride. The park was practically empty for two reasons: it was a Sunday during off season and because the sky looked like it was on the verge of raining. This was perfect for us because this meant absolutely no lines anywhere in the park. A couple of my friends rode the rollercoaster 3 times within a half hour. On all of the rides we could have just stayed on and kept riding but we wanted to keep exploring the park. My favorite rides are the water rides. I went on two that were equivalent to the Log Ride and the Raging River at Adventureland. I went on a third one that was literally you go up, turn a corner, and drop down. It was very straight to the point and there was no suspense for the crazy drop that was at a steeper angle than what it should have been. We also went in a haunted house that was was decent, but not original. I greatly enjoyed going to the theme park because it was a nice change of pace that reminded me to enjoy my youth. I guess theme parks are for everyone though because there were some old people still enjoying themselves. On the first ride, a grandma was telling us to come on because she noticed us contemplating. She basically told us that you only live once. I just thought, well alright get it, grandma! I want to be a fun grandma like that some day in the extremely far future.
Overall that basically sums up my trip to Sevilla. This was a very youthful trip for us to just enjoy Las Ferias, the amusement park and enjoy the city. Nothing too exciting, just a bunch of kids hanging out. Though this was probably one of my favorite trips so far. So simple, yet incredibly fun.
On Tuesday the program had an organized activity to go to a bull fight here in Granada. I cam into it with an open mind and no prejudgements. I knew that they kill the bulls so I was prepared to see that, but I didn´t know how they killing process worked. This particular bull fight had 6 bulls and bull fighters to raise money for an organization that helps people with down syndrome. Normally there are only 3 of each. Honestly I would have preferred only 3 because it gets extremely repetive after a while. So the process of a bull fight starts with the release of the bull and "helpers" (I guess that is the best word for them) do their thing to get the bull moving and charging their pink cloths. Then they bring out a blind folded horse with a crap ton of armour. This is because the bull charges the horse while the mounted person stabs the bull in the back. Then the helpers grab 2 sticks with spears or knives on the ends. They have the bull charge them as they dodge it at the last second and stab the bull. They do this 3 times so that there are 6 sticks protruding from the bull. After the bull is wounded, the bull fighter comes out and does his thing of having the bull charge his red cloth. This part is the longest and the most boring. After a while the bull fighter gets his sword and prepares to kill the bull. He positions himself directly in front of the bull. He positions himself directly in front of the bull about 5 feet away. He cocks his sword so the handle is by his ear and the point is facing the spine of the bull. When he is ready he jerks his cloth so the bull responds to the movement and charges. If the bull fighter does it right he will instert the sword all the way in through the bull´s spine so that only the handle is sticking out. The bull should then die quickly. If he did it wrong he will have to repeat the process a couple times and the bull will die slow. The slow deaths are the harder ones to watch. The first 5 bull fighters were older men, bu the final one was 18 or 19 years old. This dude was just plain dumb. The first thing he did was get on his knees about 15 feet from where the bull is released. That´s just dumb because the bull comes out charging and he is obviously a novice bull fighter. So the bull comes out but doesn´t see the guy on the ground so he runs on the side so that he is perpendicular to the bull fighter. Then he spots him on the ground and charges. He charges hard and makes impact because the kid was not positioned to respond to the bull charging from his side. He got scraped up and I´m sure he has bruises that he will be feeling for weeks after. He also epically failed at killing the bull when it came down to it. Only he can kill it, no one else can step in and do it for him. It took him several tries but he eventually did it. Though the bull fighter and his helpers were not experts, that very fact made that one the most entertaining.
I´m very glad that I got to experience a bull fight. It is very big part of the culture in Spain and I have a better understanding of what goes on during the events. If I had the chance I probably would not go back, but I´m very thankful to have been to one.
As the days go by I can´t help to look ahead. Friday morning I leave for Lagos, Portugal. From the people who have been on this program in previous weekends they basically say it is a beach paradise. So excited! Then soon enough my lovely parents will be here in Granada for the weekend as a break from their Italy vacation. Only 15 more days left in Spain. Crazy how fast this has gone! Still have a lot to look forward to!
