27 March 2011

So I am sitting in my room, attempting to start reading one of my many articles for my social anthropology, not too excited about it because, though the subject matter is interesting, the way it is written is frustrating... Well, anyways, I hear this band playing and of course, I am quite confused. I know it is Sunday, but I didn't think there was particularly any special celebration for today. Well, it gets louder so I decide to go investigate and come to find that there is a small procession through my neighborhood of our Bellas de Houguera (I think that is what they are called- I will double check). So, I run back to my room, grab my camera, and filmed the last 34 sec on the street closest to me. They went by on the other street (they walked the blocks) but the battery had died mid-filming attempt. It is not my best filming job, but I hope you enjoy.

20 March 2011, Part 2

The last Falla we found and were way too close to when they ignited it.

 Before: 

After:

This is the only video that it will let me upload. Sorry I cannot put up more. 

20 March 2011

I am sooooo tired! We got home around 6 am this morning from the festivities in Valencia. There are really no words to explain Las Fallas because America has nothing like this. But, I can tell you this much, I am all fire-worked out for the rest of the year. I have never been in a big city during a celebration like this. Kids were throwing firecrackers randomly while we were out and about, their parents totally helping them light them. I was close to the Plaze de Ayuntamiento for the mascleta at 2pm. I couldn't really see anything, but I most certainly could feel it. Blogger won't let me upload the videos right now but I am working on that! Sorry! They will be up soon.

17 March 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! As a general update, this weekend, 9 buses of students, primarily extranjeros are taking a really long day trip to Valencia from 8:30 am to 3:30 am (yes that is "am"). We are going to Las Fallas, a celebration unique to Valencia celebrated for about a week until the 19, the day of their patron saint, who's name I cannot remember at the moment. It started as a tradition when carpenters burned whatever they had left over in their studios and has now expanded to a time of excess spending on artistic displays, the fallas themselves, which are built and decorated and then at the end burned. There is also a concert of explosion called the mascleta, an art of pyrotechnics where it is nothing but the smoke and smell of the gunpowder as well as the sound that pulses through your entire body. This takes place in the afternoon, and is supposed to be the day we go? I am not sure, but I will find out! There will definitely be a blog post and pictures after we get back, praying that I do not get pic-pocketed while I am there.

6 March 2011

I went out for Carnaval yesterday. That was definitely an experience. Rachel and I didn't go out until 12:15 last night and we saw all sorts of craziness. People were dressed up in all sorts of group costumes, like a family of pirates, a royal family, groups of Waldos (as in "Where's Waldo") the Simpson's and even Futurama characters. There were girls dressed as flies, a couple of people dressed as food pyramids. There were also some really inappropriate costumes, knowing that Spain is not as shy about sexual content. People were out in the street dancing and drinking. If you weren't drinking like crazy, you probably weren't enjoying yourself as much as possible in their eyes. There was one really drunk girl that was being wheeled out of the area who decided to grab onto me on the way out. She was having a really rough time standing or accomplishing much of anything. I did enjoy some chocolate and churros before heading back to the apartment, but of course that couldn't be accomplished without getting my hair dipped in the chocolate or even having us get hit on by two drunk Zorros. As much as I wanted to have chocolate brown hair, I just didn't want to do it that way. I also woke up with a faint smell of smoke in my hair. Yum. Definitely a different experience.

4 March 2011

Yesterday, I had my second intercambio, an interchange with Spanish students who help Americans and other foreign students with their Spanish in exchange for practice in the other's language (for me, that means I help with English, he helps me with Spanish). I am in a group of four, with one other American girl from my program, and our partners are two young Spanish guys. We met last week to get to know each other a little better and so yesterday was our first of six required sessions. I think that we are going to meet up more because we all seem to like each other and we are eager to practice. It is nice getting a chance to spend time with Spanish students because for the past two months I have been studying with Americans and a few from other countries (at least with the ones from other countries, they don't know English, so we practice in Spanish haha). I also met my "brother" (the son of my host-mom) today when I got home from my exams. So, in total, I have met her brother, her son, and one of her daughters. I laughed a little at myself because my instinct when I meet someone new is to reach out and shake their hands, something I have to fight because it is much more common for people to kiss on the cheeks, not necessarily with someone new, but it is usually the gesture between friends and family. I am getting better at it, but I still have that split second of "Oh yeah, I need to do this..." I need to rest up because it is Carnaval here. Tomorrow night my friends and I are going to go out all dressed up. I think it is going to be fun. I also hope to go to the beach a little tomorrow too, even if it is just to walk around down there because, well, the Mediterranean Sea is just a few minutes away!