(I meant to post this on October 21st and just realized I didn't...)
This morning the group had an excursion to Malaga – and I missed the bus. Oops. But it’s beautiful in Sevilla today! I got to sleep in and have an awesome lunch and now I have time to write in my blog, go for a walk, maybe watch a movie…what a great day!
There are a few random things I want to write about today.
First – I went to a bullfight! I keep wondering why on earth I forgot to write about it after it happened, but I think it was such a traumatic event that I repressed the memory for a little while. Basically, it was awful. We were so naïve about it when we went! The tickets were about 25 Euros and when we got there the stadium was PACKED. I remember being so excited to be taking part in such a traditional part of Spanish culture. The “fight” began with the bull running out into the arena – it was wild and vigorous and somehow drove its horns into the ground and flipped completely over. It was crazy! We watched the matadors with their colorful clothing do their moves with the capes, testing the bull for ferocity. Some of the moves were actually pretty impressive (at times the matadors were SO close to impalement). A couple times the bulls went after the horses that came out, who were wearing thick mats so they aren’t caught by the horns...the bulls would ram them pretty hard. I felt so bad! Before 1930 the horses didn’t wear the mats (called “petos”) and the bull would often disembowel the horse – during the fights there were usually more horses killed than bulls. After the testing, the picador (lancer on horseback) stabs the bull on the neck, which disorients the bull and makes it focus on one thing instead of charging at everything. Then there are banderilleros that come out and make the bull charge at them and try to stick two banderillas, or sharp barbed sticks, into the bull's shoulders. You could see the blood dripping down the backs of the bulls. It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to watch. The matador came back in with his red cape and did some more moves (bulls are actually colorblind so the cape isn’t red to anger them – the movement of the cape is what provokes the charge of the bull). A couple times the bull got VERY close to the matador, and when the pass was over, the matador would flex and yell and walk with extreme pride. Once the bull is too weak to continue, it lays down on the ground. Then the matador stabs it in the head. The bull we watched twitched once and then stopped moving. Everyone cheered and they tied a rope from the bull to the back of a chariot cart and drug it around in a big circle before taking it out of the arena. I just stared for a second, speechless, and then looked to my friends and told them I was leaving. They wanted to wait for just a little longer so we had to sit though another one…then finally everyone was ready to go and we got out of there as quickly as we could before the next round started. I think they do 6 bulls in all.
Bullfighting has become quite a cultural conflict within the past few years, and after a petition that 180,000 people signed, it has been banned in Cataluña (which is Barcelona – it takes effect January 1st). We’ve talked about it in my family and in my classes, and people seem pretty divided about it. Some of the people in class really enjoyed it and appreciate it as part of the culture. It seems like here the older generation is what is keeping the tradition alive – the younger and upcoming generation doesn’t enjoy it in the same manner. So we’ll see where bullfighting goes from here. But as for me…I am glad I went but would never, EVER consider doing something like that again!
My second topic for the day = viejos verdes, an expression that we learned in class to signify “dirty old men.” Here in Spain, men LOVE to stare at girls. It’s like they make it their mission to comment on women every time they walk by. When I first got here I didn’t really like it, so I just ignored it and didn’t dwell. But some days, when I’m feeling testy or homesick or just a little off, it is one of the most frustrating things in the world!! I just want to slap them in the face. I’m so sick of being oogled at and commented on right to my face. What a strange part of culture. And it’s never guys that are close to my age…it’s always the dirty old men. Sometimes even with their women right by them! Everything I have found suggests that this is because older generations see foreigners, typically British or American women, as being “loose,” or in extreme cases, little better than prostitutes. One site said “blonde foreigners still get more than their fair share of unwanted attention and older Spanish men still think foreign girls are only after one thing.” It’s so irritating! They have forever ruined the word "guapa" for me. This is definitely going to be the one thing that I don’t miss about being in Spain.
My final topic is a little more enjoyable than the first two. One of the big food traditions in Spain is the merienda, or snack, usually eaten around mid-afternoon. And a typical food of the merienda is the delicious and infamous "chocolate con churros." I've been in Spain this whole time and, until last night, I had never tried them!! All of my friends rave about them but I just hadn’t been in the right place at the right time to get them. (None of us actually eat them for an afternoon snack…we changed it into a little more of an American tradition and they have become a final stop after a long night on the weekend). So last night we went out to a dance club that I had never been to and when we were walking back we found, in front of us, a CHURRO STAND!!! Had to have been sent from heaven. We bought a couple batches of fresh churros and steaming hot chocolate syrup and enjoyed probably the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Now that I have experienced chocolate con churros, my Spanish life is complete.
On a completely new note...late last Wednesday night we got back from an awesome trip to Morocco! So next entry I'll have to fill you in on the amazing time we had sleeping under the stars in the Sahara desert :)
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