Semana Santa

This week went by really quickly! I am finally on spring break! Friday marked the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week) and I have been going out every night to the processions. The processions are held every night (sometimes there are more than one) and each procession is held by a group of Nazarenes from the Murcia region. Millions of people gather around to watch the processions and the Nazarenes give out candy to the kids who are watching as they pass. Each procession has its own color, and the Nazarenes carry statues representing their group. The statues weigh about 2 tons and are carried by 34 men. They wear costumes that are very interesting for those of us who grew up in the US. The first procession began in the year 1411. Here are pictures:

The cathedral at night before the first procession.

One of the groups of men playing instruments on Sunday.

One of the processions on Saturday, there were two this day, one was Brown and one was Red.

Statues from the processions, they are beautiful!

I will be going to three more days of processions (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) before I head to Barcelona for 5 days of dancing! After that its two days in Granada, and then home before Isaac comes. I can't wait! Hopefully this break will be just as much fun as I am expecting. As always, there are more pictures to be found on facebook.

In other news- On Friday I went to the beach to celebrate my friend Kellian's birthday. The weather seems to finally be cheering up and we had a great time playing frisbee, eating, and getting some sun. Yesterday my roomate Lara and I went shopping and spent the afternoon together before we went to the processions. Today she left to meet her family in Madrid so they can travel for a week. I spent the day spring cleaning the apartment in an attempt to get rid of all the dust! One thing I am learning about city living is that it is an incredibly dusty existance, I'm not a fan. The next few days I plan to get some work done, walk around as much of the city as possible, and get everything ready for my trip. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks. Adventures will be had!

Success!

This week was yet another simple week in Spain. The biggest difference? It was sunny until Friday! I made use of the five whole days of sun by going running, laying out on the roof during homework time, and going on lots of walks. On Thursday I woke up in the morning and went to the market. I got all the usual fruits and veggies, but I was so excited because I got a kilo of oranges for 1 euro! (That's about $1.50) The guy even threw in a couple of extra oranges for me after he weighed them. I love being able to find deals like this at the market, it makes buying food so much more fun!

Friday I decided I would make use of my day off and get a bunch of things done, so I woke up nice and early and walked to Eroski, a huge store that is supposed to be kindof like a mix between Target and something more expensive. It took me about half an hour to get there and when I finally did it was closed! Turns out that it was Dia Del Padre (Father's Day) as well as el Festival del San Jose. Everything was closed, even the grocery stores! Because of that, I didn't end up being able to get anything done at all and instead spent the day reading and watching movies. I guess I might never get used to the Spanish way of life--not unless someone gives me a calendar of all these festival days! Oh well, it was a nice walk and I was glad to get a little bit of exercise. Not to mention I think I walked about 4 miles.

On Friday night I went to my friend Bret's for movies and dinner. We watched The Time Traveler's Wife, and Watchmen. I loved the first and hated the second. Bret made fried chicken and patatas bravas for dinner (see previous food entry to find out what patatas bravas are.) I was happy to have some delicious food and hang out with a friend I don't get to see too often because of school. Overall it was a pretty relaxing and fun nice.

On Saturday I made attempt number two at getting things done. I walked to Gran Via, the main street here, and wandered around the area for a couple of hours shopping and half-looking for a dress to take to Barcelona with me. Then I went to the grocery store and loaded up on the necessities before heading home. After a quick nap I picked through and soaked lentils so I could make lentil soup for dinner. Wow was it delicious! I am proud of myself for trying to make something new, and it turned out pretty good. I am learning a lot about cooking here because I'm trying to make new things. It is pretty cool to see that I can depend on myself to make just about anything--at least so far.

Today I woke up and went to mass at the church outside my door, Santa Eulalia. I like going to mass there because its really relaxing and I always feel more upbeat when I leave. After that I cleaned the apartment top to bottom and talked to my Aunt and Uncle for a bit--it was great to hear from them! In the afternoon my friend Daedre came over for attempt #3 at tortilla de patata. It was a success! Finally we seem to have mastered this Spanish dish. As you can see from the picture it turned out pretty much perfect and absolutely delicious. The secret? You absolutely MUST have a non-stick pan.

We spent the afternoon reading and doing homework and then watched a movie before Daedre headed home. I am starting to feel like someone who actually lives in Murcia now. I am more comfortable with the city every day and I'm more confidently navigating it and its people. I feel like the fact that I've pretty much stopped taking pictures is a good sign that I'm getting more comfortable here and becoming less of a tourist. The things that I thought were unique and cool before still are, they're just also things I see every day. I am getting ready to start traveling again, though, I can't wait for the next few weeks. One more week of class, then its Semana Santa (Holy Week,) Barcelona, Granada, a big festival called Las Huertas, and then Isaac comes. I think the next month will be a great adventure!

Learning How to Relax

This weekend was one where I did absolutely nothing I didn't want to do. How wonderful is that? On Friday I slept in and then spent the morning bumming around in my PJs and reading. After that I went to a Chinese buffet with Daedre and Bret. It was so good! I definitely got to fill my Chinese food craving--even if it was super expensive. It was about $15 per person, yuck! The nice thing was I didn't have to pay for it because Bret and Daedre were paying me back for the deposit I put down on our hostel for our trip to Granada. After lunch I was absolutely stuffed so I went home for a nap and to read some more.

I lounged around for a while, showered, and then Daedre came over and we watched some TV and had attempt #2 at making tortilla de patatas. It was, as they say in Spanish, "un gran fracasa," (a major failure) though it was edible which made it better than attempt #1. We have decided to enlist the help of our Swedish friend Jonna who is a tortilla de patata expert in our next attempt to master this Spanish delacy. After dinner we watched "The Hangover," and then I went to sleep.

Saturday I slept in again and then spend most of the day catching up on some American TV shows and reading some more. I also had a great skype date with Clint, my friend who is studying abroad in Tokyo, Japan. Guess what?! While I was talking to him there was an earthquake in Tokyo! At first I thought he was shaking his webcam and then he was like...there's an earthquake happening right now. I was a little freaked out but he assured me it was only a tiny one. I am glad I don't live somewhere where earthquakes are so frequent they don't even freak you out anymore!

After siesta Daedre came over and we went to a cute little kebap place for dinner. Kebaps are a traditional Turkish food leftover from the moorish empire. They're like burritos but with roasted meat, and generally Greek ingredients including delicious Greek yogurt. Yum! This place was really great because they offer a discount to students of the university. Yay for cheap, delicious, and filling dinners.

After dinner we came back to my place and Erin, Megan, and Erin's two new Italian roomates came over for a little party before we went out to the bars. Erin's new roomates, Valentina and Monda, are really nice and they seemed like they were happy to meet us. We had a lot of fun just hanging out for a while and then we headed out to a bar. On the way we met up with a Spanish friend of mine, Anibal, and he and his friends took us to a couple bars that are more frequented by the locals. I loved seeing this new part of the city! I also had a lot of fun. At one of the bars we spent about an hour dancing and singing along to some American oldies-everyone knew the words, even the Italians and the Spaniards! It was awesome. Daedre slept over so that we could continue the fun today.

This morning we slept in, woke up, ate breakfast, cleaned up a little, and headed to mass at the cathedral. I really love the cathedral here in Murcia because it is the most colorful one I have seen. It is very open, has lots of natural light, and beautiful stained glass windows everywhere. I love how the stained glass windows are more colorful most. They have bright colors including pink, purple, and teal--colors I don't usually see in stained glass. The decoration in the cathedral is also very colorful. It is a nice difference from the usual silver and gold I've seen in other cathedrals. It was a beautiful, sunny day so we decided to sit on the plaza of the cathedral after mass and drink some coffee. Its amazing how wonderful the sun can feel when you haven't seen it for a while.

After an hour or so we decided to run home and eat lunch and then go to the park to sit outside and do homework. I stopped at the bakery on the way home and got a freash baguette- right out of the oven- and made a delicious sandwich for lunch. The afternoon was spent enjoying the beautiful weather and reading. I finished the book I was reading this weekend, so now I have to look for another one. I made spaghetti for dinner for myself, along with some more of my baguette, and now I'm going to watch a movie before I head to bed early. What a wonderful weekend!

Being here has definitely taught me to relax and do what I want to do. I thought having so much free time was going to drive me crazy but I'm really loving it. I have time to go for walks, read, and sit outside for hours enjoying the sun. What a life!

Comida

I made some collages today of food:

Things I miss: Goldfish, Reeses, Dark chocolate peanut M&Ms, tomato soup, Steak & Shake cheese fries (ew, I know,) Qdoba, Panera, hamburgers, chamomile tea, pepper jack cheese, Take 5 bars, Chinese food, hot chocolate, butter snap pretzles.



Things I love:

Principe cookies: We call them crack cookies here. Nice crispy sugar cookie on the outside, creamy chocolate on the inside...there's nothing better.

Nutella: Its so cheap here! I have to admit I'm a little addicted, its probably the reason for my weight gain.

Fresh fruits and veggies: The bell peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers here are amazing. Not to mention the strawberries and oranges. There is a never ending supply of delicious, fresh fruits and veggies and the best thing is that they're so cheap! Sometimes I feel like I'm stealing it haha.
Fresh bread: Yet another source of my weight gain. The bread here is 1,000,000 times better than in the US. It is also dirt cheap.

Patatas Bravas: A traditional tapas dish. Fried potatoe wedges smothered in this delicious spicy tomato sauce and sometimes mayo. Yum.

Bocadillos: Sandwiches made out of a half of a baguette and cheese&meat. They are a great lunch on the go and a steal at about $2.

Coffee: Cortados are my favorite, they're a shot of espresso and a shot of milk. Yum! Then come cappuccinos, a little more on the expensive side. The regular morning drink of choice here is cafe con leche, of course, which is also great. All really cheap, I never spend more tha $3 on a really great cup of coffee!

Pastries: Yum! Always fresh, always go well with coffee.

Tortilla de patata: Spanish tortilla is made out of potatoes cut really thin and fried, then mixed with onions, eggs, and milk, and fried into a sort of pancake. Can you say delicious?! One thing I don't like so much is that it is often served cold when it tastes a lot better room temperature or fresh off the stove. Its served in pretty little wedges that I love.

Paella: Traditional spanish rice dish. Its nice and creamy, full of flavor, and you can get it with anything from chicken and veggies to snail.

Zarangollo: Another tapas I love. This one is eggs, zucchini, onion, and potatoes. Its like a really light scramble, and amazingly tasty.


Are you hungry now? I am!

A Very Relaxing Weekend

This past week was pretty non-descript. I went to class, spent hours trying to chase down my academic advisor (which I still haven't been able to do,) and made it through another week. I am quickly realizing how fast my time here is going by. I'm beginning to worry that I'm not going to have time to do everything I want to do and see everything I want to see. I have to start doing some serious planning here soon, but I need to get ahold of all the money the school owes me first!

On Saturday I went hiking with a few people at a place called "El Santuario del Fuentesanta" which is where there is a big national park right outside of Murcia. I hard a great time, the actual sanctuary is beautiful and the church there is really cute and sticks out from the mountains and forest in the most wonderful way because it is white and yellow. The hiking was fun too, we went to the top of a hill where we could sit and see the whole city and the mountains that surround it. It was absolutely beautiful, something you're going to have to trust me on because I am too lazy to upload pictures tonight. After that I made homemade tomatoe soup which was a big success. There's nothing like tomatoe soup and a grilled cheese sandwich to be comfort food. I didn't realize how much I miss it until last night.

Today I went with my friend Megan to a little Renaissance Fair at a park in the city called Floridablanca. I had a lot of fun! We spent some time shopping around at all the booths which had crafts, insence, soaps, and lots of cheese, and then we went to go watch the jousting tournament. It was pretty cool to see how these guys can control both their swords and their horses. We watched them do all kinds of cool tricks and there was even a sword fight which seemed so real that even though I knew it was choreographed I was a little scared for the loser. We walked around the park after that and saw some pretty funny things like a little carousel that was powered by a man on a bicycle! I thought that was adorable. Obviously only little kids could go on it, otherwise I think the poor man would have lost his legs after peddling all day. We also saw this street performer that I have seen a few times- he makes bird type noises that are so annoying and almost abusive to listen to. He was blocking kids from being able to go on pony rides. My favorite part of the Renaissance Fair? I got to try some really great parmesean cheese and smell all kinds of coffee- yum!

I spent the rest of the day finishing my book and now I am going to get started on the tiny bit of homework I have for next week. Hopefully I'll be able to get in touch with my academic advisor so I can actually sign up for these classes!

I'm going to post a list of things I'm missing right now, because I've been feeling homesick lately and it might make it better:

Dancing: both for fun and exercise
Being skinny: this bread and cheese diet has done nothing for my figure, its getting me down!
Dancing
Being busy all the time: while at first I really enjoyed having so much free time, I'm now to the point where I'm running out of books...
Canned soup: what a time saver! and a healthy one at that
American sandwich meat: its just not the same here at all
Dancing
Dancing
My family: even though I don't see them when I'm in Indiana, it is hard not to be able to call them whenever I want to.
Dancing
My puppy: for some reason I think about Pepper a lot here, its weird, but I miss him so much!

I am going a little bit crazy about the lack of dancing. I'm learning that not only is it the thing I do that makes me happiest, it is also the only exercise I have, and it is what keeps me sane. I dance when I'm stressed out, angry, happy, sick...anything. Not having that has been a huge struggle for me. I knew it would be hard, but I didn't realize that it would be as hard as it is. I would do almost anything for a good Lindy with someone right now. I have been watching dancing videos and doing a lot of solo Charleston in my room but alas, it is just not the same. I should have gone to Madrid, if only for the fact that I would have been able to dance at least a little. At this point its looking like I'm not going to make it to Valencia to dance until at least the middle of April. Ugh...will I even make it that long before going totally insane?

Sevilla

This weekend I went to Sevilla with the International students that go to UMU with me. The organization that planned the trip is called ERASMUS student network and it was a pretty interesting experience. ERASMUS seems to have some really different opinions about what is important when planning a trip for a bunch of students.

We left for Sevilla at 2:00am on Friday morning, and started our 8 hour bus ride. It would have been 5.5 hours but the bus was driving really slowly and we stopped three times (incredibly unnecessarily.) When we got to Sevilla we checked into our hostels (they were so cute!) and went out to get some lunch. After that we all met up for a guided tour of the "Catedral de Sevilla," the largest cathedral in Europe. It is so beautiful and intricate! I loved the outside of the cathedral, especially because I learned all about the architecture in my Spanish class last year (a class I totally hated at the time.) Unfortunately it was raining, but we still had a good time. A really interesting thing about the cathedral is that it currently houses what scientists are 80% sure are the remains of Christopher Colombus. I thought that was really neat.


The cathedral was built in the ruins of a mosque, and the architect and king decided the only important part of the mosque worth keeping was the tower. Its called the Torre de Giralda and it now houses the beautiful church bells. We climbed up 32 stories worth of ramps to the top of the tower. It was amazing to see the entire city, even if it was rainy.



After touring the church we went to the Alcazar which is the palace in Sevilla. It is where the royal family lives today when they visit Sevilla so it is still considered a Royal Palace, not just a castle. It was so pretty and I was amazed by all the detailed tile work the covered the palace. I got to touch tiles that were still in the walls of the courtyard after being there for 700 years. Though it looks like it is part of a Muslim design, the palace was actually designed with the help of a Spanish prince who really liked muslim architecture.



This was the end of our planned tourist activities in Sevilla, and we still had two days! I spent the rest of Friday roaming the city and seeing some more beautiful things. After that the girls sharing my room at the hostel and I went to dinner at a great tapas restaurant--we ate a ton and really enjoyed ourselves. At midnight we met up with the ERASMUS group again for what the organization called "fiesta." Basically they bussed us al to a huge discoteque and gave us all free drinks for the night before taking us home at 4:30am. It was so much fun! We danced the night away and I even got to salsa with a Spanish guy who was pretty good. On Saturday we all slept in because we didn't really get to sleep until 6:00am, and then we woke up and met at one of the hostels for paella and sangria. Every time I eat paella I love it even more, and this was great because it was free! I spent Saturday afternoon walking around the city to see the Plaza de Torros- where the bullfights are- the Torre de Oro, which is a tower that used to be covered in gold before people stole it all, and the Plaza de Espana. The Plaza de Espana is a huge building which is covered in the most beautiful tile work I have ever seen. I was nearly brought to tears by how beautiful this building was. The best part? I was told several times that it was in an ugly phase because they are doing construction on the gardens. I can't believe that the people who live there are so used to seeing this much beauty that they can begin thinking its ugly just because there's less grass.

After a quick siesta and some dinner we met up again for fiesta #2. Of course, it was another night of free drinks and a lot of fun. They took us to a bar that had live flamenco. I loved it so much! The guitarist was amazing, not to mention the flute player and the dancer. I loved listening to the rhythms they made--it is a lot like tap dancing, my absolute favorite! One thing I didn't like was that the dancer looked angry the whole time. It made me feel like she wasn't enjoying herself. I'm all for looking passionate about what you're doing, but there's a point when it takes away from the movement itself.

I left the bar at about midnight instead of going to the next bar with the group; I was too tired! On Sunday we woke up and checked out of the hostel and then went walking around some more. After a trip to the artesian market and a stop for coffee we went to 1:00 mass at the cathedral. Needless to say it was one of the coolest things I have ever done, and now I can say I went to mass at the biggest cathedral in the world! I was really excited because I could understand everything the Priest said, which I think means my Spanish is getting better. After mass was over we went walking around and found some cool little stores before stopping for lunch and then catching the bus home. Overall it was a really great weekend.

One of the things I didn't like so much about Sevilla was that it made me really lonely. Its one thing to be living a busy life going to class and stuff and an entirely different one to be wandering around a beautiful city enjoying myself. Even though I was with a huge group of people, it made me wish that everyone I love back home could be with me to see these beautiful things. Not to mention all the couples walking around holding hands- I have to admit it made me miss Isaac a lot! I was happy to get back to Murcia and to my regular schedule.

In other news, I have added another class: Greek and Roman Art. I think it will be a good one, and it will help keep me busy. I am getting into the swing of things here and really starting to love this city. It has a great character and I like the fact that its more off the beaten track than the big cities I've been visiting. Here everyone speaks Spanish to me instead of just speaking English the minute they realize I'm not from Spain. Its helping me with my Spanish a lot. Wow this post is long.

There are a ton of pictures of Sevilla on facebook, I couldn't put them all up here! Check them out.