I think I'm going to have the same problem as last time though. So many other things have happened recently that I don't think I'm going to take the time to give a detailed summary of my trip. I will just say that it was incredibly relaxing. My time with Angy was very laid back. We mostly just spent time hanging out in her apartment and talking. Though I also got to: taste lamb cake, eat vegetables!, see the sites of Mainz and Enkenbach, eat authentic German food while listening to an argument about atom bombs in German, display my obscenely horrendous volleyball skills to a group of young Germans, eat Sunday popcorn, and ride a bus with 64 German schoolchildren. So thanks, Angy, for being such a wonderful hostess! I'm so glad I got to come.
Burgos was also lovely and relaxing as well. I enjoyed staying with the Foxes and getting to know my little cousins. It was also interesting to see the sites of Burgos including this neat old monastery and the cathedral (which we had previously studied in Art class). And the cool weather was so refreshing as well. So Fox family, thanks to you also for being wonderful hosts!
I got back to Sevilla late Thursday night (after a 6 hour bus ride from Madrid...not my favorite part of the week). After sleeping in Friday morning I woke up to get my first taste of Feria. Here's a very brief explanation of Feria: La Feria de Abril (April Fair) takes place every year in Sevilla. (I think other cities have Feria also, but Sevilla's is the first...and the best, so I've heard.) Okay...I'm too lazy to type out a whole explanation. These 2 links should provide you with pretty good information: http://www.spanishunlimited.com/spain/fiestas/feriadeabril.asp or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville_Fair
So now that you are all informed about the Feria, I can go on with my story. Friday I went over to the Feria grounds by myself (because pretty much everyone else was still traveling). It was so fun to watch the people. I loved seeing all of the women in their crazy colorful dresses. I had seen a lot of dresses in store window during the past few weeks, but I didn't realize that pretty much EVERYONE wears them during Feria. Also it was fun to see all of the horses parading around (though I certainly wasn't anxious to ride one...I think Scoops scarred me for life last semester). I wandered around the whole place, just looking at everything: the costumes, the casetas, the people, the horses, the rides, the food stands, the streamers and lights. Actually it reminded me a lot of Swiss Days. Though there was quite a bit more alcohol flowing than at Swiss Days.
But the thing I realized is that Feria alone is like Swiss Days would be if you were alone. It's fun for a while, but if you have nobody to talk to and no where to go, you don't really want to stay all day. As I wandered Friday I found myself wishing that I had a traje (Flamenco dress) to wear and friends to visit in a caseta. So I really didn't stay all that long Friday afternoon. And I went to bed early that night.
But Saturday? Saturday was a different story. Oh what a day! In the morning Carmen asked me if I wanted to come to the Feria with her and her family. There was some miscommunication at first (due to a bad habit I've developed of just nodding and saying "si" every time she says something I don't understand), but once I understood what she was asking, of course I said yes! And then she said that I could wear one of her trajes!
Around 2 we started to get ready. I felt like I was getting ready for prom or something! I think Carmen really enjoyed dressing me up. The dress that I wore was orange with purple flowers on it. I don't think orange is really my color, but I didn't really care. The dress was a bit tighter in some places than things I generally wear, but I think it actually fit me exactly how it was supposed to. Carmen helped me pin on my shawl thing as well and she pinned a flower in my hair. I felt so Spanish! Carmen had a dress too. What fun!
We met her family (her sister and brother-in-law, their 2 daughters, and the daughters' families) and walked together to the Feria and to a caseta. I really enjoyed walking in a big group, all in our crazy feria clothes. I felt like I was part of the party, and it was great. When we got to the caseta the drinks started flowing. For the first time in the history of my life, I almost (almost) wished that I drank alcohol. Everyone at the Feria drinks this mixed drink (rebujito) of 7-up and some kind of sherry. It looked really refreshing. But after I was coerced into tasting Carmen's (don't worry, all you upholders of the LTC, it was just a baby sip...hardly enough to wet my lips), I decided there was really nothing all that festive or glamorous about drinking what tasted like carbonated nail polish remover. I decided (not like it was that much of a decision...I wasn't going to drink alcohol even if it did taste good) to stick to Coca-cola.
Anyway, we spend the afternoon in the caseta eating and drinking and enjoying ourselves. At one point some of the little girls went out to enjoy the various rides and stuff so I went along. I loved feeling like I was part of the family. I even got to ride on the pirate ship thing with some of the girls. I went home for a while in the afternoon to rest (and to Pans to show Sarah my dress), but then I came back to the caseta for supper. As the night wore on I considered going back to the house to go to bed, but the party continued, and I was enjoying myself. Around 1 in the morning we got chocolate and churros so of course I had to stay for that! In the end we staying into about 2...even the little kids! What a grand fiesta!
This experience has seriously been one of my very favorite things that I've done in Spain so far. It was kind of like prom + pops concert + Swiss Days. And I loved it! It made me feel so entirely immersed in the culture. And it was also really nice to be able to spend a bit more time with Carmen. Yay! Lovely weekend!
(And look at that...I just succeeded in publishing a picture on my blog! Yay! Now you can see Carmen and I in our trajes!)
The only unfortunate thing is that I am now saddled with kind of an icky cold. I think I inhaled a lot of secondhand smoke in the casetas. But hopefully it will pass quickly, and I'll soon be in tip-top shape for the end of classes (only 4 more days!) and exams next week. Wow...this will all be over before I know it. What a crazy time. Sorry if this post has not been very clear. Sometimes it's hard for me to decide what details to include. But at least I wrote something, yes? Feel free to ask a million questions when I come home.
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