Hola todos,
Alright, so let's just not even talk about my absence from this blog, it'll just make me feel more guilty. But hey, I'm in Spain, I'm just enjoying it and keep forgetting to write...ok, I'll stop making excuses now. :)
Anyway, so the weekend of February 12-14 was this great thing called....Carnaval!! My host mom loved telling me all about it. :) Apparently it's been around for a VERY long time, and it's just supposed to be this big week (the weekend is the big deal though) of parties and drinking and dancing and all that jazz. Kind of like a mix between Mardi Gras and Halloween. Why do they have it you may ask? Well, I guess it's supposed to be your last chance to have fun and go crazy before Lent starts. Yup, that's why it always ends on Ash Wednesday. My host mom asked me if we celebrated it in the states, and I told her no, because I thought it'd be a little difficult for me to explain Mardi Gras in Spanish, plus it's not really celebrated up in the midwest. ;)
So, the start of my weekend took me to El Escorial, which actually had nothing to do with Carnaval/Carnival. It's a bit north of Madrid, and it's this palace where a bunch of dead kings are buried. Cool, I know. The only problem is, they're seriously running out of room...I predict difficulties in the future. But really, it was a pretty nice place; other than the areas where they bury the kings, one part is a monastery and another part is an elementary school. They actually live there, which kind of stinks because it was very cold there---very near to the mountains, and the building is obviously made all out of stone. Still, it had a sort of Hogwarts feel to it so I'm sure I could deal with it if I went there. :)
Well, Saturday was the real start of our shenanigans. After heading to the Nun Bakery (as we call it --really it's "El Cafe de las Monjas") for some delicious churros con chocolate (deep fried pastry, dipped in chocolate), we shopped around for a little bit in the old Jewish Quarter. Amy made friends with an old man at a shop, and afterwards we went to our houses for lunch and a little siesta (it was going to be a late night). We then came back to the Fund to chat, and headed out to the super long parade they had...3 hours long!! It consisted of different groups dressing up (usually like different ethnic groups---let me tell you, most of it would not be considerd "politically correct" in the usa lol, but the theme was "around the world" so no pasa nada) and dancing down the street. It was really sweet to see all of the costumes, but it was very cold!! I have to say though, that my favorite floats/performances have to be these "fat" costumes...there were tons of people in all different kinds of fat suits, from the Mona Lisa to Mario & Luigi. Also, there was a group of costumes where the head (each showing a person of a different nationality) was huge, and the bodies was tiny. It's hard to explain but it was hilarious. There were some really interesting costumes as well, like people in dresses made entirely of wrappers (or one example---all made out of yogurt containers). However, one thing I found strange was that most of the groups were dancing to American music. Yes, there was even a group portraying Russia, so we watched Spanish men, dressed up like Russians, dancing to Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow." Weird. But all in all, a good time.
Well, after the parade we got all dressed up in our awesome costumes....or more like awesomely cheap costumes...we had a pretty strict less-than-10 euro code we tried to stick to. So Megumi and I were fairies, though my costume looked more like a butterfly, so I just went with it. Anna was a cat, and Amy and Erin were angels, though Erin didn't think she was dressed properly, so she called herself a fallen angel and took many a pictures lying on the ground...falling. We tried to follow a sort of theme, because apparently here when they dress up, the whole group usually goes as the same thing. For instance, we saw a group of about 7 girls all dressed up like Snow White, and another 6 girls dressed up like Minnie Mouse. Hmm. Also, the big costume for this year was chickens. There were SO MANY chickens! But it was cool, I learned the Spanish version of "The Chicken Dance" during a concert that night...I'll have to teach it to my grandma, she's pretty into it at home. Any party, wedding, or reunion, the chicken dance comes on, she's up there. :) Next, we went over to the cathedral to watch 5 minutes of a spectacular fireworks show...it was like a grand finale the whole time! Plus they gave us free hot chocolate! Good thing too, cause it was a COLD night, and I was wearing a dress...I did have tights and leggings on, and a long sleeved under my dress with a sweater and coat, but hey I'm a wimp!! haha. Anyway, we grabbed dinner out at a restaurant nearby, then headed over the main plaza, Zocodover. It was PACKED. Seriously, tons of people, all in these crazy costumes, drinking beer, and listening to a concert. Oh, just to mention, I saw some people dressed up like Sims...all they had was normal clothes (some were more extravagant) and the headbands with the green diamond on top...genius! I'm stealing this for Halloween.
So during the concert, we happened upon an unfortunate Fund girl who had a little too much too drink, so we took her to O' Briens for some water, and Amy took care of her til she felt better. Oh, and guess who we met there again? Mr. Dean of course! haha...anway...After sending her home Erin and Amy split up with me Megumi and Anna (with a few other girls), and they stayed at that bar while we went to another one, "Camelot." I know, I was really into Spanish bars...anyway, Anna decided not to go actually but we went and met up with some more friends. An guess what? People were actually dancing there! Strange for here (they just don't dance at bars/clubs). Lots of fun. I finally took the bus home and got to my house around 4:30 am, which I was told was early by my host parents the next day....I'm certainly not cut out for Spanish night-life. :)
Sunday was a pretty lax day, since I don't think any of us got up before 1pm. We did go out to dinner though for Valentine's Day (all the girls here have boyfriends at home...so we were going so they could try and forget about it). And Monday was a pretty sweet night--Anna's birthday. We had a lovely dinner at McDonald's (birthday girl's choice...did I mention there's one right on the main plaza? Oh yes.) and an amazing chocolate cake from Santo Tomé ---a pretty big deal when it comes to desserts. We then headed out to O' Briens for a few celebratory drinks (most everywhere else was closed since it was a Monday night), though I headed home a little earlier than the rest to catch my bus home. Still, it was a very good night. :D
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