Un Fin de Semana en Pamplona

I have just returned from spending the weekend in Pamplona for the festival of San Fermin. The bus ride down to Pamplona took about 6 hours, after a stop in Burgos. Burogs is a very important city in the history of Spain. Burgos is the birthplace of El Cid, the legendary general who led the Spaniards against their Moorish conquerers after some 800 years of rule. Some of his bones and the body of his wife are buried in the cathedral. The Burogs Cathedral was a amazing place to see, and it was made using the Gothic style of architecture. From Burgos, we went to Pamplona.
When we arrived in Pamplona, the famous "festival de San Fermín" had already began. One of the most known events during this festival is The Running Of The Bulls. It is the event that has given San Fermin world-wide fame and which is broadcast around the world during this fiesta in July. It is held at 8:00 each morning from the 7th to the 14th of July. It consists largely of young men (although women may also run) who run in front of the bulls to lead them from their pen into the bull-ring. It usually lasts from two to three minutes - although if there are complications due to loose bulls, it can last much longer. I saw this event, and it made me very sad that some people were seriously injured and some people died this year. We were told by the school not to run with the bulls because it is very dangerous. Instead, we bought tickets to sit inside the bull ring to watch the bulls enter. We saw the events on the street through a television monitor, and we saw the rest of the events in the bull ring as the bulls ran through. This is a very dangerous event, but many people from all over the world run with the bulls each year.
Have you ever looked at the book, Where's Waldo? Well, that's how I felt this weekend. Pamplona was the place of the biggest costume party that I have ever seen. Everyone wears white, a red sash, and a red necktie. We were told to stay in groups because if someone gets lost, it will be very difficult to find them. If you describe your friend as wearing white with a red sash and necktie, that describes just about every other person around you. I felt as though I were in a Where's Waldo book, and I would have loved for someone to have taken a picture from an aerial view in which I could try to find myself. I believe it would have been impossible.
Each night during San Fermin, there is a fireworks show. This show was simply amazing. The fireworks were amazing, and just when you thought the show was over, they started shooting out more fireworks. It was definitely the best fireworks show that I had ever seen, and I felt better about not being in the United States to see fireworks on the 4th of July. At one point, my friends and I started to quietly sing "America the Beautiful". Ha!
After all of the events at Pamplona, we took a day trip to San Sebastian and Biarritz, France. These two places had beautiful beaches. We spent about 20 minutes at San Sebastian to take pictures, and we spent about 3 hours at Biarritz to enjoy the beach. I felt somewhat complete in France as my friend and I decided to eat "french fries." They were absolutely delicious, and we decided that they definitely should be called french fries. After the beach, we headed back to Pamplona for another round of the Running of the Bulls.
When I woke up in the morning, I had a terrible stomachache and was not able to attend the 2nd running of the bulls. I heard that it was equally as dangerous as the 1st day, and several people were injured. We had to get on the bus at 9:30am, and I felt horrible all day. I was told that I had food poisoning, and I am still battling a terrible stomachache at this moment. I hope to make a miraculous improvement in the next few days.

¿Dónde está la comida americana?

While I do love Spanish food, one of the things that I love the most is a big, tasty hamburger. The hamburgers in Spain do not compare to the fatty, greasy hamburgers in the United States. So, when I was walking one day and saw this sign, I felt as though angels were singing from the heavens. Really sad, huh? Needless to say, the food here was delicious. However, I promised myself that for the rest of the trip, I was only allowed to eat Spanish food, instead of succumbing to the temptations of a fatty, greasy hamburger.

Paella

Paella is an internationally known rice dish from Spain. It originated in the fields of a region called Valencia in eastern Spain. Today paella is made in every region of Spain, using just about any kind of ingredient that goes well with rice. There are as many versions of paella as there are cooks. It may contain chicken, pork, shellfish, fish, eel, squid, beans, peas, artichokes or peppers. Saffron, the spice that also turns the rice a golden color is an essential part of the dish.

Baile Flamenco

One of the most emotional dances that I have ever seen is the Baile Flamenco. Every Monday from 5:00-6:30pm, there is a class at school in which we can learn Flamenco. The teacher said that in order to be good at this dance, you pretty much should have started dancing as soon as you could walk, so there is probably no hope for me. This is what I learned from the teacher today. I took these pictures at a club called Cardamomo during a live flamenco show.

Flamenco es un arte que se presenta en dos variantes: Música y Baile. En la música, el Cante y la Guitarra ocupan el papel fundamental, aunque existen otros instrumentos (como la percusión) y acompañamientos (como las palmas) que generalmente están presentes y juegan un papel muy importante.

El Baile es muy expresivo y cada parte del cuerpo ha de moverse de forma coordinada: los pies, las piernas, las caderas, el talle, los brazos, las manos, los dedos, los hombros, la cabeza...

Para aprender flamenco son necesarios dos ingredientes: alma y técnica, y esto no resulta fácil cuando consideramos que el flamenco es muy rico y complicado. Se pueden contar más de 50 "palos" del flamenco. Cada "palo" tienen su propio ritmo, su propia armonía y, en caso de que sea un palo bailable, cada cual se interpretará con una danza diferente.

Segovia

Yesterday, we took a trip to Segovia. The bus ride from Madrid took about an hour, and Segovia has a wealth of monuments to visit. First, we visited the Palacio y Jardines de la Granja. It was a gorgeous place. The castle was beautiful, and the gardens and the fountains were very impressive. Next, we visisted the Acqueduct of Segovia, which is what Segovia is most known for. It was built at the end of the 1st century by the Romans during their occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. It is made of approximately 20,000 blocks that are not held together by mortar or clamps. The acqueduct is still in good shape, and it was an amazing site to see. Next, we walked to the Catedral, which is known as one of the last Gothic style churches built in Europe. The last place that we visited was the Alcázar, which is a castle that used to be an Arab fort. I was told that this castle was the inspiration for the castle that Walt Disney animated for the movie Cinderella. I have to admit that it did look like the castle in the movie. I even paid 2 euros extra for the priviledge of walking up 164 stairs to the very top of a tower just so I could feel like a princess. Ha! The view from the top was worth the pain in my legs and feet the next day. All I needed was a blue dress and a glass slipper, and the day would have been complete.

"Turistas, Turistas"

Sometimes I go to the mall in Fort Worth, Texas, and I see a person with a camera taking pictures inside the mall of the fountain or a certain store, and I wonder to myself......Where are these people from, and why in the world would anybody want to take a picture of a fountain in the middle of a mall? In the United States, it's often very easy to pick out a "turista." They are carrying a camera, taking pictures of the oddest things, and often look very lost. Well, I hate to say it, but I have turned into one of those people. I take pictures of metro stations, street signs, trees, and birds.
The other day I was eating an amazing "tortilla de patata" sandwich in the Retiro Park, and I accidentally dropped a piece of the sandwich on the ground. The next thing I know, there are tons of pigeons and birds surrounding me. I quickly got up and decided it was time to move on, but I couldn't help but take a picture of the birds eating my food. When I took the picture and turned around, some local Spaniards were looking at me like I was crazy. They understood when they saw my camera, and I was immediately classified as one of those "turistas."
In Spain, I try to blend in, but there is one major thing that sets me apart from everyone else. What is it, you ask? It's my hair. I am blonde. You might think to youself, so what? But, here in Spain, it is something that catches ALOT of attention. I often hear from across the street or across the restaurant, "la rubia, la rubia." You would think that I was some kind of celebrity with the way that people act around here. I have always said that people always want what they don't have, or the famous saying of "the grass is always greener on the other side." There are many blonde people in the United States that want to be brunette. So, my advice to these obsessed Spaniards with my hair color is....go to the "supermercado" and buy a bottle of hair dye. :)

My Trip to Spain

Well well well...I have finally made it to Spain. I won a scholarship to study abroad in Spain for the summer from the NSE (National Spanish Exam). Thank you very much for the opportunity! I have arrived in Madrid and will be spending 4 weeks here. I am currently attending La Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and I am living in a dorm room. I am very excited for the opportunity to study the people and the culture of Spain. ¡Viva España!