Carreras, Viajes, y Torros

How to survive if your senora doesn’t give you enough food:

You reel it up in a zip lock bag from the generous boys downstairs who are lucky enough to have a senora that gives them bountiful amounts of food. Thanks guys for not letting us starve!

(Don’t worry mom, we’ve since talked to her and now she gives us so much food we feel like porky the pig every day after lunch.)

Well if blogging was a race, I’d surely be at the rear, because I have not been very good about keeping ya’ll updated! So here is a little recap of my last couple of weeks here:

First of all speaking of races… I just ran a 10.5 k friday night (6.5 miles), and if you know me, then you probably just hit the floor in shock. It was definitely something I did on a whim and decided the morning of that I was going to do it (I really just wanted the free t-shirt…just kidding, kind of). About 20 of us from my program ran in the Carrera Noctura, which is a night race here in Sevilla that happens once a year. Over twenty thousand people were running through the streets of Sevilla starting at 10 pm. I have never seen so many sweaty hairy Spaniards in my entire life! I was convinced it was going to take me at least 3 hours to complete, but empowered by the adrenaline of running amidst the hoards of cheering Spaniards, I finished in under an hour and 15 minutes. Again, if you know me then that’s quite an accomplishment! I was feeling fine during the race and feeling on top of the world once I finished, but as we began our 6 mile walk home, it started taking a turn for the worse. Let’s just say that after running 6.5 miles already, and not drinking hardly any water that day was a bad mix. I think I have learned my lesson of the importance of hydration. I am thankful for good friends here who were so gracious during my miserable walk home. I also appreciated the piggy-back ride up five flights of stairs to my apartment. I might have not made it up those mountainous stairs otherwise. Though my 10k experience ended badly due to the lack of sufficient water in my body, I am thankful for the opportunity to have taken part in the race last night. I felt like such a true Sevillano as we ran through the streets with people lining the sidewalks to cheer on all 20,000 of us. It was such a good experience and an accomplished feeling to do something I had once not thought was possible, though I do see now why it would have been helpful that the last time I worked out to not have been over a month ago… but yes I got my free t-shirt, which of course made it all worth it!

Last weekend I went to Lagos, Portugal, a.k.a. the most beautiful place I have ever been. The views were breathtaking, the ocean water was crystal clear and the prettiest blue I have ever seen, and best of all, our hotel was located on a cliff that overlooked all of it. It was so relaxing to just lie on the beach under the warm Portuguese sun. We also went on a cruise in the middle of the Atlantic and got to hop off our boat onto these little speedboats that took us deep into little grottos nestled against rock formations in the middle of the ocean. Our last night in Portugal we went to the very place which had once been considered the “end of the world” because you drive down this long road of Portuguese countryside and end up at this lighthouse that is ¾ surrounded by water. It’s absolutely beautiful and you can see why they would have once thought this was the very edge of the world. All you see is ocean for miles, and the sunsets there are apparently astounding, unfortunately we went on a day where the sun was covered by clouds, but this was even more beautiful to me because I absolutely love the ocean on a gray cloudy day.

Two weekends ago, (see I told you I’ve been bad about keeping up with my blogging!) we went to a bull fight. One word: YIKES. I had no idea that this whole bull fight thing consisted in killing six bulls. Seriously, where is PETA when you need them?! It was difficult for me to watch the first bull get slaughtered and even harder to watch the sixth bull die because he died a slow and painful death. I suppose I should say I’m glad I went for the experience of attending a bull fight in Spain, but it hurt my heart to watch these innocent animals die for no reason other than to provide Sunday afternoon entertainment for a bunch of heartless Spaniards. Okay maybe that is a little cold of me to say, but really people, those poor bulls! I do have to say though that it’s entertainment in itself to watch the quick, graceful movements of the matadors and see their crazily colored sparkly outfits. I was given a fright when one of the bulls reared his head and there was a matador caught between the two bull horns, holding on for dear life! Well maybe buddy you should have chosen a different profession, preferably one where your job isn’t to kill innocent animals! At least the experience was educational… I found out that bulls are male cows, and the black and white cows you milk are only females… who knew?

I named him Pablo. This was before I realized Pablo was going to be killed.

The same weekend of the bull fight, my program went to Cordoba, Spain for one day, and it was a very educational experience as well. First we visited the Madinat Al-Zahra, which are archeological remains that are left from a mosque of the past, nestled into the countryside above the hills of Córdoba. We then went to a beautiful mosque that is now a Christian church. It was called The Mezquita when the Muslims constructed it in 785 but the Christians took over in 1236 and it’s now called the Cathedral of Córdoba, the oldest cathedral in Spain. It was considered the most important sanctuary of Western Islam in a time when Córdoba was the capital of Al-Andalus (now called Andalucia, which is the part of Spain where Sevilla is located.) Just a little history lesson for you!

Other than immersing myself in cultural Spanish activities such as bull fights, Sevillan art museums, ancient mosques, and taking advantage of travel opportunities, I am very busy with my classes, salsa dancing lessons, and soon to be volunteering at a convent and helping out with the elderly people who live there. Oh yes, nuns run the convent. I hear they can be a little crabby, so that should be fun! Salsa lessons are twice a week, and probably my favorite time of the day. Our teacher is from Peru and he sure knows his stuff!

I am having an absolutely wonderful in experience in Spain so far, and look forward to what’s awaiting me on the horizon of the next few months! By the way, in case you weren’t already aware of this, I miss you all at home a TON, but I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. I know this is where I am supposed to be right now.

Mucho amor!

Meagan