Holy Fallas

When I met Rosa in Ithaca last fall, Spain was just a distant dream. To be honest, I am not ever sure if I knew where Granada was, but when I heard that Rosa was from Spain, I just had to get to know her better. So being the loser I am, I chased her down after class and insisted that she tell me everything about Spain. As we got to know each other better, it was decided that I had to come visit her in Valencia when (if) I was in Spain. She told me that the best time to come was during “Las Fallas”. When I asked her what that was, she laughed and said she really couldn’t explain it. And after seeing it for myself, I completely understand her reaction.

To start with the very basics, Las Fallas is a festival that is held in Valencia every year, and it basically involves burning wooden monuments, explosions, fireworks, day drinking, and maybe some religion? As hard as I tried (ask Rosa, I really tried) to understand the celebration, I just really couldn’t grasp it, and I am struggling to find words to describe it.

So my understanding is that, every year, neighborhoods get together to construct a “falla” which is a big, colorful, wooden thing, that actually takes a lot of time, effort, and money to make. Then, they place the “falla” in, near, around, in some space, maybe? by their neighborhood. Then, they all get dressed up in these really elaborate costumes, the little kids are SO cute, and they hire a band, and they parade around in the streets having a generally wonderful time. At some point, they take a walk to put flowers in front of the cathedral. Then on the last night, they set their beautiful falla on fire, and I’m told that they often cry as they watch it burn.

While I think this is kind of strange, I follow the basic idea behind this part of Fallas. But what I don’t really understand is everything else that goes on. There are masses of people drinking on the streets (not exaggerating MASSES) and buying food from vendors, and explosions in the streets. Everyday at 2, everyone heads over to the center of Valencia (old, young, drunk, sober, EVERYONE and their mother-THOUSANDS of people), and listen to about 5 minutes of the loudest explosions I have ever heard, then casually get on with their day. Little kids are constantly running around BLOWING things up like its no big deal, while their parents laugh over their café con leche. On multiple occasions I was convinced that I was going to die.

I’m certain that I did a horrible job explaining the madness that is las fallas, but take my word for it; it was without a doubt, one of the strangest things that I have ever witnessed. The more I tried to figure it all out in my head, the more confusing it got, and by the end, I decided that it was something I should just enjoy and not question.

Besides having a wonderfully confusing time doing falla-y things, I had the best time with Rosa, catching up, exploring the city, and eating bañuelos (kinda like a donut that you dip in chocolate. Yum.) I feel in love with Rosa’s apartment, the palm trees, the SUNSHINE, the people, and the food. Rosa could not have treated me better, and saying goodbye to her was one of the hardest things in the world. I am truly blessed to have met her, and love her for putting up with “Las Fallas” for me.

Fun Facts:

-I spent 10 hours on a bus getting back to Granada from Valencia. I could have flown to Baltimore in less time.

-I made it to and from Valencia without losing anything or falling. I think I deserve a reward.

-At my internship, one of the ladies was celebrating her birthday, and I found out that in Spain, it’s normal to eat birthday cake at 10:30 in the morning. They call it second breakfast, and I am SO not complaining.

-It has been rainier this year than in the last 40 year. And I was told it NEVER rains in Granada. What a lie.

-I had midterms this week (see Uncle John, I do work too)

-I had mushrooms this week, and after years of hating them, don’t think they are that bad.

-I am going to Italy in 3 days.

-Tomorrow is supposed to be 67 and sunny 

I think I am the luckiest girl in the entire world. Sending love and warm weather your way, I’ll post again after Spring Break!

Me Caes Bien

Every week or so, I discover a new Spanish phrase that I just can’t get enough of. The first one that I loved was “esta para mojar pan”, which basically means danggg boyy you are looking good (but literally it means to be for wetting bread—I don’t know its tricky to translate, but trust me, it’s a good thing). This week, I learned “me caes bien” which is equally as weird to translate. It literally means “you fall on me well”, and it is what you say to someone you get along well with, or you like. And I think it is wonderful. I keep trying to use it with things besides people, but I am told it doesn’t work like that; Spanish is weird sometimes.

Regardless, I like the idea that people just fall together well, kind of like how my life has fallen together over the last six weeks: it has fallen on me well. I am in a lovely routine of waking up just a tad earlier than I would prefer, having café con leche, going to classes, having the BEST food I have EVER eaten in my life for lunch, then going to my internship, then seeing my lovely friends. On the weekends, I have plans to travel, and when I am not traveling I am exploring and falling more in love with Granada.

I think I have this sense of calm here, and I feel like I am beginning to see what I really want out of life. I feel like I have spent the last 20 years of my life under the impression that if its okay not to be happy in the present, if it will help make you happy in the future. I struggled through four years of vigorous training under the assumption that if I practiced to the point of pain everyday that one day I would run really fast and I would be happy. I suffered through an internship, which sorry to say, I hated, under the assumption that it would look good on a resume and then I would get a job and be happy.

I think, maybe, just maybe, in our culture, there is an idea that if you suffer now, one day you will be happy, or maybe it’s just a personal problem. Or really, if I really wanted to, I could trace it back to religious ideas that involve suffering but I wont go there. But either way, I’m just SO over it. I want to be happy now. I am happy now. No, I am not dropping out of college, or moving to Spain (yet), or blowing all my money (okay I kind of am). I have not lost my mind. I have just decided that I want to be happy always and I am going to do everything in my power to make that happen.

Okay, I’m over that hippie rant. Moving on, I went to Crodoba last Friday, and it was amazing. My favorite part was visiting this old old old (think 900’s old) city that used to be amazing, but then got destroyed by a civil war and buried for years and years until one day a farmer was digging in his field and stumbled upon it- or something like that. They have currently only uncovered 10% of the city, but it was so crazy cool that I didn’t even mind that it was pouring. We also saw the mosque, which is also old and beautiful. And I will be taking a test on all of the parts of it, and could (hopefully) give you a great description of all the cool details, but I only know how to say it in Spanish, so that's awkward.

 

Fails of the week:

- It has rained more here in the last month than it did ALL year last year. Obviously.

-I was walking along the mosque with my head in the clouds, and tripped in the absolutely most dramatic way possible and landed right on my camera. Needless to say, my camera did not like that very much and is a little on the broken side. On the plus side, with a few more falls I can dedicate an entire album of pictures just for my falls.

-Brenna and I attempted to go bowling. We took the right bus the wrong way and ended up in the complete wrong place. Good times.

Wins of the week

-I had my first dream in Spanish (it was about me not being allowed into a church fair, strange but in Spanish so I’ll take it

-I had PASTA. And it was amazing.

-My days of pizza box folding finally paid off when I was told to fold filing boxes at my internship. I beasted it.

-Brenna and I went running 3 days in a row. I’m not sure if you understand how much of an accomplishment it is, but trust me it is.

-I get to see Rosa this weekend in Valencia (I am praying for no travel fails)

-I get to see Mommy in less than two weeks!!

As a summary, Spain falls on me well.

That time I went to Madrid and got stuck in a snow storm

So I went to Granada thinking “wow this is GREAT I get to miss winter and I won’t have to deal with snow”. Now, I do go to Ithaca so, over the years, I have accepted snow as a part of life. Yeah yeah yeah I get it, snow soooo pretty to watch fall. But I am not so pretty to watch fall and snow makes everything so slippery that my downward tumbles are inevitable. Regardless, I was sure that I had run away to a land far far away where snow only existed on the mountaintops in the distance. But, as luck would have it, the day I left for Madrid, Granada was under a blanket of snow (I told you the travel gods hate me). I am actually just blowing everything way out of proportion, our bus was delayed for an hour or so and we waited out the “snowstorm of the decade” in a cute little café.

By the time we (I went with a group of 11 people from my program because we didn’t have classes Thursday or Friday) got to Madrid we were a little tired so after we checked into our hostel, which was, by the way a little dirty and I’d really rather not think too much about it, we went to the Reina Sofia to leisurely stroll around. I am convinced that after two hours in the museum I saw absolutely nothing. No, that’s a lie, I saw Guernica, which is by Pablo Picasso, and pretty cool, but other than that I spent most of the time trying to figure out why the layout was so confusing. I am, as I have said repeatedly, really good at wandering around lost and confused.

As to not have a repeat performance of getting lost in the museum, I decided to take a guided walking tour of the city the next morning, and that was pretty amazing. Although I saw a lot of famous/historic/once in a lifetime things, the best thing that I did was go to check out the gardens at the Prado later that night. As the sun was setting, we explored the gardens and it was like I was in Alice in Wonderland. I was so relaxed and happy and I feel like even though I had seen so many “have to see things” that morning, it was more life changing to just walk around and absorb everything that night.

The next day, we headed off to Toledo and I fell in love right away. It is a charming and quaint extremely old and historic. Our hostel was beautiful and there was a rooftop view that was like a little slice of heaven. We saw the cathedral (they started the construction in 1227!), but then a group of us spent the afternoon wandering around. We found this quiet area on the outskirts of the city and spent hours just talking about life and love and the pursuit of happiness. But really. We did. And it was great. Then I had a bacon hamburger and fries and mint chocolate chip ice cream and my life was complete.

I think the most important thing that I have learned this weekend, and in my past month in general, is that life is really not about sight seeing and taking a ton of pictures in front of really old things. Although I have taken far too many pictures, I am learning that life is not about running around to check things off a list. It is not about where you take the picture, but who you take it with. And that leads me to the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the last week: my mom is coming to ITALY with me!! I burst into tears when she said she was thinking about visiting me, and I get teary just thinking about how excited I am to see her. I am absolutely not homesick here. I am in love with Granada, but I have realized how important my family and friends are, because at the end of the day, they are what makes my life so great. So I am so grateful for all of you guys, for the friends I have made here, you guys are making this the best time of my life, and my friends and family at home, who have given me the confidence to be here, I miss you guys!

Fun facts about my life:

-I have apparently been eating rabbit meat pretty consistently since I have been here, and just realized it.

-I tried pig liver and squid with ink, both interesting and probably a one time thing

-I witnessed, at 6 on a Sunday afternoon, an old lady walk into a café, take a shot of alcohol, and causally walk out. I want to be her one day.

-My host dad just taught me how to clean a fish and popped out the eyeballs as he was talking to me. I will never be the same.

-Out of all my friends, I am the only one too short to take cool wall pictures and have the cuts to prove it.