Sonrisas y Lagrimas

Title explanation: Sonrisas y Lagrimas is actually the name in Spanish for The Sound of Music, but it literally translates to "smiles and tears," which makes this appropriate for my reflection on the last week in Spain.


The entrance way to Feria. One of my favorite photos that I've taken.

So, our last week was filled with Feria and parties (por supuesto). We kicked off the last week with a party at Feria where we had arroz (paella), danced, and drank a variety of beverages (I'm sure lots of people chose alcohol...the extreme heat told me I should pick a more hydrating beverage). All in all, it was a fun day, despite the crazy heat.

A couple of days later, we had the Lluvia de las Estrellas - a talent show of the cultural courses (Sevillanas, Coro, and Guitarra) and a big party for the families, friends, professors, and students. That day was definitely a blast! It was a little bit bittersweet, especially knowing that the semester was at an end and we'd all be leaving for whatever adventures awaited us in the summer, but it was great way to top off the semester. Despite nearly falling (perhaps dancing in 3-inch stilettos should be saved for the likes of Ginger Rogers, but my black heels just looked better with the dress) on the second Sevillana, I would like to say our performance went rather well.

Then, we said "adios" to Cordoba, once and for all, and packed all of our suitcases on a bus to Madrid. There were tears (none shed by me, though...perhaps it's my calm, collected, stoic Asian-ness?), smiles, and promises to visit one another. It was a nice (long) bus ride up to Madrid (even with the hail), and there was a rather lively game of "Never Have I Ever" going on the in the back of the bus that turned into "Somebody come up with something that Sarah has done" since 3 people got out before I even put one finger down (haha!).

I would like to return to Cordoba someday, preferably for Feria or Patios or some sort of fiesta, but before it gets above 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fiesta Time!

As I have mentioned before, Spain is well-known for going out all the time and it often seems that they party more than they work. Well, there is a very good explanation for this (which I have just learned). Spain is mainly an import country, so they don't really export a lot of goods, which means their economy is much more dependent of tourism and the general population going out all the time. It's actually better for Spain's economy for people to be out shopping, eating, drinking, etc. instead of working all the time. It all makes sense, now!

Anyway, May in Spain (especially in Andalucía and Córdoba) feels like even more of a party month. In Córdoba, the first weekend of May was Cruces de Mayo. Basically, there were a bunch of crosses around the city decorated with flowers surrounded by people getting drunk. It was an ok festival...a huge crowd of people standing around outside doing nothing but getting drunk isn't exactly what I had in mind (I expected music and dancing in addition to the druken crowd).

In the second week or so, there's the Patio contest, which my host house is a part of...and should have won, but the weird rules led to them not getting anything. I didn't quite understand when my host mother told us in a rapid frustrated manner, but I know that it's a sore subject, and refuse to ask clarification. I got the basic jist - they were robbed of first place, despite a handful of judges thinking that they deserved it. I, personally, only found one other patio to be as guay as ours, and that was our next door neighbor's patio.

After the patios, we went to a Romería. How do I describe Romería? Well, there's a religious aspect (every Romería has a specific saint and every pueblo [little country town] has a Romería) in which there's a parade that follows a float (of sorts) with a statue of the saint from a church in the center of town to a church in the middle of the town. Basically, it was a giant party where people ate paella (a really bad one that tasted like it had fake fish flavor instead of real fish flavor), drank, and danced Sevillanas. Anyone catch a pattern here - festivals with religious meanings, but everyone just gets drunk. Actually, Romería was a lot of fun, since there was more to do than just drink, and I got to dance a lot of Sevillanas. The 4-mile pilgrimage was also very beautiful as we were walking through the olive fields.

After that, there was a blues festival, which was a lot of fun. Over three days, there was a series of free (always a plus) outdoor concerts. It was a lot of fun getting together with everyone to watch the concerts and celebrate the end of classes and finals.

This past weekend, I went to Cádiz (not a traditional Spanish festival, but an AWESOME day, nonetheless). Cádiz was gorgeous, and despite the wind that blew sand at us all day, it was a fabulous day. I'm so glad I was able to go to the beach and that I went with a great group of people.

Now, we have Fería, which is a huge county faire. It makes me want to eat something fried and/or sugary that isn't particularly good for you (like fried dough or a funnel cake).

El Fin (Almost)

As classes come to an end, I've been thinking about my time here in Spain. We only have a little more than 2 weeks in Spain, and all of the Preshquitas/os are well aware of this fact. Every time someone asks if I'm excited or ready to go home, I have a conflicted response.

Honestly, I have been ready to go home for a little while. Yes, Spain is great, but it's not home. I feel like this homesickness has been brought on by the sobering reality that I am going to graduate from college next year, that I won't be back home (California) until Thanksgiving, and that someday, I will be referring to my parent's house as just that and not as my home because I will have my own place that I call home (and pay the bills for...this last one dawned on me as I took care of my summer housing and had to sign a lease for the first time).

At the same time, I don't want to leave Spain because there are so many things I love about it (like, how going out to eat or get a coffee is a 3 hour affair where you relax and enjoy the company of friends and family or that the workday is really split into the morning and the evening, and you spend the afternoon relaxing at home with the family).

I think, I am a lot more excited for the end of May because I'm going to embark on what I'm calling the "Heritage Tour" in which I will be visiting Northern Europe with my dad and grandma. I call it the "Heritage Tour" because we will be heading to countries where our ancestors hail from (and anyone who knows me very well knows that I really love being part Swedish...going to Sweden has been a dream of mine for a while, now...I hope I get to see the fjords [*hint hint* Dad *hint hint*].

I think the fact that I'm a) not leaving Europe right away at the end of the program and b) the end of the program means I get to see a couple of family members makes me answer "yes" to the questions about being ready to go home/excited for the end. Besides, we're staying for the fun stuff, and then it gets into June, which means ridiculous summer heat (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit pretty much all the time...ew). So, yes, I am looking forward to the end. Studying abroad in Spain has been an amazing and wonderful opportunity and chapter in my life, but I am ready to move on to the next chapters, which include the "heritage tour," a summer internship, and senior year of college.