Tenerife- Las Canarias

A week in a small island off the coast of Northern Africa during the second largest party in the world- sounds relaxing, right? Hah. We (me, Joey, Pat, and Hasaan) thought it would be a great idea to go to Las Islas Canarias (the Canary Islands) for Carnavales (the festival right before la Cuaresma- lent; it’s most comparable to Mardi Gras in New Orleans except about ten times larger). We were all ready for a change in climate and I really wanted to get some sun. Our flight from Madrid to Tenerife left at about 8:40 AM, and the first bus from Segovia to Madrid leaves at about 7, so we had to spend the night in the airport- bad idea number one. We arrived in Santa Cruz de Tenerife at about 11:00 AM, and of course, it was raining; however, we were lucky in that it only rained the first day. After that it was only sun- hot, really close to the equator, shirtless without sunscreen sun (needless to say, bad idea number two). They changed our hotel last minute, but I don’t think it really altered the trip. One of the reasons we chose Tenerife is that it’s actually part of Spain, thus we assumed that the people there would speak Spanish (bad idea/assumption number three). It turns out that Tenerife is actually one the most frequently visited islands by all of Europe. Due to the poor weather in Northern Europe, our hotel was filled with old German and English couples- and I can honestly say that we were probably the only Americans on the entire island. Most of the people that worked in the hotel spoke three or four languages, so we hardly ever got to speak in Spanish. I would even begin a conversation with someone in Spanish, and 9 times out of 10, they would respond to me in English. Back to the hotel- we had a package deal, so we had breakfast and one other meal each day. I was really excited about this; I thought I might to get to eat something close to American food (again…not so). For breakfast, there were whole tomatoes, odd cereals, and hard-boiled eggs among other things. For dinner, we always had some type of pasta, salchichas (what Germans call a bratwurst, but they were really more like perritos calientes, or hot dogs), and finally some fatty piece of meat. I think the food made us all a little queasy. The first night we were in Puerta de la Cruz (the city of our hotel), we decided to go to Santa Cruz, the main site for nightlife. We got to the bus station at about midnight and I have never been so scared in my life, nor have I ever seen so many men dressed as women. A girl in line in front of us (with un disfraze, or costume) asked us if we knew what happened to people who didn’t have costumes. We had no idea, and we were quite surprised to find out that in Brazil, they are beaten and spray-painted. I think she was merely trying to scare us (and it worked). They bus ride itself was a fiesta. Upon arriving in Santa Cruz, we were greeted with what could best be described as a state fair. Many rides, food stands, and artisans lined the streets. After the rides, the dancing and the singing began and everyone but us had a costume. Fortunately, we were not beaten or spray-painted. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. Oddly enough, the majority of the people that were in Santa Cruz were Spaniards. We went home that night knowing that we had to buy costumes the next day. We slept in the next day, and in the afternoon, we looked for costumes. We decided that being soccer players would be the easiest route. They jerseys were cheap and we could always wear them again (something tells me that I would not have had much use for a female police uniform). We decided to stay in Puerta Cruz for the night and we really had a great time. I danced most of the night and we even joined several Congo lines. After that night, we decided to take a break from the night-scene and spent the next two days enjoying the weather and the black sand beaches. The Tuesday before we left was the big parade in Santa Cruz, so we took a bus at about 1:00PM to get a good seat. The parade was different than I had expected, but I still had a good time. The people in the parade ranged from those dressed as Abe Lincoln and Santa Claus to Michael Jackson and Fidel Castro- pretty interesting. There were also a lot of very traditionally dressed groups that were playing guitars and dancing. We went home late that night and checked out of the hotel at noon the next day. I got really burnt the last day because we spent most of the day outside. The waves in Tenerife were much larger than any I had ever seen and the water was amazingly blue. Our flight to Madrid was only about 3 hours, but it did not arrive until midnight. I had to wait about 45 minutes to get my luggage, and then it was off to another night in the airport. I finally slept for about an hour somewhere between 3 and 5. The first bus to Segovia leaves at 6:30, and we had class at 11, so we felt rushed to get home. We had to take a bus from one terminal to another (which proved to be a more difficult task than expected) and then take the Metro to the bus station. We finally made it to Segovia at about 9 AM, just in time to take a nap and get to class. I had never felt so happy to be back in Segovia. For some reason, the trip to Tenerife really made me homesick. I returned to a lot of work with not a lot of energy, but all is well now. I’m almost caught up and I’ve been able to sleep well the past few nights. We have our first test in Art and Architecture on Monday- so I had better study instead writing on my blog. One more thing- I’m finding it harder and harder to speak and write intelligently in English- or Spanish for that matter

Zamarramala

This is a little late, but I wanted to talk about the festival of Santa Agueda- a great experience. We left early in the morning (about 9 or 10, which is early in Spain) to walk to Zamarramala, one of the barrios of Segovia, for la festival de Santa Agueda. The story goes that many years ago when Spain was under Moorish rule, the moors overtook el Alcázar (or the castle) of Segovia. Los maridos (husbands) of all the women that lived in Zamarramala were captured in the Alcázar too. So all the women dressed up in their finest dresses and danced the 5 km to the Alcázar in order to entice the moors and save their husbands. Of course, it worked, and the moors were so enthralled with the women that the husbands were able to defeat the moors and escape from the castle. For this, one Sunday in early February, the women are in charge of this little pueblo. They have honorary alcaldesas (female mayors) and the women dance just as they did many years ago. The entire city has one giant fiesta and then goes to misa (mass). Afterwards, they burn an effigy of a man in the plaza mayor and the alcaldesas give feminist speeches. There’s a lot more to the history of the festival and why it’s on a certain date, but I only understand it in Spanish. Maybe when I get home I can sort through it all and figure it out in English. We ate really good food (pinchos morunos- which are pork kabobs) and danced in the streets. The whole day had a real Spanish feel, not touristy at all.

Toledo

Yesterday we went Toledo and it is difficult to find words to describe how beautiful it really was. I keep running into that problem- words and pictures just can’t do justice to explain what these places are like. There is so much history and culture that spans thousands and thousands of years. Each little church or castle tells a hundred stories of different rulers, different religions, and different people. Toledo was once one of the few places in Spain where religious toleration was acceptable. The Jews, Christians, and the Mores lived together peacefully and the architecture in Toledo largely reflects this fact. We went to a synagogue that had Christian symbols at the altar and Muslim-esque architecture. The paisaje, or landscape, in Toledo absolutely took my breath away. With a gurgling river on one side and a giant wall on the other side, Toledo was safe from attacks on all fronts. Toledo is also home to the second largest Cathedral in Spain. The architecture and statues in the Cathedral were both amazing. After the Cathedral we ate lunch in a garden, and the weather was perfect. All in all this has been one of the best weeks of my life. Ups and downs, frustration and elation- things are starting to get easier. My conversational skills have greatly improved. Poco a poco- little by little, I’m learning about life and language and culture. The world is on the brink of change, I just hope that I can be a part of it.

Week 2

This week has gone by so fast that I have barely had time to enjoy it. Once again I am overwhelmed by the beauty and challenges that this place brings me every day. Last night in a local bar (Tres BBB’s), we watched the Spanish national soccer team play in un amistoso (a friendly match) against England. It was really a lot of fun to get excited and scream about the match in español. I also had my first Spanish composition due today- 450-500 words about whether justice is equal for all. Seems like an easy feat in my native language, but nigh impossible in español. I think I’m pleased with the result, but it’s so hard to write and express exact thoughts in Spanish. I’m always trying to find a way to say what I mean without actually saying what I want to say. I realize now how much I take for granted my ability to converse freely with friends, family, or strangers. My magnanimous vocabulary in English has been reduced to the merely the basics in Spanish- however, I’m getting better. Maybe in time I can reach the same level in Spanish that I have obtained in English. Tomorrow we are traveling to Toledo by bus. I don’t really know much about Toledo, but I’m sure that it will be just as beautiful as the other places that I have visited. Next week we are traveling to Tenerife- part of the Canary Islands off the coast of northern Africa. It is supposed to be one of the top three places in the world to spend Carnavales (a.k.a. Mardi Gras- except it lasts a week instead of one day). I think I have decided to spend Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in España. There are so many great things to see here that I feel like I need another trip to see the rest of Europe.