Feria

I have now seen the first couple days of la Feria, and I think it's almost as big as Semana Santa. Some Spanish people save up their money all year for Feria. The casetas (tents) and rides and games and food carts take up so much space, I wonder what they do with that space during the other weeks in the year. Many, many women dress in bright flamenco dresses. I took the special event bus to Feria on the first day and saw all these colorful skirts standing in the long line that went down the block. Traffic was so bad, it might have almost been faster for me to walk. It's about 45 minute to an hour walk from my apartment to the Feria.

Once I got to Feria, I noticed a lot of horses. Sometimes it's hard to cross the street, there are so many horses trotting about. There are no cars in Feria, but it's interesting to see horses with carriages venturing out into the street and mingling among the cars. A horse and carriage carrying people in traditional Andalucian garb looks a bit out of place among the buses and taxis. Riding in a carriage is very expensive, and is a sign of status.

I think I mentioned casetas before. They are temporary tents people set up for the week of Feria. They serve food and drinks inside, and people dance "sevillanas" to the music they play. Some of the casetas are very elaborate inside. I saw one with lovely decorations, including a fountain! Remember, these are only set up for this one week out of the entire year. Most casetas are private, and they have security at the entrances to make sure only owners and invited guests come in. (This is another sign of status.)

Luckily, I visited Feria with a friend who knew a Spanish person who had access to a caseta. We went in and spent some time munching on little desserts and watching people dance. Spaniards learn to dance from a very young age. I saw a couple of little girls who looked about 5 years old dancing. Angel tells me that everyone learns to dance young, though some are better than others. It is more common for the women to pursue their dancing talents.

The food looked very good, there were tapas everywhere. It was all very expensive, though, so we didn't order any. Apparently Feria has its own drink, the rebujito. It's manzanilla (white wine that is "muy suave") with 7-up or Sprite. Feria has rebujito, Semana Santa has torrija, I wonder what foods and drinks are characteristic of the other holidays.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Lagos, Portugal, and I get back on Sunday night. I don't think the reality of my upcoming exams will sink in until then, when I scramble to make the most of my last week of classes. There's not a lot I can do to prepare before we do our class reviews, though. My portfolio for my seminar is almost done, and I just have to put together a short presentation on Jews in Spain for next week. I think this is all managable.

Pictures:
1) crowds and casetas
2) a game where you try to throw a shoe and hit George Bush (sound familiar?)
3) mom and daughter wearing matching flamenco dresses
4) dancing in a caseta
5) a couple of my new Spanish acquaintances, plus Brittney
6) one of the many carriages
7) a giant dish of paella
8) part of the amusement park portion
9) more matching dresses
10) little children riding miniature cars in their flamenco dresses and "trajes cortos" (short suits)
11) even the little ones in strollers get dressed up
12) men in trajes cortos on their horses
13) ladies in flamenco dresses waiting in line for the bus to Feria
14) the house of terror
15) rides, rides...
16) and more rides

Another weekend with Jews

During the weekend, Sara from the Passover seder came to visit. She had already seen the Plaza de España and la Catedral during her first visit, so we spent most of our time walking around and seeing some of the less touristy things. We went to the Alcázar and walked through the gardens. We wandered through Parque María Louisa and around the river that cuts through part of the city. We also walked around the Centro and enjoyed delicious ice cream flavors.

Yesterday we went to where Feria is set up. It technically doesn't start until midnight tonight, but it seemed to mostly be up and running. Casetas are little tents that are set up in long rows next to the temporary amusement park (Calle de Infierno, or Hell's Road). Most of the casetas are private, but some are open to the public. People go inside to eat, drink, and make merry. It's hard to believe that I have a second week of vacation from school. It was fun wandering around the Feria and taking in the sights, but I don't think I'll be directly participating in it as much as some of the other people I know. Everything is expensive, from the food to the rides, and it's honestly not that different from the boardwalks and amusement parks I visit at home. I think I'll be an observer this week. I can watch other people get drunk in the casetas and ride the rides. Perhaps it's better that I watch from a distance...

Sara and I took a lot of pictures in the parks while she was here. Feria pictures will come soon.
Pictures:
1) my lovely university
2-4) climbing trees
5) the gate into Feria
6) a man in one of the plazas blowing bubbled for the children
7-9) the gardens of Alcázar
10) this week they put up new artwork in the Centro
11) one of the fountains inside the Universidad de Sevilla
12) hand feeding doves at the Plaza de América

There is no psychology in Spain

Hello all, quick update. I received an email from my Pitzer adviser last night which began with the following:

"Congratulations! You have met the qualifications for membership in Psi Chi, the national honors society for Psychology majors."

This is very exciting! However, because I am abroad, I am unable to sign the paperwork and participate in the initiation ceremony. My adviser has advised me to join next year, if I think I can keep my GPA up and stay in the top third of my class (which I think I can), so I'll wait until then when I can actually do this without complications.

One of the things I miss most about Pitzer is taking Psychology classes. I'm very excited about the courses I'm taking next semester. If all goes well with registration, I'll be taking two psych classes (Psych of Work and Family; Memory and Language with Lab), a sociology class (Sociology of Emotions), two choirs, working my job at HEO, and researching with psychology professors (the same ones who are teaching Psych of Work and Family, actually). I'm going to be busy as ever. That also means that I'll finish all my major and graduation requirements early. Knowing me, even with all my requirements done, I'll still be busy as ever senior year.

Time flies

Only three more weeks to go! The semester goes by slowly while I'm living in it, but looking back it seems much shorter. Change of plans for this weekend, Sara is coming up from Jerez to visit and I'm going to show her around Sevilla on Saturday and Sunday. She's one of the nice Jewish girls I met at the seder during Semana Santa. She's from Baltimore, and she's spending her junior year (of high school!) in Spain. Very impressive. I have decided that showing Jews around Sevilla is a recipe for fun.

Next week is la Feria, which will be a whirl of tents, carnival rides, horses, and flamenco costumes. I'll post pictures once it gets started. Thursday through Sunday I'll be in Lagos, Portugal. I then have one week of classes, a weekend in Cádiz, and one week of finals. I have four finals to study for, one presentation (about Jews in Spain), and two essays for Pitzer to finish. I'm still working with Marc on a few details of our Europe trip, but most of the larger pieces have fallen into place and we're starting to get a better idea of what we'll be doing. These next couple of weeks are going to be busy, stressful, and fun.

Pictures (a few leftovers from Ronda):
1) one of the lovely gardens
2) classical guitarists play in the parks (and sell to the tourists)
3) a man asking directions from a young Rondan
4) a very classy Spanish menu
5) Gregorian chant music in one of the displays in the church (I learned to read this with Professor Kamm way back in freshman year)
6) very pretty street vendor jewelry

Happy Spanish birthday

I turned 21 yesterday! Mercedes told me she would cook whatever I liked for lunch, so I was expecting to eat well. I was not expecting the lovely birthday lunch I got yesterday. They set the nice table in the living room (we have always eaten in the kitchen). The entire family ate together, which has only happened once or twice while I've been here. Usually I just eat my meals with Angel, or sometimes Angel and one of my host brothers. So the table was set and my host parents forced me to sit and not help while they set the table and brought out food. I really wanted to help, especially since they were giving me such a nice lunch, but they insisted on taking care of it.

I noticed the table was set for six, when the doorbell rang. It was Allison! Allison is a friend from class who volunteers at the same school I volunteer at (a job I set her up with) on Thursdays with Mercedes. Apparently Mercedes had invited her over the day before. We'd been trying to find a time for Allison to join us for a meal for awhile, and it was such a nice surprise to have a friend over for lunch. After lunch, I was surprised again with an ice cream cake and candles. I finally got a picture with the family, too! It was a lovely celebration, and I think I have the perfect host family.

Today the Geranios program had an excursion to Ronda. It's a very pretty city with lots and lots of cliffs and spectacular views. I took over 300 photos, but they just look so 2-dimensional compared to the real views. Coming up to the edge of those cliffs to take pictures was pretty scary, even though there are barriers.

I can't believe that in four weeks, I'll be in Madrid with Marc. I'm very excited about that and the time leading up to it. I should probably start studying for my finals soon. Most of my classes give 50% of my grade for the midterm and the other 50% for the final. The Spanish students have it much worse. Some of their classes are year-long, and their entire grade is based on one giant cumulative final on all the material they learned that year. It sounds absolutely terrifying.

I will probably be traveling every weekend up until I leave Sevilla. If all goes according to plan, I'll go to Granada next weekend and stay with Elliot and his roommates for a couple of days. Elliot is the friend from my Jewish internship who visited me here a couple of weeks ago. I'd love to see him again while we're both still in the country, and I sure wouldn't mind seeing Granada again either. The following weekend I'm going to Lagos, Portugal with the DiscoverSevilla program. I'm probably going to room with Hillary and Brittney, two friends I've hung out with in Sevilla. The next weekend, Geranios is taking us to Cadiz for an overnight trip, and Hillary and I will be rooming together there too. I have two weeks of classes, one week of vacation (Feria), and one week of finals left. The rest of my time here is going to go by very quickly.

I have some leftover pictures from the end of Semana Santa, and I don't want to neglect Ronda, so there will be a lot of pictures today. I have also been asked to post pictures of my apartment, so you'll see one here.

Pictures:
1) my apartment building, the top balcony is mine
2) my neighborhood, with the same rentable bikes you'll see all over the city
3-5) flowers in the park next to my university, I had fun taking pictures the last day of Semana Santa
6) Angel, Mercedes, Alex, Alvaro, me, and a delicious cake. The boys have their serious movie star faces down pat.
7-12) Ronda, with steep cliffs and the tallest bridge I've ever seen
13) in Ronda, you get fined for not picking up after your dog
14) inside the cathedral in Ronda
15) some people taking their dogs for a... walk?

End of Semana Santa

Semana Santa is officially over. What a lovely week it was. I went out every day this week and saw some wonderful things. I don't have much to report that's new, I pretty much needed an excuse to post the last pictures I took. Enjoy.

Pictures:
1) random nazareno walking down the street
2) fuchsia nazareno barefoot with his cross, just chilling