This week in Spain has been, and still is, my favorite way to experience the true culture of this city. The week started with watching a soccer game in a bar between Real Madrid and Liverpool. It was funny because our professor was secretly rooting for Liverpool. The people of Granada, of course, were all Real Madrid fans. We were only in a small pub, but it was still so easy to see how it is a lifestyle for them. The people all around us were cheering, eating, and drinking beer like it was water. It wasn’t a normal event that I would attend, but it was a lot of fun to see how into the sport people get. I can only image what it would have been like to be in the stadium watching.
I only had internship for one day this week because I wasn’t feeling well and Corpus Christi started. The teacher in my internship classroom has been working with me to learn more Spanish. The children need to be talked to quite often, especially while feeding them. It’s been a little difficult to encourage them to eat, or engage them in play when I only know enough Spanish to get by around town. Conchi has been a great help in teaching me all sorts of new phrases. It helped my Monday go a lot smoother. For once, one the students actually ate all of her food and liked it. She usually puts up a fight and is sometimes even force fed. It was a good feeling to see her happy even if it was only for a day.
On Wednesday, the fun of Corpus Christi began. The morning started with a parade called La Tarasca. It is my favorite of the two parades that happen during the holiday. It starts with people on stilts dressed as Queen Isabella and Fernando. Behind them are people dressed in giant paper mache heads. They almost look like real life bobble heads. They carry dried pig bladders that have been inflated to resemble balloons. It is tradition for them to walk around and hit people on the head with them. It is a short parade that ends with a manikin riding a dragon, wearing the “it” fashion for the next coming festival year. This year the dress was baby blue with a few large jewels.
Thursday was the actual holiday of Corpus Christi. The parade was very very long and moved slowly. It started with the Tarasca leading the way. Unfortunately, the people with the pig bladder balloons stopped in front of us. All was fine until they decided to corner me and the Professors wife. Multiple people from the parade blocked me and Cassie in and were hitting us non stop. It was so bad that our Professor came running across the street to yell at them to get them off of us. It was pretty painful since the bladders are much harder than an actual balloon. Not to mention it is a little traumatic to be beaten with pig bladders. Despite all that, my favorite part was seeing Father Ildefonso walking in the parade.
On both Wednesday and Thursday night a group of us went to the fair. For the whole week of Corpus Christi there is a fair on the outskirts of town. One section is bars and clubs while the other is all rides and games. Aly and I split a stick of cotton candy that was bigger than our heads. My heart and inner child was beyond happy. My host mom also played a game similar to skee ball and won a car vacuum. I thought it was funny that of all the prizes she picked the most practical item they had. We walked around for a while looking at all the rides and the mass amount of string lights everywhere. A couple of us decided to stay out late and dance in the clubs. It was nice to just stay out with the girls and have a fun and relaxing night.
On Friday we visited the Alhambra and the Summer Palace next to it. I saw it last year but it was still so breath taking. The detail throughout it is exquisite. You can see all of Granada from it as it is on top of a hill. It is now surrounded by trees and forest, but at one point in time the hill was all dirt. It was designed to be able to see if any enemies were approaching. I feel like I could see the Alhambra another five times and see not see everything. I didn’t understand why the Summer Palace is located next to the Alhambra until I learned it used to be its own city. The Summer Palace was full of gardens. The roses were so many colors and some were even tie-dye. There were fountains of water everywhere and reflection pools. Even though the structure was large we weren't allowed to see much of the interior. It made me wonder if the rooms inside look similar to the ones in the Alhambra.
Friday night was my favorite thing we have done in the past three weeks. We all go to attend a bullfight. Last year we went to a bullfight and I was absolutely in love and amazed by the sport. There is so much history behind it that to me, it is not a violent event. There were three toreros and six bulls. Each terero got two chances to show their skill. After the bull had been tired out they would preform a routine that had been practiced beforehand. The awards are given very informally. There is a judges panel, but the crowd also has a large say in who wins. They show their approval by screaming and waving white handkerchiefs. One of the bullfighters was from Granada and another was only 21 years old. I couldn’t imagine risking my life as a profession at my age. The torero from Granada was unbelievably skilled and brave. He was able to control the bull while on his knees. This was risky considering if the bull didn’t move exactly the way he wanted, he would have been seriously hurt or killed. He did such a phenomenal job that he got two standing ovations from the crowd and received two bull’s ears. It was really exciting to see him perform because last year I got to watch his father preform his last show ever before his retirement. It was so much fun and such a great way to experience the culture of Spain. This week has been so much fun and I can't wait to see what more is to come.
