The Penultimate Post (NOOOOOOOO!!!!)

Well, as you can see from the title, I have leaving on the brain... we have literally a week and a half left in Oviedo, and then a couple more in Madrid. And... where did five weeks go? Mystery to me, but I´m going to enjoy what I have left.

Tengo demasiado para escribir-- mi lista es casi una página; ¡que pueda escribir bastante rapidamente!

FIRST OF ALL-- a comment from my cousin Laura talked about6 the tradition of letting bulls run in the streets. What a coincidence-- that´s the first thing on my list. First, a short story... when I was little, my dad told me that in Spain, it´s part of the culture to run in front of a bunch of bulls through a closed-off street. I didn´t believe him.

Well, as it happens, it´s true-- it´s part of the festival Sanfermines... in the city of Pamplona, every day this week at 8:00 sharp, there are bulls and there are people and there is running. Homework for culture was to rouse ourselves at 8:00 and watch the television broadcast... it was almost painful to watch because it is so nervewracking... and it wasn´t helped by Mamá´s descriptions of bad episodes in history and accidents (apparently there are a few deaths every year, and a few years ago there was a bunch of drinking and consequently and bunch of deaths. The rules for who can run are more stringent now.) You can probably find a video on Youtube, if you are so inclined. "Sanfermines".

Next topic! Completely unrelated! The excursion to Santiago! Santiago was beeeeeeautiful, and its center was full of ancient buildings. Its cathedral is a tomb of Saint Jacob (I think... Paqui, teacher of literature, explained it that the spanish version of Jacob is Jacobo, pronounced Ha-co-bo, which then was ya-co-bo, then yago, so... san yago, sanyago, Santiago.) We attended the mass of the peregrinos (pilgrims), which occurs every day at 11:00 AM. There was a register for those in attendence, and the priest read the numbers of people from different countries. Japan, the UK, Sweden, the US-- tons and tons of countries all around the world. Also, at the end, they operated a device that I can´t remember the name of... it was something shaped like a gigantic urn that released smoke, and it was swung all over the cathedral with the function of making it smell good. Apparently this device was invented in the 14th century for the churches along the roads to Santiago, as the churches were obligated to let pilgrims sleep in them. (I have a feeling this English is very unclear, pardon.) The pilgrims most likely had not showered in a while (especially since we´re talking about the 14th centuy), and therefore this device was very handy.

Also in Santiago was a virtual tour of Galicia (the province where Santiago is located) that had some really neat stuff. We visited for about 2 hours, and it included a virtual roller coaster complete with chairs with hydraulics for full effect... Lots of 3D videos (and thanks to physics I know how they work, haha, thanks Portle). Excellent stuff.

Okay, story that appears unrelated, but that will connect back to Santiago (ooh, tricksy.) In Bloomington, there´s a "restaurant" (I guess... I don´t really know how to describe it) called Bloomington Bagel Company. I know thanks to Dennis that for each interesting picture with a bagel (for example in front of the cathedral of Santiago), they give you a dozen free bagels. WELL. I´m always up for free bagels, but as it transpires, there are no bagels in Spain (¡que pena!) In the Middle Ages Market in Santiago, however (where all the venders had costumes and the wares were similar to those you might find 500 years ago, only more colorful, more sanitary, and probably more appetizing), a kiosk had pastries very similar to bagels, only quite greasy and half the size. I´ll have to explain to the BBB that my pictures are taken with a bagel of Spain. The other students couldn´t figure out what I was doing with a mini-bagel, putting it in the arms of statues and having people take pictures of me holding it in front of old buildings... let´s just say that I´ve explained it more than once.

Semi-new topic: Though I´m in Spain, the fourth of July did NOT go uncelebrated. As a group, before we left Santiago, we all sang the national anthem in English (GASP!) and later wrote it down and translated it to Spanish in small groups. We also had a quiz about things of America, such as famous people on various denominations of money, state capitals, and the location of the Liberty Bell. Later, in the house, Mamá went all-out, starting with signs with flags on the doors of our rooms and pastries with flags on toothpicks stuck in them. For dinner we had pizza (something that I´ve missed tremendously) and frizuelos (Spanish crepes, filled with CHOCOLATE... it has been added to the list of recipes I need to obtain.) Later, gifts of fans and a red and white bag for each of us. I love my family here. (Many of the other students said that their families didn´t celebrate, and that they were crying that night. Definitely no crying for Taylor and I!)

And Now for Something Completely Different. This week has been my week to realize that the things we study in class actually exist! Julieta Venegas´"Limón y Sal," which we studied/listened to nonstop freshman year was playing in school the other day during break. "Corazon Espinada," which we studied this year, was one of the songs on a program similar to "Don´t Forget the Lyrics." Also, in the house are the books Paula and Platero y Yo, excerpts of which we read in class. When you´re not expecting anything familiar, it´s kind of an unnerving experience to suddenly run across a blazing light of familiarity.

Jumping topics again... it´s lots of fun to hear Spanish jokes. I have a couple of puns in Spanish now (too bad my dad, King of Terrible Puns, doesn´t speak Spanish. Jessie will appreciate them.) It´s nothing new that America isn´t terribly popular with the rest of the world at the moment, but there´s nothing to underscore it like the fact that in Spanish jokes, Americans hold a role equivalent to blonde lawyers. (They´re good jokes, though...) Also, the Spanish stereotypes of Americans are that all we eat are hamburgers, and that we can buy guns at the supermarket. (The guns thing has come up with three different people at this point, because in Spain, ya´can´t buy guns.)

Speaking of America, you know how the economy isn´t so strong right now? Turns out Spain´s isn´t either-- and the term used to describe the situation is "crisis". It stems from the difference between the old currency of pesados (ooh, I don´t think that´s the right word) and Euros. When Spain made the switch, everything got more expensive, and things aren´t so good right now. The price of electricity jumped by 15% last month (yes, I´m turning off the lights when I´m not in the room.) And in the midst of crisis...

Spanish sports are doing ridiculously well in the world. This week, the Spaniard Madal won Wimbledon, unseating the five-year Swedish champion Federer. (Exciting!) I think this group of students from the U.S. is good luck, don´t you?

In another positive note, I´m noting that my Spanish skills are climbing. My vocabulary has expanded immensely, with the result that I don´t have to grab my dictionary for every other word when I´m reading literature or my Spanish book-- always encouraging. Also, verbs are getting easier still, and I´m not afraid to try more complicated verb patterns. Grammar class is fantastic because I´m learning tons about sentence structure and weird verb conjugations and uses of subjunctive and it´s SO USEFUL because as soon as I get out of class, I can use what I´ve learned. A slightly negative effect of Spain is that I´m absorbing the culture of manners here... In Spain, you do not say, "Would you be so kind as to pass me the bread, please?" You say, "Pásame el pan." In Spain, you do not listen quietly to someone as they´re telling as story-- you interrupt, and finish their sentences, and essentially listen actively... a trait that is generally not recommended in the U.S. When I get back, I think I´ll be a bit rude and a bit direct for awhile. Please bear with me.

My final topic of conversation, is differences in health habits here. On the one hand, everything here is fried and/or covered in olive oil. Fruits and vegetables are rare at best, and it´s generally not healthy. On the other hand, I´m sleeping about 2 hours more here on average than I do in the U.S. (what a wonderful thing, being liberated from stress from school and Science Olympiad, and having lots of time to sleep.) Also, I have to walk everywhere-- probably an average of AT LEAST 40 minutes of each day is spent purely walking (and that´s just from getting to school and back-- it doesn´t include excursions, various expeditions for shopping, and all that.) Also, instead of activities (theatre for me) after school, on Wednesdays we have exercise. I opted out of soccer and instead do Pilates with one of the teachers, which is most definitely excercise. (Can you say sore?) However, Julia (Pilates-savvy teacher) has been sick these last couple of days and therefore everyone had to go for sports. Instead of soccer, however, I organized a game of Capture the Flag (can´t remember the last time I´ve played). Running-intensive. Today, we had a scavenger hunt/riddle fest that involved a ton of running. The upshot of this long and wordy paragraph is that I´m eating worse but getting lots of sleep and lots of exercise. I´m not sure whether I´ll be healthier or not when I get back, but it´s interesting.

Wow, I´m sorry. That last paragraph was probably immensely boring for everyone who is not me.

...voy a irme ahora. ¡Adios, todos! ¡La semana que viene será la última vez escribiendo de España!