This Ain't My First Rodeo

WEAK STOMACHS BEWARE…

You can’t travel to Spain without seeing a traditional Spanish bull fight. Torros, Toreros, red flags, the works. It all began with a grand entrance parade of horses, elaborate costumes, roses, and brave Spaniards.

The only thing I knew about bull fights is what I’ve seen on TV or in movies or the like. The torero (matador) waves his red flag, the bull runs towards it, the torero jukes and gets away. Repeat. The people toss roses into the arena.

Oh was I wrong. These events do not end without some blood shed. Lots of blood shed. It all begins with multiple toreros taunting the bull with their flags, which are more the size of king-sized blankets. They run around, get the bull all riled up until the horses come in (To me, these toreros serve a similar purpose to that of clowns at a rodeo. They seem to be putting on a show, but also help to distract the animal in the arena for the sake of the competitor). The horses have got some intense armor on and remain amazingly calm for any living beast. Oh and did I mention they are blindfolded? The horses stand on either side of the ring and if the bull gets too close, their riders give the bull a nice firm stab or two with a spear. At the sound of music, the horses leave and out come the toreros with the banderillas a.k.a. glorified daggers. One in each hand, the toreros run at the bull and stab it with the banderillas around the neck/top of the spine, 6 total per bull.

Just wait, there’s more…The next stage in the bull fight is possibly the most stressful for the spectator. Alone, the competing torero faces the angry bull. These guys either have some serious guts to do this or they are straight up crazy (I am thinking a little of both). They will actually kneel down on the ground as the bull charges then. One of the most challenging moves is what we would call in English “around the back.” The torero faces one way, taunting the bull with his red flag, then turns around- his back to the bull- and brings the flag around his back. Talk about having you at the edge of your seat. This all goes on for a few minutes until the torero decides the bull is ready to be finished. He takes his sword and charges him. A good torero kills the bull on contact by perfectly placing the sword down the spine of the bull. However, if the alignment isn’t just right, another torero must stab the bull’s head with a dagger until it dies. The dead bull is then hooked up to 2 horses that drag it out of the arena and what looks like a baseball grounds crew comes out to “tidy up” if you will.

This continues 5 more times.

I could only handle 3.

Thanks, Spain, but I think I'll stick to rodeos in TEXAS.

Finally "Home"

We made it to Granada Thursday night after a day in Toledo and a 5 hour bus ride. Toledo is beautiful, but very touristy. It houses many monasteries, a cathedral and breathtaking landscapes of which I got great pics.

Chris and Leslie-- I had falafel in Toledo and thought of y'all!!! It's very popular around here.

I have discovered my luck here isn't the greatest when it comes to arrivals and pick ups..remember the story about the airport and metro??? Well when we arrived in Granada the bus dropped us off and our host families were supposed to be there waiting to pick us up. As the families arrived, Ellie, our API rep, would call the students names, there would be a kiss for a greeting and away they went, happily to their new lives for the next 3 months.. Ellen y Alyssa...Emily y Jessica...so on and so on. Then it was only my roommate, Amanda, and myself standing with Ellie at the bus stop. Ellie called my señora and discovered that there had been a miscommunication and Rosa Marie (my host mom) thought the pick up was Friday instead of Thursday. She'd arrive in 10 minutes.

"Adios, I cannot wait any longer," Ellie told us.

"But we don't have telepohones!" We replied.

"You will be fine, I cannot wait ten more minutes, I cannot wait I must leave."

So there we were. Two American girls in their early twenties. Standing all alone in the middle of city to which they had never been. At night. Awesome.

Around 20 minutes later our señora came running up to us with many apologies. We arrived to her small apartment which is now our home. It is unique to say the least. I am hoping to make a video tour to show everyone just what my living quarters are like, so I won't say too much as to not give anything away- you'll have to watch the video! Rosa Marie is very nice, but speaks no English and her Spanish is so fast! But alas, I did come to learn Spanish.

On Friday we toured the town- which is nestled in the mountains- and is much smaller than Madrid. Around 300,000 people call Granada home. It is full of historic architecture and cathedrals. There are tapas bars on every corner and you can get to pretty much wherever you need to be in 20 minutes walking time or less. What I love about this city is the culture clash. Granada is full of rich history involving, Muslims, Christians, and Jews and the city shows it off proudly. There are many alleyways where you may find street vendors selling everything from scarves to hookah. I could just get lost here…

Pictures: Top-street view of Granada; Middle- Amanda (my roommate) and I in Toledo; Bottom- More views of Toledo

The Terminal

Upon arriving in Madrid I was immediately greeted by adventure...I landed at the Barajas airport without much direction searching for customs and baggage claim. They have you go up stairs then downstairs then up and down, then- well you get the idea. After I finally get all my stuff-Mom, I'm blaming you for the excessive amount of baggage- I went to where I was supposed to meet my API rep to take the bus to our hotel. Well, I arrive and look for an API sign, my name, anything. What did I find? Nothing. I quickly read the info sheet again to see if I had misread anything. Was I supposed to meet them in terminal 1 instead of 4? OH NO! I rush to the info booth and in my best Spanish ask how to get to Terminal 1. "Metro", the angry man working the booth replies. So with my large bags I catch the lift down to the basement in an attempt to fetch the metro, only to discover that I actually need to take the bus located upstairs, except this time I decided for my own good and the good of those around me to not try to shove myself into a tiny elevator and took the escalator ramp instead. Finally, after the help from a kind Spanish man, I get my bags on the bus and head to terminal 4. When I arrive, no API. Sweating by this point, I unfold my neon yellow info sheet to read yet again. No, terminal 4 was definitely where I should be. UGH! So I did all of the above once again only this time in reverse. After wondering around terminal 4 for awhile in hopes of finding anyone from my program I spotted a neon yellow sheet of paper, very similar to the one I had from API, in the distance. With no other option I approached the group and asked if they were with API. Good news/bad news. One girl was with API and found some locals with a cell phone who contacted my directors. They were already sittin pretty at the hotel. AKA they left us at the airport...Options: take a taxi and pay an arm and leg in Euros hoping to not get taken advantage of as young American girls OR ride the metro through the city. We chose the latter. And I must say I am rather proud of myself for navigating the winding tunnels of the Madrid Metro, this was no easy task, but alas, with the help of more friendly locals, Alex and I arrived (only 3 1/2 hours late) at the Puerta del Sol and our Hotel Moderno- what a sight for sore eyes!

We then had a brief orientation (which I of course fell asleep in thanks to jet lag) and a lovely dinner. Then it was out on the town for some sightseeing and Sangria.

The next day we visited El Museo del Prado which houses the paintings of Goya and other famous painters. It was amazing. We also toured the Royal Palace. Grand and beautiful! The best part was the incredible views and landscapes. Miles of trees and parks with a backdrop of mountains. Wonderful. It was so interesting to stand in the very palace where Christopher Columbus once begged for the support of Ferdinand and Isabela to sail the world. While this palace is not where the Royal Family lives today, it is still the location for all royal ceremonies and many international affairs.

We've also had fun simply walking the streets of Madrid. Begging is very popular here, however, it is very different than the US. People dress up and paint their faces and even use props such as goat heads to ask for money. Crazy I know. You must also beware of gypsies who offer you rosemary. If you accept it, they will read your palm and expect a large sum of money in return.

Madrid is a beautiful city full of old architecture and bustling life. Stop lights are merely suggestions and ham is everywhere!