La Playa! (The beach!) + My first bullfight! ~ Happening With Hillary

Hey everyone!!! Wow, I can't believe it's been about three weeks since I have updated my blog! After my trip to Ireland, I had a lot to get working on for my schoolwork! Finals and final projects are coming up, so I have been getting a head start on those. Also, two weekends ago I went to a beautiful beach about two hours from Granada called Nerja. Nerja also has some historical caves, so myself and five friends packed up and went to the beach for the day and did some exploring! The cave was really neat, super huge and a lot of walking, but the sight was worth it! We spent a few hours there, then hiked our way over to the beach to be your typical beach bums! As we were hanging out, we noticed some climbable cliffs, so of course knowing our adventurous selves, we went and did some more exploring. It was neat finding a little cove of cliffs to climb on and enjoy the view. After the long day, we packed up and took the bus back home. It was a nice sight seeing the sunset on the bus ride home! That evening, we went out with some other friends and had tapas and a drink.

During the week, our program directors took our group to an AWESOME Flamenco show in Sacromonte. We were actually inside a small cave, and the dancers, singers, and guitar players were all very talented and lively. Definitely felt the "duende" vibe that is what Flamenco is all about.

After the week ended, four friends and I packed up to go to ANOTHER beach, this time on the largest island part of Spain, Mallorca. We went to Palma, which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It was breathtaking! I could have sat and watched the waves forever. My mindset for this trip was literally just to relax and do what I want, whenever I want. We have all gotten a little tired of all the hustle and bustle on other trips, trying to plan what to see and this and that, so we decided that having a "lazy" and relaxing vacation just hanging out on the beach is just what we needed. And that's exactly what we got! The weather was not entirely the greatest, but it was nice enough to enjoy the sun and lay out and relax on the beach. I even went swimming in the Mediterranean for a bit! Our hostel was really nice too - it was like our own little apartment for four days. Besides hanging out on the beach, we went mini-golfing, had some delicious pizza, had girl-talk, did some touristy-shopping, and went to the city center to explore a bit. I also had the pleasure of waking up each morning and running along the shore... right next to the Mediterranean, as the sun was rising. It was so entirely beautiful and I can't even begin to explain how awestricken I was. It was a great trip, just what I needed to relieve a bit of stress before getting back in the mix of all the projects to do for school.

Yesterday, perhaps one of the most exciting days since being in Spain, I went to my first Corrida de Toros, or bullfight as other people would say. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt going into it, except that I respected it as a cultural activity and it is something that the Spaniards take pride in and something that is part of their identity. I ended up having a great experience - I had an awesome seat, and I sat next to the friendliest (and quite wealthy) Spanish family, who shared all their food, beverages, and most importantly their knowledge of the "cultural event" with me throughout the three-hour event. At sight of the first bull, I have to admit I was a little nervous. I had known what to expect because I had learned all about the process during my culture class, but actually seeing it live is a different story. I set aside my "American" thoughts for awhile and adopted the Spanish attitude, and I really enjoyed it. The first and second toreros were really exciting, but mainly because I had never seen it actually happen before. They were both impressive and clean in their strikes, and the second torero had a lot of charisma and the crowd loved him. The toreros didn't wear their trajes de luces (aka their fancy suits) because this corrida was a special event, benefiting children with Down's Syndrome. The third torero, named El Fandi, is the top-ranked torero in all of Spain, and I was honored to see him right before my eyes! I don't know if some people would call this an accomplishment, but I was lucky enough to see him give the final strike to the bull right before my eyes. My absolute favorite photo is of El Fandi at the end shouting with joy as the bull had fallen to the ground. The fourth and fifth toreros were pretty "bland", but very well-done and interesting enough. However, the last torero was in a run for his money. He is a newer torero, and it was his first time in Granada, which means he needed to "impress" the crowd to try and win them over. He kneeled on the ground, waiting for his bull to run out, when all of a sudden the next second he is immediately being trampled by the bull. I thought he was going to be a bloody mess, but others managed to run in and distract the bull long enough before it could really damage the guy. He continued onward, but his luck wouldn't come to him - as he was wearing the bull out and getting ready to strike the final blow, he failed to do so nearly three times. This means that failing to strike the bull cleanly on the first try will create a penalty for the torero, where he will lose money and his ranking because he did not give it a clean strike. They have this rule because they consider that not killing the bull on the first strike of the sword creates too much suffering and teasing of the bull, which is inhumane and unjust. I felt bad for the torero, but the bull really was a "bad bull", always going after the human instead of the muleta (the red banner-looking thing).

Afterwards, I decided that while I did enjoy seeing this cultural event, I did feel like some parts were a bit too much teasing of the bulls. However, I fully understand that this is a "cultural" event for Spaniards and it is a long-lasting tradition. I would definitely recommend going to visit a corrida de toros if you ever get the chance, because having the cultural experience really helps you to understand the Spanish people in a better manner. And NO, not ALL Spaniards agree with what occurs in the corrida de toros, which is a stereotype that unfortunately most people believe.

Tomorrow my Señora has surgery to finally close everything up with her breast cancer. I am so happy for her and I am awed at how strong she is to be able to go through all of this while putting up with me... :P Please send out a prayer her way as she goes through this enduring time, and as she recovers.

This weekend I am headed off to Lagos, Portugal with my entire study abroad group, which will be a great time to bond! A little bittersweet though, as well. I can't believe I only have about three weeks left, and then I'll be back in Illinois! I miss everyone a lot, especially my dog, but I am a bit reluctant to leave the lifestyle in Spain as well. Well, this is enough for now... I have written about two novels already, and I could keep writing even more... Here's some photos!

The caves