Bull Fight in Sevilla

After spending the day around the entire city of Sevilla with my friends viewing all of the tourist attractions (Plaza de España, the 3rd largest cathedral in the world which holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus, walking to the top of the bell tower for a rewarding 360 view of Sevilla, and admiring the sights in-between), my friend Jackie and I decided to attend our first (and last) bull fight!

The atmosphere was different than I had expected, everyone was decked to the nines and looking their finest for this traditional event.  I really wish I had researched more about bull fighting before I bought the tickets, but it didn't occur to me how disturbing and violent this event would be, as I was more interested in the cultural importance of a bull fight and wanted to dive into everything Spanish.  The next 3 hours of my life were a little twisted, and Jackie being an animal lover, made me feel even worse for the bulls and horses as we both flinched every time one of them was stabbed or gored.  There were 6 bulls in all, and 3 matadors (the Spanish stars dressed in shiny tight colorful outfits, holding the red capes to attract the bulls.  Before the matador would enter in all his glory, there were 3 other men dressed in tight colored and shiny suits attracting the bulls and basically enraging them and taunting them by holding out their pink and yellow capes, then running behind a safety wall around the edge of the circle.  After a few minutes of this, one of these 3 men would exchange his pink and yellow cloth for 2 colorful elongated pins that he would taunt the bull with, then when the bull came running at the man to gore him, he would shove them into the bull's back.  [I'm very sorry for the gruesome content].  I won't go too far into the violence because for me it was very disturbing, but all in all there was a lot of blood, and each of the 6 bulls was stabbed and killed, then dragged off the circle by a clan of 3 horses chained together while the Spaniards all stood and applauded.

[Even though the goring was horrifying, the slick and extremely rapid movements of the men in the ring with the enraged bulls was amazing.  After growing numb from the horror (after about the 3rd bull) I just watched in awe of the extreme confidence and swift actions of the matadors, as they often got as close as an arm's length away from the furious bulls-- a pretty amazing and insane sight to see]

As you can imagine, nothing like this would ever be possible in America.  PETA would stop this in less than one second!!  However, this is tradition aqui en España, and although it made my stomach churn, I had to accept (with the help of Jackie) that this was part of the culture in Spain and not to hate the event. This extreme difference from the more liberal and human/animal's rights culture I'm used to made me feel extremely homesick for the first time.  I began to reflect on the fact that I am in a foreign country and can be picked out like a sore thumb trotting around with my blonde hair and blue eyes.  I started to focus on the fact that while my friends and I walk around in public or take the metro or public bus, all eyes dart to us and seem to analyze us for our differences, our loud voices, our laughs, and the fact that we smile.  The social scene here is completely different, basically- in Spain [and I'm pretty sure Europe in general] no one really smiles while passing strangers on the streets, everyone has straight faces and maintains a serious composure.  While in the US, we're used to smiling at complete strangers and returning this happy gesture.  We also don't have such a strict mode of dress and style.  In the US it's common to see women about my age in sweat pants or a soccer shirt (especially on a college campus on the weekend or after a long day of classes), but here, I have never seen a woman in a plain t-shirt with sleeves.  

As you can tell, my mind started racing through all of the differences between Spain and being comfortable at home with my loving family, and I sank into a really sad night.  But luckily my friend Jackie was there to go through it with me, and we ate gelato as we strolled the streets of Sevilla reminiscing of fall, October, sweaters and uggs, and carving pumpkins and spending quality time with our families.  

I managed to bounce back from my homesick slump the next day upon returning to Valencia, and have decided that I really don't want to feel like that again.  I realize that i am extremely fortunate to even have the opportunity to travel to another country, nonetheless spend almost 4 months here studying in a university and exploring the city in my spare time.  After getting back on my feet and straightening out my thoughts, I'm back to trying to think positive, and catching up on my classes, reading, and studying for the week. =)

Also-- I moved into a new apartment with a new family that's only a few streets away from my other casa.  Basically, my old madre was very old (around 80), a widow, and seemed pretty depressed most of the time.  She would spend every day watching television until about 2am (blasting the volume making it very hard for me to fall asleep for my early classes), and our interactions slowed to a halt, making our mealtimes more awkward than the open communication I was really hoping to get out of staying with a family here in Valencia.  Luckily I was placed with an amazing new family in a much nicer apartment.  I have 2 hermanas [sisters], Maria [25], and Marta [18], and an awesome new madre who is very understanding, energetic, and cooks better than Betty Crocker!  We all get along very well and it's so nice to be around girls and have their help with fashion and city advice.  I come home every day to my clothes ironed and folded on my bed.  On top of 3 fresh meals a day, this is better than I could have ever imagined.  But to make everything even better- I live about 2 streets away from my 3 really great friends Brooke, Jackie, and Kendra (the girls who I just traveled with to Sevilla).

That is all for today-- time to get some homework [deveres] done and meet up with my intercambio Carlota at 8pm before dinner later!!

Hasta luego!!

Brooke, Jackie, Kendra and I awaiting our first flamenco show!

Flamenco!!

me in front of the 3rd largest catholic cathedral in the world, while strolling the streets of Sevilla during our first night

Calle Pimienta (Pepper Street)-- all of the streets were labeled like this!

 the largest catholic altar made of gold in the world.   {Carved in wood, covered in gold-- depicts every story in the bible of Christ's life}

an art fair I walked by on Sunday morning

my friend Jackie and I walking through the center of Sevilla

Me, Brooke, Kendra, and Jackie at the Royal Palace [it is basically the Versailles of Spain, intricate gardens included] 

matador and unlucky bull