So all year since I returned from Spain I've been itching to get out of the country again. I hear someone speaking Spanish and turn into a stalker following them around a store trying to figure out what they're talking about... at a distance of course.
I went to the library last week and I think every book I checked out has something to do with another country or some kind of adventure. I didn't realize it until I got home and looked through all of the books I'd picked up. I think that is telling me something.
Luckily, I'm about to leave on my next venture out of the country- Mexico here I come. I got the Initiative Grant from Asbury which is paying for my entire trip (awesome deal) and now I'm just counting the days until I leave- there are 12. Luckily 9 of these days will be at the beach or on the way to the beach with my family and the others will be spent packing. I can't wait to see what I'll be doing for the 8 weeks I'm there!!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Saturday, May 30, 2009
O yeah, I'M HOME!
The trip home went well!!! So nice being back in my own bed, house and with my family.
Next time you get a free refill in a restaurant think about how lucky we are here in the US :)
Next time you get a free refill in a restaurant think about how lucky we are here in the US :)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
WOW Italy!
So I have officially found my favorite country :)
I mean how can you go wrong with icecream for meals... really?
Florence was gorgeous. I´m pretty sure every city in Europe is on water or has a river running through the middle or something like that. It was so much fun. We went and watched the sunset on this hill that overlooks the entire city. It was gorgeous! We ended up going back the next night also. There are so many shops and museums, we couldn´t do it all, so we went to the Academia which has all kinds of Michealangelo stuff including the David which is actually really neat. Huge and so life like... I can explain more if you want, but I dont want to bore anyone on here. It was just a fun couple days with talking to random Spanish speakers that we would run into and walking around and seeing the town. So nice. I felt more like I was on a movie set than that people actually live there. So many more stories... but they are so much better in person so I´ll tell you when I see you!
Then we were off to Venice. (I think we need trains in the US. Apparently we have them and I never knew, but I think we need to use them.) We walked around and around the island and that was all you need to do. When people say that you should just try to get lost and that that is the fun of it, it´s completely true. And you don´t really even have to try. It was a nice last stop because it was so chill. Walk around, get a gelato, sit in a plaza, walk around, sit with your feet dangling in the water, walk around, etc. 2 days of that. Can´t complain. We didn´t do the whole hard core gondola ride (it´s sooo expensive) but there are places along the Grand Canal that you can take a Gondola across for like a dollar. It´s seriously a 2 minute ride, but so worth it. We were thinking about just going back and forth and back and forth, but didn´t :). It´s a gorgeous little town and Laura and I had a great time.
Finally, it came time for us to part, she was going back to Madrid and I had to come back to Sevilla so I got the train to Pisa. I spent the night in Pisa and got up early to see the tower before my flight (we´re talking 5am) and I walked over. The gates were closed when I got there but there were a bunch of British guys who had jumped the fence to get better pictures with the tower. They were telling me that I can´t come to the tower of Pisa just to get a picture through the fence and helped me jump it (foot in a boot, a little more difficult). Right after I got over, a security guard pulls up. OH NO! Luckily one of the British guys knew Italian and sweet talked us out of it using me as the excuse for everyone being over there lol. I´m not going to lie that I was a bit scared though. Can´t miss my flight because I´m in an Italian jail. I just kept saying, really, I never jump fences hahaha. But nothing happened, they just opened the gate for us. Weren´t even mad I guess. And although I had an invite to go the the European Cup soccer game with them in Rome, I turned it down and now I´m in Sevilla again.
I´m staying with an English girl that I met while I was here and she is hilarious. I´m at the school right now and have said hi and bye to everyone for the last time. I´m having dinner with Maria Louisa and Miguel tonight and then tomorrow, after all day in the air, I´ll finally get back to the states.
I´m so ready to be back. Really just content. I´ve loved it here, but ready to be home. Ready to move on. It´s been amazing and I can´t wait to see you all!!!!
I mean how can you go wrong with icecream for meals... really?
Florence was gorgeous. I´m pretty sure every city in Europe is on water or has a river running through the middle or something like that. It was so much fun. We went and watched the sunset on this hill that overlooks the entire city. It was gorgeous! We ended up going back the next night also. There are so many shops and museums, we couldn´t do it all, so we went to the Academia which has all kinds of Michealangelo stuff including the David which is actually really neat. Huge and so life like... I can explain more if you want, but I dont want to bore anyone on here. It was just a fun couple days with talking to random Spanish speakers that we would run into and walking around and seeing the town. So nice. I felt more like I was on a movie set than that people actually live there. So many more stories... but they are so much better in person so I´ll tell you when I see you!
Then we were off to Venice. (I think we need trains in the US. Apparently we have them and I never knew, but I think we need to use them.) We walked around and around the island and that was all you need to do. When people say that you should just try to get lost and that that is the fun of it, it´s completely true. And you don´t really even have to try. It was a nice last stop because it was so chill. Walk around, get a gelato, sit in a plaza, walk around, sit with your feet dangling in the water, walk around, etc. 2 days of that. Can´t complain. We didn´t do the whole hard core gondola ride (it´s sooo expensive) but there are places along the Grand Canal that you can take a Gondola across for like a dollar. It´s seriously a 2 minute ride, but so worth it. We were thinking about just going back and forth and back and forth, but didn´t :). It´s a gorgeous little town and Laura and I had a great time.
Finally, it came time for us to part, she was going back to Madrid and I had to come back to Sevilla so I got the train to Pisa. I spent the night in Pisa and got up early to see the tower before my flight (we´re talking 5am) and I walked over. The gates were closed when I got there but there were a bunch of British guys who had jumped the fence to get better pictures with the tower. They were telling me that I can´t come to the tower of Pisa just to get a picture through the fence and helped me jump it (foot in a boot, a little more difficult). Right after I got over, a security guard pulls up. OH NO! Luckily one of the British guys knew Italian and sweet talked us out of it using me as the excuse for everyone being over there lol. I´m not going to lie that I was a bit scared though. Can´t miss my flight because I´m in an Italian jail. I just kept saying, really, I never jump fences hahaha. But nothing happened, they just opened the gate for us. Weren´t even mad I guess. And although I had an invite to go the the European Cup soccer game with them in Rome, I turned it down and now I´m in Sevilla again.
I´m staying with an English girl that I met while I was here and she is hilarious. I´m at the school right now and have said hi and bye to everyone for the last time. I´m having dinner with Maria Louisa and Miguel tonight and then tomorrow, after all day in the air, I´ll finally get back to the states.
I´m so ready to be back. Really just content. I´ve loved it here, but ready to be home. Ready to move on. It´s been amazing and I can´t wait to see you all!!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
More in Italy
So I am now in Florence. We just got in today. It was a change of plans because we realized we had planned a lot of time in Cinque Terre.
But, backing up first, I finished up in Rome with a day of going to the Vatican. We went through the museum to see the Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica. And let me just say it is HUGE! Everything you hear about Rome being huge is one hundred percent completely true! Its huge! Statues, pillars, everything: Huge!! I was kind of surprised as we walked through the Sistine Chapel because it wasnt what I expected. You are shoulder to shoulder with people in there, everyone craining their neck and looking up to see the ceiling. And then the guards all yelling, "NO PHOTOS." Kind of funny because everyone is just right out there flash and everything right in front of them. But... they do what they can I guess. In the Basilica, also absolutely humongous, hey have it all decked out. There is also a statue of Peter that has basically golden stubs for feet because people stand in lines to rub his foot (think the bull on Wall St). After that, we went into a neighborhood called the Trastevere, and this is the neighborhood that was my favorite. That and the part across the river from it that used to be the Jewish ghetto area. Its just a precious part of town. We were just wandering around, no real place to go for about 2 hours. Stopping in little shops, getting a gelato, and then we stumbled upon this plaza called the Campo de Fiori and it is my favorite place ever! (Maybe Plaza de Espana, that is in Sevilla, but its a tight competition. Hard to compare the two.) Its a plaza with restaurants and umbrellas and strands of lights and balconies with flowers and roofs with people eating and just amazingness all around. I just stood in the middle of the piazza turning around in a circle with a huge smile on my face taking it all in telling my friend, "Would you just look at where we are right now?!?!?"
The next day, she left for Paris and I left on a train to meet up with other friends in Cinque Terre. It is a national park north of Florence that has trails connecting 5 precious little towns that over look the ocean and vineyards and everything. Absolutely gorgeous! I liked it better than Greece definitely and Scotland too. All it was lacking was the waterfalls of Scotland, but it was absolutely stunning as you walked through these little towns in between your hike and saw laundry hanging out to dry, sunned on the rocks (kind of like turtles... there wasnt sand), jumped in the water. So much fun! We had a little apartment to our selves basically. It was awesome being able to cook and everything. The two other girls Im with are pretty much gourmet chefs so they just cooked away and we ate amazingly. (My contribution was the fruit salad haha)
We hiked the whole thing yesterday (we didnt rush or anything so it took us pretty much the whole day to hike it. And then we just sat under the stars on the rocks that night. One of the funnest things is talking to all of the random people along the way. Meeting people from all different countries. Fun fun!
Today we went to a little town between Cinque Terre and Florence called Lucca. It is a walled city that is again just precious. People riding bikes everywhere... gelaterias at every corner... just amazing!
So we arrived here in Florence tonight and just wandered a bit. Tomorrow we are planning and going to the Museum with the David statue in it. So Ive got to get going to bed, but I just wanted to give everyone an update. Hope you are all doing well!!! Home in a WEEK!
(Sorry there are no apostrophes in this entry. I have no idea how to get them on this keyboard... I tried to figure it out for about 5 minutes and finally gave up.)
But, backing up first, I finished up in Rome with a day of going to the Vatican. We went through the museum to see the Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica. And let me just say it is HUGE! Everything you hear about Rome being huge is one hundred percent completely true! Its huge! Statues, pillars, everything: Huge!! I was kind of surprised as we walked through the Sistine Chapel because it wasnt what I expected. You are shoulder to shoulder with people in there, everyone craining their neck and looking up to see the ceiling. And then the guards all yelling, "NO PHOTOS." Kind of funny because everyone is just right out there flash and everything right in front of them. But... they do what they can I guess. In the Basilica, also absolutely humongous, hey have it all decked out. There is also a statue of Peter that has basically golden stubs for feet because people stand in lines to rub his foot (think the bull on Wall St). After that, we went into a neighborhood called the Trastevere, and this is the neighborhood that was my favorite. That and the part across the river from it that used to be the Jewish ghetto area. Its just a precious part of town. We were just wandering around, no real place to go for about 2 hours. Stopping in little shops, getting a gelato, and then we stumbled upon this plaza called the Campo de Fiori and it is my favorite place ever! (Maybe Plaza de Espana, that is in Sevilla, but its a tight competition. Hard to compare the two.) Its a plaza with restaurants and umbrellas and strands of lights and balconies with flowers and roofs with people eating and just amazingness all around. I just stood in the middle of the piazza turning around in a circle with a huge smile on my face taking it all in telling my friend, "Would you just look at where we are right now?!?!?"
The next day, she left for Paris and I left on a train to meet up with other friends in Cinque Terre. It is a national park north of Florence that has trails connecting 5 precious little towns that over look the ocean and vineyards and everything. Absolutely gorgeous! I liked it better than Greece definitely and Scotland too. All it was lacking was the waterfalls of Scotland, but it was absolutely stunning as you walked through these little towns in between your hike and saw laundry hanging out to dry, sunned on the rocks (kind of like turtles... there wasnt sand), jumped in the water. So much fun! We had a little apartment to our selves basically. It was awesome being able to cook and everything. The two other girls Im with are pretty much gourmet chefs so they just cooked away and we ate amazingly. (My contribution was the fruit salad haha)
We hiked the whole thing yesterday (we didnt rush or anything so it took us pretty much the whole day to hike it. And then we just sat under the stars on the rocks that night. One of the funnest things is talking to all of the random people along the way. Meeting people from all different countries. Fun fun!
Today we went to a little town between Cinque Terre and Florence called Lucca. It is a walled city that is again just precious. People riding bikes everywhere... gelaterias at every corner... just amazing!
So we arrived here in Florence tonight and just wandered a bit. Tomorrow we are planning and going to the Museum with the David statue in it. So Ive got to get going to bed, but I just wanted to give everyone an update. Hope you are all doing well!!! Home in a WEEK!
(Sorry there are no apostrophes in this entry. I have no idea how to get them on this keyboard... I tried to figure it out for about 5 minutes and finally gave up.)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Day 2 in Rome
Wow! I thought that Sevilla had a new suprise on every corner but it is nothing compared to Rome. As we were walking around today I was just snapping picture after picture. Every where you turn there is a new amazing plaza or statue or building. I love it!
We started off this morning near the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine hill. They are huge. It took us all morning walking around. Then we went wandering around a bit seeing the Pantheon, Piazza de Venezia (absolutely gorgeous), and some other fountains and piazzas that were just really neat. By 6 o'clock we were dead tired. We stopped in a park, sat for a long while, and decided we would come back to the hostel so that we can thoroughly enjoy tomorrow. The Vatican and the Catacombs are the two big things we want to see.
Right now my eye is twitching as I write this message, so I'm going to get to bed :)
Gelato is amazing!
Love you all!!
We started off this morning near the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine hill. They are huge. It took us all morning walking around. Then we went wandering around a bit seeing the Pantheon, Piazza de Venezia (absolutely gorgeous), and some other fountains and piazzas that were just really neat. By 6 o'clock we were dead tired. We stopped in a park, sat for a long while, and decided we would come back to the hostel so that we can thoroughly enjoy tomorrow. The Vatican and the Catacombs are the two big things we want to see.
Right now my eye is twitching as I write this message, so I'm going to get to bed :)
Gelato is amazing!
Love you all!!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
When in Rome
So it has been a crazy couple of days. I got into Rome today and started off with making our way to the Spanish Steps (it was close to our hostel), and had our gelati (heaven in ice cream form lol).
But the real fun came on Sardenia the past couple of days. We just went there because it was the cheapest way to get to Rome and why not explore a random island. Our flight was scheduled to get in late, so we decided not to get a hostel and rough it in the airport. We figured that was less dangerous than trying to find our way around a random Italian speaking city at 1 in the morning. Good thing too because we ended up being pointed to the wrong place (10 miles) from the actual hostel where there is the exact same intersection... who'd know? We got there... were looking for #78 and it only went up to 16... no good. But we were in no hurry so we had a random adventure on the side. And praise the Lord that we speak Spanish because if not, we would have had much more difficulties. We couldn't find people for a while who spoke English, but they could Spanish. It's much more similar. Everyone we talked to was extremely nice and eager to help us trying to figure out what we needed (Spanish is closer to Italian but still not Italian). At 10 in the morning. We were waiting for a bus to our hostel (the actual location now) and stopped for our first gelato. At 10 am there are not many people in the stores so we had a whole conversation with the owner in half Spanish, half English, and half Italian that we could figure out from what Spanish we knew. So much fun. I wish we had it recorded!
Then we got to our hostel. We were dead because the airport benches aren't exactly the most comfortable. :) When we got there, the guy working was about our age and didn't know English or Spanish... So we spoke in Spanish... he spoke in Italian... and we figure out what we needed in the end. We slept for a while and when we woke up we went to ask where a grocery store was. Using a Google translator, we figure everything out and he told us that he would take us in his "maquina" to the store. Now that is a car haha.. Let's go in the machine! haha hilarious!
We got there and he showed us everything that we needed to get and then cooked and ate with us. He was a pretty much a chef by adding onion and garlic to the tomato sauce, busting out the olive oil of course in true Mediterranean style and we had a two course meal and everything. Ravioli stuffed with Ricotti cheese and then steak type stuff. We also had formaggio cheese and olives... he wouldn't let us go without it. And he wouldn't let us pay. The whole time I was thinking... there is a catch... this is probably stupid, but I'm here now to say that all is well... no catch... just a nice Italian guy wanting to show around the Americanas :)
After we cooked (it was absolutely delicious) he took us into Cagliari, the bigger city to take pictures. He was our tour guide taking us to all of the sites and stopping the car, getting out, taking our picture, and off we went again. The whole time in broken Italian, Spanish, and English.
The next morning he wanted to take us to the beach. So, we went. By that time there was no fear. He was harmless and just thought we were funny trying to learn some Italian. So we again, toured the island of Sardenia stopping at all of the picturesque points on the way. He dropped us off at the airport and that was that. We got completely lucky with everything!
Today, we've just been walking around a little bit around Rome. We got in at around 630 to the hostel and then walked a while and eventually made it to the Spanish Steps. Very neat. I have 2 more days in Rome and then I'm off to Cinque Terre (I got my train ticket today!).
Love you all! Can't wait to get home and see everyone!!
But the real fun came on Sardenia the past couple of days. We just went there because it was the cheapest way to get to Rome and why not explore a random island. Our flight was scheduled to get in late, so we decided not to get a hostel and rough it in the airport. We figured that was less dangerous than trying to find our way around a random Italian speaking city at 1 in the morning. Good thing too because we ended up being pointed to the wrong place (10 miles) from the actual hostel where there is the exact same intersection... who'd know? We got there... were looking for #78 and it only went up to 16... no good. But we were in no hurry so we had a random adventure on the side. And praise the Lord that we speak Spanish because if not, we would have had much more difficulties. We couldn't find people for a while who spoke English, but they could Spanish. It's much more similar. Everyone we talked to was extremely nice and eager to help us trying to figure out what we needed (Spanish is closer to Italian but still not Italian). At 10 in the morning. We were waiting for a bus to our hostel (the actual location now) and stopped for our first gelato. At 10 am there are not many people in the stores so we had a whole conversation with the owner in half Spanish, half English, and half Italian that we could figure out from what Spanish we knew. So much fun. I wish we had it recorded!
Then we got to our hostel. We were dead because the airport benches aren't exactly the most comfortable. :) When we got there, the guy working was about our age and didn't know English or Spanish... So we spoke in Spanish... he spoke in Italian... and we figure out what we needed in the end. We slept for a while and when we woke up we went to ask where a grocery store was. Using a Google translator, we figure everything out and he told us that he would take us in his "maquina" to the store. Now that is a car haha.. Let's go in the machine! haha hilarious!
We got there and he showed us everything that we needed to get and then cooked and ate with us. He was a pretty much a chef by adding onion and garlic to the tomato sauce, busting out the olive oil of course in true Mediterranean style and we had a two course meal and everything. Ravioli stuffed with Ricotti cheese and then steak type stuff. We also had formaggio cheese and olives... he wouldn't let us go without it. And he wouldn't let us pay. The whole time I was thinking... there is a catch... this is probably stupid, but I'm here now to say that all is well... no catch... just a nice Italian guy wanting to show around the Americanas :)
After we cooked (it was absolutely delicious) he took us into Cagliari, the bigger city to take pictures. He was our tour guide taking us to all of the sites and stopping the car, getting out, taking our picture, and off we went again. The whole time in broken Italian, Spanish, and English.
The next morning he wanted to take us to the beach. So, we went. By that time there was no fear. He was harmless and just thought we were funny trying to learn some Italian. So we again, toured the island of Sardenia stopping at all of the picturesque points on the way. He dropped us off at the airport and that was that. We got completely lucky with everything!
Today, we've just been walking around a little bit around Rome. We got in at around 630 to the hostel and then walked a while and eventually made it to the Spanish Steps. Very neat. I have 2 more days in Rome and then I'm off to Cinque Terre (I got my train ticket today!).
Love you all! Can't wait to get home and see everyone!!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Bull Fight
I have officially been inducted into Spanish culture. I've gone to a bull fight. And as horrible as it is, I wish I had time to go to another one. :)
At each fight, there are 6 bulls and three matadors that get 2 chances each to make the bull bow down to them. It's a battle... man vs beast. :) haha
But I wish I understood more about it. We had a Spaniard behind us explaining things when we looked confused so that was helpful, but I really needed the books Corridas de Torros (Bull Fights) for Dummies haha
So this is the jist of what happens. There are different stages. They release the bull from the door and it runs into the arena where all of the matadors are waiting for it. There are a whole bunch of them, probably 6ish, but I don't remember. They hide behind the walls and one by one, come out and taunt the bull, the bull charges them, and then they run behind the wall.
Then, the band plays the music and it's time for the next round. A man on a horse comes out and the matadors guide the bull towards the horse. The guy on the horse is holding a big spear thing and after the bull charges the horse (almost knocking it over sometimes) he stabs the bull in the back. But it's more like he is pushing the bull away with this spear to the back... gross. That is when the blood starts flowing. They do that two or three times. This was my least favorite part because although the horse is padded with the equivalent of a bullet proof vest, the bull pretty much picks it up. One time the horse fell over and the guy on top jumped off and ran off the arena.
And then, music again and then next round. The horses leave and then comes my favorite part. The part that I think is the most dangerous for the guys. Two guys have these baton spear things for lack of a better description and they run at the bull head on, jump up, jab their spears in its back, and then run away as the other matadors distract the bull again with the capes. This is the part that I'm pretty sure their moms refuse to watch.
After they do this about 3 or 4 times, there's more music and it's the final stage. The stage that everyone thinks about when they think bull fight. During this stage, the head matador comes out with a smaller red cape instead of the huge pink ones, takes off his hat, and the rest of the matadors go behind the walls. Now, the bull is worn down quite a bit and the matador gets him to run around him getting as close to the bull as possible each time. You can tell when they did a good job because the whole crowd yells/murmurs, "Bien!" (Good job!). But the whole rest of the time, the crowd is really quite kind of like a tennis match. Whistles during this time are not good. Good to know :) haha
Finally, after a while of this, the matador has a sword and gets the bull face to face and stabs it through the shoulder blades straight to the heart. After this, what is supposed to happen is that the bull bows to the matador. At this point the back up matadors come and offer their support.
Once the bull goes down, one of them stabs it in the head to put him out and then the horses come out and whisk it away... and that is fast! One second they're there and the next they're sprinting off the arena.
We were at a novice bull fight so the matadors weren't amazing yet and the bulls were smaller. The whole time we were asking each other, was that supposed to happen? Did he just mess up? At one point, one of the bulls apparently wasn't being aggressive enough and they exchanged it for another one.
It was all super interesting and gross at the same time... but the worst part, I'll say again, were the horses!
Hope you enjoyed Bull fighting 101!
I've got all of my stuff packed and I've completed all of my classes and finals as of 2 hours ago. Last night we went out with my senora and her husband and had a great time complete Spaniard style. We went to a little bar, had some tapas (including camarones which are baby shrimp and you have to eat everything including the shell and head and all... weird!).
I leave tomorrow night for Italy and I'll be home 2 weeks from today!
So excited for everything and I'll update you guys again about Italy after I'm home.
Can't wait to see everyone!!!
At each fight, there are 6 bulls and three matadors that get 2 chances each to make the bull bow down to them. It's a battle... man vs beast. :) haha
But I wish I understood more about it. We had a Spaniard behind us explaining things when we looked confused so that was helpful, but I really needed the books Corridas de Torros (Bull Fights) for Dummies haha
So this is the jist of what happens. There are different stages. They release the bull from the door and it runs into the arena where all of the matadors are waiting for it. There are a whole bunch of them, probably 6ish, but I don't remember. They hide behind the walls and one by one, come out and taunt the bull, the bull charges them, and then they run behind the wall.
Then, the band plays the music and it's time for the next round. A man on a horse comes out and the matadors guide the bull towards the horse. The guy on the horse is holding a big spear thing and after the bull charges the horse (almost knocking it over sometimes) he stabs the bull in the back. But it's more like he is pushing the bull away with this spear to the back... gross. That is when the blood starts flowing. They do that two or three times. This was my least favorite part because although the horse is padded with the equivalent of a bullet proof vest, the bull pretty much picks it up. One time the horse fell over and the guy on top jumped off and ran off the arena.
And then, music again and then next round. The horses leave and then comes my favorite part. The part that I think is the most dangerous for the guys. Two guys have these baton spear things for lack of a better description and they run at the bull head on, jump up, jab their spears in its back, and then run away as the other matadors distract the bull again with the capes. This is the part that I'm pretty sure their moms refuse to watch.
After they do this about 3 or 4 times, there's more music and it's the final stage. The stage that everyone thinks about when they think bull fight. During this stage, the head matador comes out with a smaller red cape instead of the huge pink ones, takes off his hat, and the rest of the matadors go behind the walls. Now, the bull is worn down quite a bit and the matador gets him to run around him getting as close to the bull as possible each time. You can tell when they did a good job because the whole crowd yells/murmurs, "Bien!" (Good job!). But the whole rest of the time, the crowd is really quite kind of like a tennis match. Whistles during this time are not good. Good to know :) haha
Finally, after a while of this, the matador has a sword and gets the bull face to face and stabs it through the shoulder blades straight to the heart. After this, what is supposed to happen is that the bull bows to the matador. At this point the back up matadors come and offer their support.
Once the bull goes down, one of them stabs it in the head to put him out and then the horses come out and whisk it away... and that is fast! One second they're there and the next they're sprinting off the arena.
We were at a novice bull fight so the matadors weren't amazing yet and the bulls were smaller. The whole time we were asking each other, was that supposed to happen? Did he just mess up? At one point, one of the bulls apparently wasn't being aggressive enough and they exchanged it for another one.
It was all super interesting and gross at the same time... but the worst part, I'll say again, were the horses!
Hope you enjoyed Bull fighting 101!
I've got all of my stuff packed and I've completed all of my classes and finals as of 2 hours ago. Last night we went out with my senora and her husband and had a great time complete Spaniard style. We went to a little bar, had some tapas (including camarones which are baby shrimp and you have to eat everything including the shell and head and all... weird!).
I leave tomorrow night for Italy and I'll be home 2 weeks from today!
So excited for everything and I'll update you guys again about Italy after I'm home.
Can't wait to see everyone!!!
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