Corridas de Toros

Under the top 10 things to do in Spain, watch a bullfight is #2 but I think they forgot to mention it is #1 on the top 10 things that will scar you on your trip. Granted the group of us girls that went didn't research anything on what exactly would go down at this corral but I had been told I HAD to see it. Then again, others said something or another about bulls possibly being killed. I figured, hell, if I can pull the trigger back home on animals why shouldn't I be able to watch it here? Wrong. Little did I know, the entire point of this shindig is to kill, i mean slaughter, the toro (bull). This could never happen in the US, PETA would be all over this shit.

Warning: If you ever intend to see a bullfight or even remotely think you might, do NOT read any further. The following will insure you won't. If you are eating and reading, come back later or negative side effects may occur.

We bought the cheapest tickets to this massive stadium for under 5 Euros but they were at the very top and in the sun, which later we were very thankful for. This was not some type of redneck rodeo though, tickets got up to well over 100 Euros the closer they were and the people entering this stadium were dressed like they were going to an Easter football game- bright colored pants with button down bright colored polo shirts. We thought then we were in the right place. The atmosphere was ecstatic rubbing off on us and making us giddy to see what the excitement was all about.

Our seats were what we call nose bleeds but we could still see everything perfectly as the first bull just popped out into the ring in the middle of the arena looking like a dog without his owner. There were 3 or 4 men in highly elaborated skin tight costumes in the arena hiding behind walls around the edge about 5 feet high and 5 feet wide. They were holding capes that were hot pink on one side and yellow on the other. At this point I thought my whole life was a lie, the capes aren't red? What other false things are they teaching us in the US?! These few men grabbed the attention of the bull by coming out from behind the wall and waving the pink side at him to make him come their direction. What I don't get is why they do it because the second he comes at them they run back to their safe place (the wall at the edge) wearing him out until you hear the band's trumpets roaring and the crowd growing louder.

All of a sudden two men with long spears came out riding horses along with 3 other men with short decorated spears. Fear sets in for the bull. What are they about to do? Stab him for no reason?? He didn't even do anything!! And then it started. The bull charged the horse, which was fully protected with some type of metal blanket, don't worry, and he gets stabbed by the long spear over and over again until he is distracted by the hot pink cape man. Then it happened again, the bull charges the other horse and the sun is beaming the blood off his back. THEN the other men waved their short decorated spears like they were working the airport and wanted to "land" the bull so he of course charged right down their landing strip...Nooo bull nooo. Right as he is about to ram them they tossed the spears in the air landing them on the same spot he has been stabbed repeatedly. What's worse is the cute little spears must've been rigged to have some double sided edge because the spears stayed hanging on his back, annoying the bull like a puppy and his collar. This happened at least two other times and even more stabbings from the horse rider if he tried to ram them again and then they were gone. Thank god, That bull has had enough!!

Nope, not over. Now Mr. macho man, the Matador, strutted into the ring looking like a twig compared to the bull but obviously stronger regardless. At this point I hated the Matador, he is teasing the bull making him run into this stupid red flag over and over again. (Oh and my whole life wasn't a lie, only the Matador has the red cape) Why the bull never strayed from the red, I don't know but he kept doing it even with blood dripping from his mouth and his knees weak. Oh shit!! Before I even realized what had happened, the Matador had taken a long silver sword and stabbed him perfectly clean in the back as the bull was running towards him. Thud! The bull dropped to his knees and the crowd roared and clapped. Should I really be clapping right now?? 

I had no idea how to feel at this point, the bull is attached to 4 horses by a chain and just drug off. This entire slaughtering shindig lasted 30 to 45 minutes and it happened 6 times in a row. If you want to do the math, they do this at least every night in June. ( I no longer wonder what meat I'm eating, I just assume) The first killing was shocking but after that I went from horrified to slightly entertained.

 And as scaring as it was, I actually would highly recommend it to anyone. Sorry for the stomach ache, Adios!

Foreign place, foreign things

Let me start by saying I LOVE Spain, my last blog was by no means a way to bash this place. I may bitch about being hot and the food tasting bland at times but that's what makes this place different which is what I love most.

The Metro
Picture New York with less sparkle and lights and more historic buildings, that's the city of Madrid. And of course with millions of people in such a big city, everyone takes the Metro. Now, I'm sure the rest of you have some sort of experience with these speeding bullets but being from Stuttgart that's not the type of bullet I'm familiar with. The maze they gave us, I mean map, looks like a small child took all the crayons out of his Crayola box and scribbled what he probably thought was a dog but what looks like far too many lines in such a small canvas. Surprisingly, I love this maze. It's like a challenge to get from one Crayola crayon to the next and still arrive at your destination on time.
Short stories, novels, maybe even libraries could be written on the people of the metro. For example, on your way down through the station you'll be walking steadily beside someone and all of sudden they just start sprinting down the escalator, across the hall towards the train. So of course I start running too, partly because the first time I thought maybe the place was on fire or in Law and Order: SVU cases, a mass murderer was coming. Turns out there is no fire or murderer but the train is actually at the station. I have no idea yet how they are always right but I run with them anyway. On the train everyone is dead silent, and most of the time staring at us like we are aliens. I don't know if I missed it when I was buying my metro pass but it's almost as if the Terms and Conditions of using the train read in fine print:
You must completely agree to be as awkward as possible or else. 
It's so silent it makes me want to scream the most profane words at the top of my lungs (if you've ever seen 500 days of Summer or been in the Chi O chapter room you know exactly what I'm talking about). Hardly anyone on the train, if any at all, would understand the profanity anyway, they'd probably just look at me like they normally do, like I'm an oompa loompa or something.

Donde esta...?
Right after I arrive to my new home, Molly and I, whom I just met, have to go downtown Madrid via the crayon drawn metro map and meet our group. Thankfully our host Mom, Dama, comes with us to show us where the place is and how to use the Metro. She's telling stories as usual about her kids I'm sure but I can barely pick up on anything since she only speaks Spanish so I just laugh or smile whenever she does and whenever she stops for me to respond all I say is Si Si. She talks the entire way distracting me from everything around me because I'm trying so hard to not look completely stupid even though I wouldn't be surprised if she asks some absurd question like "Are you gay?" and I say yes to her amusement. She drops us off at the meeting that lasts far too long for my jetlagness. It's 9 pm and Molly and I are headed back or so we think. We survive the metro but once we get out of the stop we realize we have no idea how to get home. Dama talked the entire way there so how are we suppose to know?! Wait... maybe she told us in Spanish we just didn't understand it. Shit. Thankfully she gave us a card earlier with her address on it but now we have to figure out where this address is. We roam the streets looking for Calles de Emajadores until panic sets it. It's almost 10pm and it's getting dark. Calm Down. My dad bought a certain amount of data on my phone solely for this purpose, he knew I'd get lost! I type in the address acting all heroic like I saved the day from us getting kidnapped. Location Unknown. What?! Sorry Dad, guess I'll have to be using my data plan for Facebook and Twitter instead, darn. Sooooooo.. now what? Time to use our Spanglish. We walk up to anyone and everyone in the streets but again, they look at us like we're oompa loompas and keep walking. We try our best to say "Donde esta...?" which means "Where is" in English, then we point to the address on the card. Finally, one woman works with our amateurness  and tells us to go a few blocks to the right. Five or 6 blocks later in that direction there is no sign of our little red brick apartment. Ask again, "donde esta...?" and it's the oompa loompa face. Again and again we ask the same question until a couple women tell us it is from the direction we came from. Great. Practically running back and praying this is the right way we see our gate straight ahead right before the sun is completely gone. Thank God for "Donde esta."

America vs. Spain

Okay so this time instead of entertaining you (or boring you) with my epic fails in this mucho largo city, Madrid, I've decided to start a list of things that are very different here than in our proud states of America.
Diferentes en Espana

• Time- and I'm not talking about the 7 hour difference, which is also a pain, but their daily schedule. The mornings here are from about 8 am - 2:30 pm (yes, you read that right) and their breakfast is very small, maybe toast and coffee then they don't have lunch until 2:30 or 3:30!! This inner big girl is struggling. Next, it's time for a siesta (a nap) for only an hour or two which is why everything is closed during these hours, all the shops, restaurants and businesses. When it opens around 4 or 5 everyone goes out for Tapas, which are like bars that serve small appetizers and they are everywhere! Dinner isn't served until anywhere between 8:30-10:30 pm. Living at the Chi O house, this girl is used to eating like a grandma at 5 pm so again it's been a struggle!

• Air conditioning- well it's not really any different they just don't use it. I thought maybe my ghetto home was the only one but it turns out no one uses air conditioning, it's just too expensive for anyone. Remember how it felt to sleep in a cabin at summer camp? Yeah, I've got that joy for a month.

• Appearance- At first glance the people of Spain don't look much different, they aren't tan with dark hair like you picture. In a large city like this there are all kinds of people but their upkeep is what is so different/horrific. I hate to be harsh but it looks as if no one gets a pedicure, visits the dentist or even brushes their hair in the morning. They just don't seem to care about image.

• Salt and Pepper- apparently they don't believe in it and for a girl who puts salt on salt this was a massive problem but you'd be surprised how food can taste without it- bland, who am I kidding?

• Chicos of Spain- Yeah, you know how they say chivalry is dead? Well I think I found the place it was originated. The men of Spain have no respect for women. They are very famous for their "catcalls," which I have encountered far too much already. When american girls walk the streets at night they yell at you saying your pretty, beautiful and I'm sure the words I can't understand in Spanish are not as PG. What's worse is when you try to talk to them in clubs/ bars (or if they creep on you regardless of if you're talking) they won't buy you a drink. So when I told my Dad I wouldn't take drinks from strangers, I wasn't lying... unfortunately.

• Water Fountains- whelp, sadly for my dehydration, they don't believe in these either. I haven't seen one yet and I knew it was odd but it's actually because they have a shortage of water in Spain. So not only do they not have any drinkable water fountains but they also had to stop putting water in the park fountains because people would get so thirsty they would drink out of them. (explains why my redneckness almost came out in me today when I saw water in a fountain after walking for hours)

I'd say these 6 things are at the top of my list on differences but there will be tons more because, of course, no one can be like the best! (Cue chant- USA USA!)

Hasta luego!

little girl, foreign country

Hola amigas!
Okay, I'm going to try and keep y'all updated on this little girl in a foreign country but I haven't blogged since Xanga so this may be interesting.

First encounter
Before I left for Madrid, Spain I wasn't nervous at all. I just figured, hell it's only a few weeks what's the worst that could happen to me. Well when I got on the flight from Dallas to Madrid my self confidence did not. Immediately I realize I am not only the only blonde but also the only one who speaks English. It seems like everyone is yelling in spanish and I am left completely lost sitting in my aisle seat with fear stamped on my face. The gentleman beside must see the fear stamp or maybe it's just my hair but he asks me in Spanish if I speak Spanish as soon as he sits beside me. Shit... I know what to say, I know exactly how to say I speak little Spanish but NOTHING comes out of my mouth instead tears start to gather in the back of eyes. I wave my hand and mumble and then he starts speaking more Spanish! Shit, shit, shit! I realize by his hand gestures that he wants me to switch seats with his wife in the row behind us and I jump up offering it to her just to avoid the conversation even though my neck is screaming, Dont take the middle seat!! I can't say that to him in Spanish so I give in. The 9 hour flight then seems like eternity since I can't sleep but thank goodness when I land my self confidence must have arrived too because I become determined to use my Spanish and make the best out of the trip. I'd love to say that since my first encounter with real Spaniards I haven't had another melt down but we got lost on the first day when it was getting dark outside so that was fun.

Mi Familia
Originally I was told I would be living with one girl from the states around my age, a 60 year old woman and her sister's grandson who is 23. One out of the three were correct and unfortunately I don't live with a smoking hot 23 year old spaniard like I imagined and there are 3 other roommates not just one. My host mother's name is Dama and she defines the word host perfectly. She cooks us 2 surprisingly very good meals a day, washes our clothes once a week and makes sure we are always taken care of. So there has to be a catch, right? She speaks ZERO English. zero. Thankfully she speaks with her hands and there are three other girls who speak Spanish better than I do to answer her questions before I have to mumble off my poor excuse for Spanish. When we sit around the dinner table it's usually her talking and all of us just nodding our heads saying Si Si even though you can tell clearly by our faces we aren't exactly sure what she is even talking about.

The 5 of us all live in an apartment on the 7th floor, which I can almost positively state, is in the ghetto. The first clue was when she gave us a set of 4 keys to get into the apartment and each of them had specific instruction on how to use to be able to get in and out of the complex.

Instructions

    First, you use the biggest key for the outside gate. Second, you use the smallest key to get into your building inside the gate. Third, after you've taken the elevator (made for two small children) up to the 7th floor, you will take the long skinny key, put it into the top hole of the door with the side with the small nick on the right THEN turn the key four times to your right. Finally, you take the medium size key stick it the hole below the door knob turn to the right once and then a little to the right again (don't turn the door knob though!) and push the door open while the key is turned in it. PHEW! Now once you get inside you have to repeat steps 3 and 4 in order to lock the door. I think you're in luck Dad there is no way I am going to get kidnapped with that kind of system, it took me 2 days to learn it. 

I will try to keep y'all updated but there is barely anytime with all the class, siestas, fiestas, fiestas and siestas. Until next time! Adios! (which actually means go with God, who knew?!)