an excellent (long) weekend

So this weekend has been fantastic, and it's not even over yet!

Friday: no class! woke up for breakfast and then definitely went back to bed. awesome. Then, much later, my flatmate and I went out on the town! Apparently 11 is too early to really enjoy things, though, as there was not much going on yet. So we wandered around to a couple places and got some ice cream, and then finally there was stuff going on. We went to Taller Latino (a salsa bar that is probably my favorite) and stayed there for a couple hours, dancing with some guys and each other, and the bartender (for no reason!) gave us free rum and cokes. This was the same bartender who danced with me a different time, and who is a ridiculously good salsa dancer. Apparently he remembers and likes me, though I don't know quite why. That's not to say I mind the attention and free drinks, though ;). Then on the way home some random guys came up to us on the street and were very insistent that we accompany them to a discoteca, but we decided that that was not exactly a good idea and went our separate ways. A good night.

Saturday: also great! one of my intercambios called me, so Jackie (the same flatmate) and I went out with him and some friends. One place we went to had a shot called "San Luis," so I decided to see what that was (whisky, blueberry, and hazelnut--strange but not bad). One of said friends apparently sings and studies musicology, and he and I ended up talking about Handel's Messiah and the Carmina Burana at this biker bar where they were playing Metallica. We were singing our favorite movements to each other, and he went so far as to demonstrate the extremely high soprano solo "Dulcissime" movement of Carmina Burana. Quite loudly. One of the bikers at the bar (not of our party) apparently was celebrating a birthday, and they passed around a tray of mini desserts, which were frankly delicious. Jackie had a sort of eclair cream thing, and I had a little chocolate layer cake tiramisu something. Much of that night could be summed up by the phrase "crazy Portuguese people." Eventually Jackie and I had had enough of Portuguese drunkenness and sketchy parts of town, though, so we left and went to Taller Latino again, just for a minute to end the night on a good note. Also a good night!

Sunday: Columbus Day, which in Spain is huge, the Dia de la Hispanidad. So there was kind of a giant street fair in a plaza near my house (and in the surrounding area), so we walked around that for a while, and it was pretty awesome! There were countless booths selling food, from homemade bread to date loaf to roasted nuts to empanada things to a multitude of candy to chocolate bars to dried fruit to alcohol of various kinds, including liquor of dates, figs, and/or walnuts. I felt the need to obtain some chocolate covered orange and strawberry slices, which were quite delicious. Most of the booth workers wore Renaissance style clothes, appropriate for Columbus' time, which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the ridiculous amount of jewelry for sale, huge Spanish earrings and long necklaces and delicate silver rings and bracelets and jangly anklets and about any style of jewelry you could imagine, from "simple yet elegant" to punky to flashy going-out to hardcore with spikes to funky hippie. There was one stall selling jewelry and knick-knacks carved from palm seeds, which were really cool. Also there was a guy with a little table of jewelry he had made himself out of wire and semiprecious stones who gave me a little earring that supposedly would reveal my true love to me at midnight (nothing special happened at midnight, but it's a pretty earring and I'm still wearing it). I decided it was high time I had some properly giant Spanish earrings, so I bought some bright blue dangly things that fall past my shoulders but weigh nothing. They're pretty awesome, and I can't wait to show everybody back home! They also make some pretty fun clicky sounds when I move my head. There were also booths selling juggling paraphernalia, children's toys, witch dolls, fedoras, fans, black velvet coloring pages, and almost anything you can imagine.
In addition to all this merchandise, there were some performers wandering around the fair! There were a couple stiltwalkers, a faun on a leash (the girl was trying to sell him), a hunchback, and a knife-juggling jester, among others. There was also a traveling belly dancing show, two girls and a band. They were quite good, and I wondered why I don't belly dance. It's just something I should do, really. So cool-looking, and you get to wear such fun jangly scarves and so on! There was also a puppet show for the kids, and a trapeze show that I passed in an off moment, so I didn't actually get to see that show.
As we were walking back we heard a band on the street in front of us, so we ran to catch the parade. It was not like most American parades: most of it consisted of different groups of people, secret societies or something, walking with these really ornate staffs with silver or gold headpieces. Each group had a different headpiece, depicting symbols of their order, I guess. Most of them involved a cross and a pomegranate ("granada" means pomegranate), and many of them had other religious symbols, not all of which I could identify. The culmination of the parade was a giant statue of the Virgin Mary in her guise as, I think, la Virgen del Pilar, as it was her feast day too. The statue must have risen about seven feet off the pedestal, which was carried on the shoulders of twenty-eight men, if my counting was right. She was clothed in metal robes, with a metal cape and mantilla, and she held in her hand a baby Jesus who looked more like a miniature adult than an actual baby. She was surrounded by huge bunches of flowers, and there were lights shining up from the pedestal and illuminating the sculpture, which contrasted nicely with the setting sun behind her ... I'm sure they planned it that way, of course. Well, she looked lovely.

Monday: Since the holiday fell yesterday, the day off was pushed to Monday, just like in the States, so I didn't have class today either. Most of the day has been spent relaxing, although I did have some homework to do (*wrinkles nose*). Now I've got some important slacking to do, and I've rambled on for long enough, so that's all for today.

Besitos!