We're so Sevillan!

 The beautiful portada (the entrance to the Feria grounds)

Feria de Abril

            We put our Sevillanas lessons to good use this week! Feria de Abril lasts for one week, from Sunday April 22 to Sunday April 29, with fireworks from the river on the last day at midnight to end it. Feria, meaning “fair” in Spanish, is a full week of dancing Sevillanas, drinking rebujito (a mix of Manzanilla (a type of white sherry) and tonic water, or just white wine and 7up if you’re cheap college students), eating churros with chocolate, and going on carnival rides. The international office at UPO taught us how to dance the traditional dance of Feria, called Sevillanas, which is a series of 4 short dances, each one more complicated than the next. We had a really fun time learning it and by the end of our lessons, could dance it well enough to be able to participate once we actually got to Feria. The people that know how to dance it in Spain have been doing it since they were toddlers, so by the time they’re older, they’ve add all sorts of flair and style to it that we were lacking. But nobody seemed to mind that we weren’t experts at it. It was obvious that we were foreigners and just trying to have fun. We got a few judge faces from snobby Spaniards, but we’re used to those looks by now. Most families have casetas (private tents with places to eat and dance), but there are also some public tents. We were lucky enough to be invited to our friend David’s tent. We met David while my parents were visiting. He studied in Miami during his college years, and now treats all Americans like family. He gave us his phone number and was kind enough to invite him into his family’s caseta. He introduced us to his family, and we ate and drank and chatted for a few hours. We left each other with the promise of him coming to visit us in Orlando with his wife and 3 children and repaying him for all the kindness that he showed us and I truly hope that he does! 

Getting ready to go out to Feria!

There are horses and carriages all over the place

Just a sample of some of the beautiful and extravagant dresses that the women wear

Notice the judge faces from all the people around us. What?? We can't dance a little?

The classic and always delicious way to end a night: chocolate and churros

The grand Finale of Feria!

Feria, like any proper fair, has lots of carnival rides, junk food, and expensive games to win silly prizes. We took advantage of all these things. The first night, Trevor, Preston, Britney, Chuck and Ally all wanted to go on the Barca Vinkinga, a terrifying boat ride that swings back and forth. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s much worse than that. On either end of the boat, there is a cage, which 5 or 6 people can fit in. And you just stand there and hold on while the boat swings back and forth. I declined and Jodi and I went on a roller coaster. It was a lot scarier than it looks, I promise. We ended the night with some bunuelos (small donuts covered in chocolate) and churros with chocolate. The next day, we came back for more and somehow Jodi and I were coerced into going on the Barca Vikinga. Because you’re just standing there and it goes so high so fast, when the end of the boat gets high enough, gravity becomes nonexistent and all of the people in the cage become weightless. The first few swings, I glued myself to the floor and held on for my life. But after a few, I slowly stood up and allowed myself to be lifted into the air and stay there for a few seconds before being lowered again. It was really really fun and probably illegal in the US. Good thing I took advantage of it while I was here! After that I was on an adrenaline rush and played a stupid dart throwing game where you have the slim chance to win an awesome prize, but are at least guaranteed something small. Of course, I lost and got to pick from the collection of small prizes, and I chose a plate with some fish on it. At least its useful and everytime I eat my Spongebob Mac and Cheese off of it at home, I can remember my amazing experiences at La Feria de Abril en Sevilla!

Me with my consolation, I mean, highly sought after, carnival game prize

Before going on the Barca Vikinga

During the Barca Vikinga

Love those Bunuelos! I promise they taste a lot better than they look

  The bullfights during Feria are supposed to be the best; they have the best bulls from the best breeders, the most famous matadors, and the most packed seats. To me, it was just 6 bulls being killed, and I can’t see how that deviates much. Of course, I had my eyes closed for a lot of the show so maybe I missed the critical “best” moments. For me, just being in the stadium with all the Spaniards for whom this a pastime, was more interesting that the actual bullfight. Bullfights are very culturally important to the Spaniards. They dress up as if they were going to church. The men wear suits and the women wear beautiful dresses. To Spaniards, bullfighting is not a sport, but rather an art. The men even brought cigars to smoke during the match. Looking out over the crowd, we saw just as many puffs of smoke as we saw sunflower seed remains scattered all over the floor. The fights are very social events also. While we were waiting for the fight to start, we watched as people walked by our section greeting all the people that they knew there before moving on to the next section and greeting everyone that they knew there. People also use the minute or 2 minute break in between each bullfight to talk with the people around them, standing up, stretching and chatting, before sitting back down a few moments later and resuming the complete silence to watch the fight. The only time people made noise during the actual fight was either to whistle, which means that they are tired of the fight and want to move on, or to cheer on the matador after a good pass with the bull. If the matador does something really good, like kill the bull on the first try, then he gets white hankerschiefs waved at him and gifts thrown at him. We even saw a man throw a live chicken. Still trying to figure out how he got into the stadium with that…

Here's how a traditional bullfight goes: 

Heads up: some of these pictures are kind of graphic. I'll leave some space between the pictures and the next post so you can skip straight down to that if you don't want to look.

First, the bull is released into the ring with several men who get the bull running and angry

Then 2 men on horses come out with a spear to stab the bull on the back

Then 3 picadores come out and each stick 2 barbed spears into the bulls back

Then the one-on-one face off of the bull and the matador

...before the bull is dragged out of the ring and workers prepare the ring for the next bull

Intense, right? I was covering my eyes while the Spaniards were snacking on sunflower seeds.

          

 

After almost a full semester, we finally got our act together and made it to a soccer game. Although I had previously declared myself a Sevilla fan, I had to suck up my undying pride for my team, because the cheapest and most convenient game for us to go to was the Real Betis vs Atletico Madrid game. I guess green looks OK on me too. The game was a really good time though. Soccer is a relatively simple game to follow and the fans around you definitely let you know when the appropriate time to scream is, so I don’t think I looked totally clueless. The fans were too busy screaming at the players to notice whether I knew what was going on or not anyway. Spanish soccer fans are some of the most intense sports fans I’ve ever encountered. They’re outspoken and loud, and have so much pride for their teams. They get so hyped up and intense during the game, that they have to smoke weed to calm themselves down. No joke. Not sure what the marijuana laws are like here, but the group of 50 year men sitting in front of us didn’t seem to concerned about hiding the fact that they were rolling up right in the stands, so I guess they’re not that strict. The game was really good though and the two teams were pretty evenly matched, so it got pretty exciting. It ended in a tie: 2-2. A little bit anticlimactic, but still worth the 35 euros! 

When something really good happens, they wave and circle their scarves. Good thing I was wearing a green scarf!

¡Viva la Betis!

 I was really happy to be able to spend this break in Sevilla. We haven’t spent this much consecutive time here since we arrived, and I’m glad that we were able to do all the Sevilla things that have been on our checklist for a while. We also got to experience the entirety of Feria, which is magical, so colorful and lively, a bullfight and a soccer game. Also, just being in Sevilla this time of year is amazing. All the flowers are in bloom and the city is so alive!

We go back to school tomorrow after a long 12 days off, and it’s going to be hard to get back into study mode. Especially since the semester is wrapping up and we have finals soon. Not to mention getting everything in order for our 12-day excursion around Italy! We’ll be starting in Rome, then going to Florence, Venice, Milan, and the Amalfi Coast, then flying out of Rome and heading back towards home. It’s all part of the adventure that is study abroad. We should probably start packing…

Love from Spain! Besos :)