We had heard stories from other students, and we were all excited. We were going to Carnival: an all-night party which is the Spanish equivalent of Mardi Gras. We all had costumes and masks to become an army of pirates, hippies, gypsies, ninjas, and traditional Andalusians. Prof. Bierling had reserved a bus to get us to Pego (the city with the biggest celebration in the area) at just before midnight, the time when the parade was supposed to start. We knew it was going to be cold, but we hadn’t counted on the rain. All day Saturday it poured, and a few hours before we were going to leave, Prof. Bierling called the city of Pego and confirmed that the festival had been canceled. So, instead of having some crazy pictures and even crazier stories, we have water-logged shoes, cold fingers, well-used umbrellas, and rested bodies. We are still waiting to find out if the celebration will be rescheduled for this coming Saturday.
But this makes it sound like the week was terrible, which is far from the truth. Over the past week, most of our small groups (studying either Acts or Cold Tangerines) have started up. The Spanish 308 class had their first literature exam (two essays, one short answer, two hours: go!). We have continued meeting with our conversation partners from the local high school. A group of students visited Denia’s cemetery to learn about how the Spanish Civil War affected this community. Friday night, the group went out to celebrate Kyria’s birthday, and Sunday afternoon, the Baptist church had a potluck in honor of Valentine’s Day and their current sermon series about being a community of love. Despite the abnormally chilly and wet weather, this past week fit the normal rhythm of life in Spain: laid back and full of people.
-Written by Cheri Ackermen
"SIS 2010"--can you read it?!
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