Preparation

It has been a week of preparation. All of the students have been preparing for a plethora of exams and the people of Denia have been preparing for Las Fallas.
At the beginning of the week the celebratory mood of Denia came alive. Some of the streets have been closed down in order to facilitate large colorful sculptures. These huge sculptures are called fallas and many are as large as the buildings around them. The falleros (teams of workers) have been working on these masterpieces all year, and all of the hard work culminates in the celebration of fallas this week. (I will only describe the preparation here and leave you in suspense as to what the celebration entails this weekend :) )
Just a little tip for visitors during this time of year: ¡Ten cuidado! Watch out for groups of children in the street. A favorite celebratory pastime of the youth of Denia is to throw firecrackers in the street (and I literally mean lighting the firecracker and throwing it onto the sidewalk or into the middle of the street). A simple task like walking to the grocery store can turn into an action-packed scene with explosions from all sides! It seems to me like there is never rest during this week. Music, firecrackers, tourists, and paellas abound until all hours of the night.
Other than that, we have all been working diligently to study for exams in the hopes that we will be able to better celebrate after we have finished. Keep us in your prayers as we continue to work hard at our classes!

--Written by Clara DeJonge