There's no place like Cadiz (at Carnival).

Last weekend was the biggest party in Spain: Carnival. You bet I didn't want to miss out.

Carnival is a 10-day long party 'celebrating' the beginning of lent (celebrating really meaning just binging on the things they're about to give up for the next 40 days). Every [Christian] country has their own version of it. For those more familiar, it's Mardi Gras, Spanish style.

So once a year, thousands of young people make a pilgrimage to costal city Cadíz in wild, creative, and not-safe-for-work costumes. They cart along with them bags of booze to make it through the long night. Essentially, it's a Spanish botellón with costumes, and no jackets in the middle of winter. Only in Spain. (For those still unfamiliar with the concept of botellón, I'd like to reference Wikipedia.)

My wonderful friend Vanessa decided to come along for the ride (she already being experienced with Carnival from the previous year). She came into Córdoba the previous day so she could explore the city and we could prepare our costumes. In an effort to save money and brain power, we decided to not dress together (as is the custom - big groups decide on their costumes together and dress alike). Doing minimal shopping, I dresses as a cowgirl and Vanessa as a pirate. I got a hat, some pistols and fashioned a large belt buckle (resisting a last minute impulse to put a giant "W" on it) and she got a sweet sword and we were looking savvy and set to go.

We took one of the many advertised buses for carnival (ida y vuelta for 15 euros a person - great deal!) which left Córdoba at 6pm and arrived in Cadiz close to 10. We would party the night away, check out a little bit of Cadiz, and head back on the bus at 730 in the morning. Or so was the plan.

After looking at the weather report, we had the suspicion that our plans may not go accordingly but retained the optimism that only two people in elaborate eleventh-hour costumes could.

Alas, we arrived in Cadiz after nearly 4 hours on the party bus. As soon as we got off the bus, the Mario band started - literally - and the crowd began to dance in circles in what was only a warm up for the night to come. After rounding off a couple tunes, the group moved towards city center where the big party was. We came across a stage with a group of wildly dressed men singing vivaciously - the infamous Chirigotas, satirical songs that native speakers have admitted they can barely understand. After taking just a moment to appreciate the cultural moment, we moved on to check out the rest of Carnival.

What we found were hordes of people in brilliant costumes: nerds, playboy bunnies in birthday cakes (men, not women), flies with their swatters (and the excrement to come with), Baywatch Babes (again, men - not women), mops (like the kind you clean your kitchen with), showers, and lots of Avatars. I have always regretted not getting to Hollywood during Halloween - but I'm pretty sure I had an awesome taste of what it is like (especially if you just added tons and tons of alcohol). For a couple hours we moved through the crowd to see the costumes, take pictures, and talk to some very friendly (and probably drunk) Españoles.

After running into some cows who were most interested in showing us their udders (no perversion, I mean that literally), the rain started. It was just a little, but enough that we found some shelter in a cool little bar where we found a cozy place to sit and have some drinks and munch on the sandwiches we packed. While we were in there a drumline came in and fired up the crowed by playing and passing out straw hats. After a couple hours, we decided we wanted to check out maybe some other bars or discotecas. Probably a bad move as we were unsuccessful and moseyed on back after about an hour, only this time the bar was far more packed with nowhere to sit and barely any room to stand. Staying only for a little bit, we left again while everything else was closing up.

Of course, this is also while the rain upped the ante and went from a steady drizzle to bullets in the wind. Looking for any type of outdoor shelter, we brainstormed and went to the train station to find a terrace where other people had also decided to camp out. After taking a short walk further to see if there were any other options (that left us very wet as the wind rendered our umbrella practically useless) we came back to the station and set up a fort by a post (umbrella to our backs, plastic bags on the ground) and began to do anything we could to take our minds off the weather and the time we had remaining until our bus picked us up (which we were informed would be 630am instead - a great relief). T-100 minutes.

We played 20-questions, what-would-you-do-if-you-were-on-a-desert-island, filmed videos, sang in that time and near the end, we were suprised to look around and discover that all the people that had originally shared our shelter with us had disappeared. We wondered where they had gone (hadn't we have found the best spot possible anyway??) but prided ourselves on keeping our minds off the surrounding misery. As we left the terrace to see if our bus had arrived yet, we walked past a large temporary building that many of our fellow Carnivalers had piled into to stay dry. Guess that's where they all went to. Wimps.

Finally getting on the bus, we took off our wet clothing (I was tempted to actually take off my jeans, but thought better of it). I was most relieved to ring out my now-soaking socks and put on the dry ones I had stored at the bottom of the backpack. Thank you Mom for being so smart. So, with my dry socks and draped scarf, Vanessa and I snuggled together on the bus to sleep a few winks on the way back to Córdoba and finally end the great adventure that was Carnival 2010.

I'm not going to post any more pictures here because really there were too many to choose from, so please enjoy the full album here.

Torture, Four Days a Week

I have the pleasure and misfortune of walking 25 minutes to and from school Monday through Friday.

I say the pleasure because I do indeed love the walk. It's a mostly peaceful walk in the cool air which gives me the time to run through my classes in days ahead and days past. I practice Spanish in my head (everything I'm thinking I try and translate... which usually boils down to an exercise in seeing how simple my thoughts really are).

And I also say misfortune because those 25 minutes (really, nearly an hour after I make it back home) are utter torture. In the morning nearly every open shop beckons me with the yeasty aroma of fresh bread and slightly sweet from the more delectable and spongy croissants. On my way home (just when I'm hungriest during my day) not only are the smells still wafting around, but now the windows too are filled with merienda-time treats: pastries filled sky-high with barely-sweet cream, chocolate covered and flaky elephant-ears the size of one's head, or shiny cups filled with glistening, sticky flan. With the endless amounts of other tantalizing and mouth-watering desserts, I gaze longingly into each window and door as I walk by (and maybe even taking an extra swallow as I pass).

Anyone who knows even an ounce about me knows that I have a pestering sweet tooth and a huge vulnerability when it comes to desserts, pastries, cookies or nearly anything else that might usually be the finishing touch to my meal. With that, every day has become and exercise in pure self restraint where I simply slip into day dreams about one day actually indulging in the delectable edibles displayed behind that infallible glass counter.

Smashup of the last month

As I'm waiting for my dinner to come out of the oven, I thought it might be a good opportunity to do (I'm sure a long-awaited - not!) update on my blog. I regret neglecting it, but it's probably to the benefit of those who even read. :)

As I alluded to, life in Cordoba has been rather ordinary the last month. But this is definitely not a complaint (anyone who's ever known me would probably attest to the fact that I indeed find much comfort in "ordinary"). It definitely means I've settled in to life in Spain - its joys and frustrations - and simply have gotten down to brass tacks in doing what I came here to do. Along the way, there have definitely been some highlights.

The weather - After our freak snow flurry, the weather cleared up and it got dry for the first time in weeks. The sun was out, dried out the apartment, and I even got to bask in the warmth that came in through my balcony door on a couple afternoons. One day as I was walking, I even found it warm enough to take off my jacket and scarf and pretend that Spring was upon us. Unfortunately, the predictions now give us rain and cold (and possibly snow again!) for at least the next 10 days (the US blizzard is making its way across the Atlantic), which only makes me appreciate the recent good weather even more, and look forward to the Spring weather to come.

School - The last month with my students has been very successful and I feel like I've finally got the hang of my classes (at least the bilingual classes that have me every week). We began with a unit on Human Rights where students formed countries and created their own Bill of Rights for their countries. I was extremely impressed with what they came up with and even got a giggle out of a few of their bullet points (for example, a restriction on the amount of time given to commercials on TV - totally understandable with the never-ending commercial breaks that is Spanish television entertainment).

Trips - Spring Break plans (or rather "Semana Santa" - Saint Week) were made official. My friend Jenna and I will be spending 9 days touring Italy. I'm so excited. I have already ordered, received and started the initial research in my 2010 Lonely Planet Italy guide (I'm serious about the planning!) and also already completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff to see in so little time. (Only giving reason to not make it my only trip this lifetime.) Days after we return, my friend Lindsay is coming out to visit me and we're going to jam-pack as much of Southern Spain and Madrid into 7 days as possible. I'm ecstatic. And finally, after sending off Lindsay, I head out the same day to visit a friend in Scotland for a 3-day weekend. I'm so excited, but again convinced that it must not be a once-in-a-lifetime event (can't see everything in 72 hours!). Aside from that, I'm hoping to go to Carnival in Cadiz next weekend (still working on my costume) and possibly Barcelona in March. I have realized that my time is running out (and so are good flight deals) and I'm going to pack in as much as possibly in the next 4 months.

Salamanca - I had the wonderful opportunity to go with my frosh roommate, Vanessa, to Salamanca 2 weekends ago. Salamanca is where she had the opportunity to study abroad, so I thought it was a perfect time to go, have a place to stay (a friend from her time studying there) and have a personal tour guide. It was laborious getting there (5 hours to Madrid by bus, and then another 3 hours due west) but completely worth it. The city was absolutely gorgeous and just felt ancient. Although the beauty of their cathedral is far surpassed by others, tourists have the opportunity, for a small fee, to actually go up into the Cathedral and see it from a above, both inside and out. Seeing the beautiful medieval architecture from such a different vantage point was incredible not to mention with a bright blue sky as the backdrop. Overall, the weekend was wonderful - seeing a new place, meeting new people, and catching up with my dear friend. But it was a cold weekend (despite somewhat clear skies it was still bitterly cold for my desert-blood) and I looked forward to returning to a more comfortable latitude.

Finally, this week in honor of Valentine's Day (one of my favorite holidays!) I have given a plethora of candy out to my students and made brownies for my teachers (who are utterly astonished that I made them myself, maybe bringing to light that this is not only uncommon, but a very grand gesture that I was unaware I was making. At least it's a positive one!) This weekend, as the weather is predicted to be gray and wet, I look forward to saying in and pampering myself and maybe even making my way out to H&M for a brief look at their new stuff. A great example of how ordinary - and wonderful - life can be in Spain.