Dejame Vivir....

.....is a great song that's becoming super popular aqui en Espana. You guys should check it out, it's a duo by Jarabe de Palo y Mari de Chambao.
In any case, I'm back from Andalucia, which was awesome, tons of fun, delicious, beautiful, and above all a crazy cultural experience. I think I have almost 700 pictures from the week, went a little crazy, especially at the Alhambra in Granada. I've never seen anything like the processions that went on during Semana Santa in my life. I don't think you would believe it or understand the insane processions that at first glance appear to be a KKK parade because of the large pointed hats and capes..however, it turns out it's a traditional Spanish cultural/religious affair. There are different colored outfits depending on the group, be it different unions or saints..ranging from an all white getup, to black, yellow, red, green, etc. All of them held long, burning candles that would drip tons and tons of wax on the street. Depending on the city (it was a different atmosphere in every city, Sevilla, Granada, and Malaga), people would be taking part in the procession, small children coming up with balls of tin foil to catch the dripping wax to create their own "wax balls," join in with noisemakers, etc. There would always be a very loud band with lots of drums to let you know where the procession was. Finally, a huge, probably 10x10 ft. float with a huge statue of the virgin mary, lots of candles and gold would be carried through the streets...it was interesting and quite creepy at times.
Unfortunately, at the moment I don't have time to recount the differences between the cities, because it's my host mom's (Pilar) birthday today...must go home and celebrate/get her some flores!

Ha'ta luego

ay caramba! semana santa comienza!

Semana Santa is the week before Easter aqui en Espana, our spring break.....

So here I am in Barcelona, sitting in a park in my neighborhood, illegitimately getting internet…I guess that’s what happens when you become a poor traveling student overseas…the cost of paying for internet is extraneous and high, and since the wireless internet in my apartment is no longer available, I have had to succumb to such ways. In any case, I’ve just come back from traveling up north, specifically Amsterdam. It was incredible seeing the difference in culture and customs up there. That’s technically the most northern part I’ve been in Europe, and one can definitely tell.

Firstly, I heard tons of English around me, tons of friendly people, and lots of tourists. Well, the tourists aren’t unique to Amsterdam, but for some reason I noticed a lot of them there. It was beautiful during the days we were there, and thankfully only really rained the last night. It was awesome, we walked around practically the whole time, the canals were awesome, although it was bitterly cold, we got to see al ot of the center of the city. Our hostel was in a great location, right next to the large Vondelpark, near the museums as well as Liedelsplein (definitely spelled that wrong...)

Anywho, I just realized that my flight for Sevilla leaves tomorrow at 6:50 am! REAAAAAlly early, meaning I have to get there at 5:45, and get on a train to get to the airport, so early early wakeup call!

I'm going to be in Sevilla, Malaga and Granada for the next week, so I definitely will have limited time in the next weekish to update. Everything's grea tthough, and I'm hoping for beautiful weather to take advantage of Andalucia's Arab baths and the beaches.....

Ay dios mio, this is going to be craziness, but i'm super excited, have 2 batteries charged and lots of energy (haha)

Hasta luego a todos,

que vayan bien!

Val