Feliz Pascoa!

Happy Easter!

I haven't updated in awhile- but it was on purpose. I was waiting for Semana Santa to end so I could write about it. Seriously.

"Easter" is not celebrated here. Semana Santa is. A whole week dedicated to Easter. But really, if you are regligious, you celebrate Semana Santa too. It is the whole week leading up to Easter- like Ash Wednesday, and Good Friday. Instead of having an ash cross on your forehead all day- there are processions in the streets. These are no ordinary parades.. First there are people dressed in robes with hats like the KKK. They march in the streets with huge walking stick-candles and little kids make balls out of the dripping wax. Then there are the huge floats. They are incredible, intricate, and very heavy. Carrying these floats are young men. They move to the music a marching band plays. The motion is very impressive because the floats are so heavy and the streets are so narrow. There are statues on the floats of different significant parts leading up to the crucifixion. Many are of Jesus- some are of Mary. It is an incredible sight. The processions go late into the night. Sometimes 4am.

You might think this fun. It's not. It is beautiful- but religious. You don't really go to have a good time. It is about seeing these people carry such a collosal object with such grace and celebrating the gift of God. Juana told me that when it rains the people cry, because the processions can't exit onto the street. I didn't understand this until I saw it firsthand. I went to see my friend Carlos' procession and it rained. The procession was cancelled. The people were so sad. I felt very sad too. It is a shame because the men who carry the floats practice very hard for a long time and they can't show what they have been practicing. It continued to rain for the remainder of the week. Many processions were cancelled.

On Easter Day- we did nothing. This was really different for me and a bit hard to be away from my family on a day we are normally all together. I think last year I was with almost my whole family. All the Derians and Derian-Toths. So literally not doing anything on the holiday was difficult. My mom sent Marta and I mini Easter Baskets. I loved it. I took a 5 hour nap for the remainder of the day.

So now for what I was doing when I wasn't seeing the processions. Obviously, I did not have school. My friend Tessa came to visit me in Córdoba for a few days at the beginning of the week. It was really nice having someone who understood me all the time. Carlos took us exploring.. And we went to his soccer game. The Spanish are just so much better at soccer...

After she left I didn't really do too much. I went to the old part of Córdoba to explore. And Marta and I would go to a friend's house everynight. Which was extremely boring for me. Her friends only speak English with me. It is really frustrating because this week I have become worse in Spanish. It is not fair for my parents to spend money for me to live here so I can learn Spanish when people only speak English with me. Maybe I should start a little tutoring business to make money. Hahaha!

Next weekend I think I am going to Cadiz to visit Tessa. My last day of school is a week from this Thursday.. Marta has to study for exams.. and so does everyone else in school so I won't have anything else to do for the entire weekend.