My last blog post was a week ago (yesterday, oops), but there is so little time left here and so much left to do. A week ago today, I watched the live-action Beauty and the Beast. It left me #shook. I recommend the movie to ALL audiences because it was truly a modern masterpiece. I appreciated the forward thinking by the producers to include a gay character and a transgender person into the film (even if it wasn't explicitly stated) along with multiple interracial couples. It gave a little modern twist to a Disney classic that represents all people from a variety of backgrounds. I could go on forever and ever about the new music (Beast's song) and CGI work, but this is a travel blog not a cinematic one. So back to mis viajes.
I spent the beginning of last week recovering from all of the Spring Break traveling. Against my sleepiness, I went to Sevillanos, the dance class, and I learned I am way more behind than I thought I was. I have only missed the last two classes. One was the day after the Barcelona flight disaster, and the other was when my parents and froomie were here. All in all, I have some catching up to do and some dancing to practice before Fería week. We only have 21 days left of class (25 if you include last week), so our classes are also getting to crunch time. With finals, final papers, and projects looming in the near future, I wonder how people in the past accomplished all this traveling and finishing/studying for everything we have to get done before May 10th.
On Thursday, I went to my internship as normal, and I told my best friend, Javier (age 7), that I would be done working there in two weeks. Javier was very upset by this, but he had the best idea ever. He got a little post it note and handed me a pencil then proceeded to say, "Give me your number." This cracked me up, but I know where Javier is coming from. He wants to have my number, so we can continue to talk after my job is over. I told him that it wasn't a good idea for me to give him my number, but his mom could add me on Facebook maybe. Like Javier, I don't want to lose the connections and relationships I have made through this. It breaks my heart to think that I have talked to these kids for the past 5 or 6 weeks, and when I leave, that's it. Nothing more. I'll never hear from them again, and I'll never know what ends up happening to them. I guess this is how all teachers feel after they say good bye to students they have formed bonds with. It sucks. A lot. It almost makes me a little thankful I switched away from teaching because I get too attached to people too easily. Good byes of this sort have always been hard for me, even when I was little. I vividly remember sitting on my swing set and crying when I was six after my last day of Kindergarten because I was sad to never see my teacher again. I cried on the last day of school every year until I was through elementary as well. Anyway, I may be happy to have free-time once I finish with my job, but I am not happy to have to say good bye to my favorite students.
That same day, we had orientation over the Toros. Bull fighting has a strong history within Spanish culture, and before this meeting, I refused to go watch the Toros. No part of me wanted to see a bull struggle then ultimately get killed after being hurt and worn to exhaustion. I did learn a few things during that meeting that turned my hard no into a perhaps. First off, the meat from the bull goes to a market, and all of the proceeds go to a charity. In the past, the meat was donated to orphanages or things of that nature, but now it's easier for the money to be donated and the meat sold. With the particular breed of bull necessary for the fights, their meat isn't good after they've lived for five years, and the bulls usually go to the ring around 4-5. Either way, they would have gotten butchered. Bull fighting, in the eyes of Spaniards, isn't about the bull dying either. It's about cheering on the bull for being a good bull and serving its life before dying valiantly. It's about the bull fighter and bull being connected, and the bull fighter learning about how the bull works. It's emotional, and it isn't taken lightly. We also got to meet a bull fighter, Jesús Franco Cardeño, and he showed us the capes the bull fighters use to provoke the bull, the capes they wear, and el Traje de Luces. He was very nice and let us put on/play with all of his stuff including the sword they use to end the bull's life. I felt like a real like Matador (#longlivethematador) which is also known as a Torero.
Here is a link for the video of when his face got gored by a bull's horn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5-r5tmPsA4.
To follow up the meeting about the Toros, we spent the next day at la Finca Las Monjas. This is a farm where they raise the bulls for the bull fighting. In each bull fight, 6 bulls are killed by either 3, 2, or 1 person. These bulls are raised to be very large with defined muscle tone. They are also very specific about the bull never seeing a person walking (i.e. on two legs) , so the bull doesn't know what a person is when they enter the ring. They only handle the bulls through a tractor or on horse back, so we rode around in a trailer attached to a tractor to view the bulls. They were exactly like I expected them to look. Beefed up and gross looking, to be honest. They live in large cercas (area enclosed by fence) where they could walk around and roam. The people on horse back make sure to handle with bulls with a lot of care and caution as well. Being on a farm gave me a lot of nostalgia for home. Not to mention, I got to ride a horse AND cuddle with a puppy.
After we viewed the cercas, we watched them test a cow to see if she'd be a good mother for future bulls. She was put into the ring and tested on aggression, endurance, and the ability to learn not to run into the horse (this will make sense when you look at pictures and videos). They acted as if she was a bull in the ring complete with the capes and all. I thought she did a good job, but I later learned that the owner thought the opposite which means she went to the butcher that night. They are very selective with their mother-picking process, and sadly, not everyone can make it through. The cow that day started strong and ended weak. They look for cows that start out so-so and end strong.
We spent the rest of the weekend celebrating a friend's birthday and catching up on the seemingly endless amounts of homework !!! how fun
I only have 46 days left here, and I can feel the end creeping up. My host mom, roommate, and I talked about it the other day, and we are all very sad about parting ways. Leaving Spain will be very difficult, but my little nostalgic day at the farm in the country reminded me why I've been missing home and Texas skies so much.
xoxo,
Caroline
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