We got home from Africa the Wednesday of Semana Santa (Holy Week) so we had Thursday through Sunday to celebrate Sevilla style. Semana Santa is by far the most important week of the year in Sevilla. The city workers spend weeks preparing--Setting up gates, chairs, and bleachers in the main streets and plazas of downtown to get ready for all of the pasos (or processions). The pasos are the main event during the week. What happens is that each church has a "brotherhood" so-to-speak that dresses up in outfits that are very similar to the KKK (obviously with no relation) but in several different colors, mainly purple, red, and black. They walk through the town followed by a giant band and HUGE, intricate altars of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Every church has its own Virgin so the point of the procession is to show it off throughout the entire city. And these altars are INSANE. Most of the time they are made of solid gold, covered in flowers and hundreds of candles, which is absolutely breathtaking at night. It takes about 30 men underneath the altar to carry it--these men have to hold it up for about 12 hours during the day, which to me seems crazy, but so so cool. It rained for most of the weekend so many of the pasos were cancelled, but we still got to see some of the best week in the Sevilla.
Of course my camera battery died while I was watching the pasos (fail!) but I borrowed some photos from a friend so you all could see how cool it was! (Thank you Amanda McQuillan!)
One of the altars of Jesus.
One of the brotherhoods from the church. Almost every man in the city dresses up like this. Very crazy to see these men walking through the city all week!
Most of the men had rosaries in their hands or around the crosses they carried.
Altar of the Virgin Mary
The streets were PACKED for an entire week. Every store is closed down and everyone is outside watching the pasos.
Gorgeous altar...They look even better at night because all the candles are lit.
We went to church Easter Sunday with our friend's host mom and then spent the rest of the day doing homework, which was definitely weird. It was the first Easter I've ever had away from my family and I can't say that I enjoyed that part of it. But if I had to choose to spend it anywhere else, it would be here in Sevilla. Semana Santa is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
So our countdown to come home is at 25 days today... Holy sh....mokes. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see everyone back home, but it seems like our time here has passed us by in the blink of an eye. We've compiled a list of to-do's before we leave Spain (because I like making lists of just about anything), so last week we started to cross some things off...
Thursday night we skipped class (which of course broke my heart) to go to our first fútbol game. Before that, I had never seen a soccer game in my life so I really had no idea what to expect. Of course we bought some SFC tshirts to support our team (I think I'd take just about any excuse to shop) and watched SFC beat Real Zaragosa 3 to 0. I have been to A LOT of sporting events in my life, but I have to see I have never seen such intense team spirit as I did at the SFC game. There was an entire section of the stadium dedicated to the rowdy section, which I think was more similar to a mosh pit. The crowd cheered every second of the game, but not just normal cheers. They sang. For an hour and a half. And it was pretty darn cool. It was definitely a fun event to cross off the list, and I don't know if I'll ever get that song out of my head!
Roomies at our first SFC game.
Amigas outside the stadium.
New t-shirts. Heaven.
This past weekend we were off to travel more of the world. We went with our ISA program to Lisbon, Portugal. I wasn't really sure why of all places in the world we were going to Portugal, but once we got there I knew exactly why. It was gorgeous. beautiful. amazing. and any other cliché word I've used a million times in this blog. We got there Friday afternon and checked into the hotel...which was quite an experience in itself. Hardly any of the rooms were ready, so we were just waiting around in the lobby and when we FINALLY got into the room (with ten minutes to get ready), we realized that the water didn't work so the toilet and the shower didn't work either. I tried to avoid pictures of myself at all costs on Friday because clearly I wasn't looking my best!
Even though it was pouring (and pretty darn chilly I might add), we went to the Castillo de San Jorge which, after a never ending climb through the hills of the city, gave us a wonderful view of Lisbon. Even though we were soaking wet and miserable (the wind broke every single part of my umbrella), it was so worth it!
Lisbon, Portugal
My crazy amigas...Not so thrilled about the rain!
Saturday we went to the Monastery de Los Jerónimos which was another cathedral in which I could barely keep my jaw off the floor. Such gorgeous architecture, not that I should be surprised with that anymore I guess. Lucky for all of you who read this blog, I was not a very good tourist and didn't listen to much of what our guide had to say, so I am unable to bore you with useless details you'll never need to know. You're all very welcome! After the monastery we went to the Tower of Belém, which was situated perfectly on a the River Tajo. It was pretty stinkin windy, but still fun to go to the top and take lots of pictures.
The Monastery of Los Jerónimos
Mis mejores amigas!
Amigas at the top of the tower of Belém (thanks Amanda for this photo!)
We spent both nights hanging out in our friends' hotel rooms (somehow they all ended up with suites and we were lucky if our water turned on!) and I have to say that was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. I really can't believe how close I have become with these girls in such a short time and I know that our friendship won't end when we leave this place. They are such amazing people and thankfully as crazy and ridiculous as I am. I feel like one lucky girl these days and my amigas are a big reason for that!
So, this week we keep (slowly but surely) crossing things off of our to-do list, such as trying out Sevilla's famous churros with chocolate today and going to our first bullfight on Wednesday. I will keep you all updated and try not to bore you with such a long update next time.
Gonna try my hardest to make the most of these next 25 days en mi Sevilla!
Links to some of my photos:
See you all soon!!
Nat
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