My Very First Bull Fight!!!!

Hey hey hey,

AHHH!!! I did it! I finally went to my first bull fight, and what an experience it was. Bullfighting in spanish is known as "Corrida de Toros"  It was absolutely the best thing I have done yet with my time here in Spain! It completely took my breath away.. now let me explain.

I have been learning about bullfighting and this "art" all throughout high school and have always had an interest in it and never understood why the heck would they kill bulls, and how is this an art? It's terrible, they're killing innocent bulls. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't believe this is an 'art' personally, but I do have a completely different perspective, understanding and respect for this part of the Spanish culture.

Let me start with the bullring, "La Plaza de Toros" in Sevilla, it is BEAUTIFUL. Oh my goodness, just from the outside - the white facade was gorgeous, as well as the yellow and red accents of doors, archways, and geo-metric shapes - otherwise known as the Neo-classical period (See.. this is what my art of spain class does to me!!!)

Anywhos, as soon as we found out seats (which wasn't easy in a huge ring like that! Lol and people were in our seats.. but we kicked them out muwahaha!) Finally, once inside the ring and settled it all hit me. I looked to my left, my right, straight in front of me and there were thousands.. thousands of people - the ring can hold up to 12,500 people and every single seat was full.

 La Plaza de Toros, Sevilla Spain *

The first bull made me very uneasy. I remember I looked out in front of me and all a sudden a bull was just dead, laying on the floor waiting to be taken out of the ring. The feeling I got in my stomach watching the first fight is something I'll never forget. It was unexplainable, think of the most uncomfortable situation you've ever been in where you feel frozen, like your body can't move - you're in complete shock.. kinda like that, but worse.

It got better as it went though! The first is always the worst. The rest of the show I loved and enjoyed! Me and my friend Maile were definitely too into it screaming and chanting.. but hey, when in Spain...!!

In our show we had two matadors and 6 bulls - each matador taking on 2 bulls! But, in our show when we went one of the matadors got injured. The bull hit right into him and gutted his lower stomach and leg - he had to be taken immediately out of the ring and could not return back to fight. This was SCARY. My jaw dropped, I grabbed my friends hands - I couldn't believe what we saw. It is SO rare to EVER see a matador get hurt and have the bull attack them.. but of course it was the one I went too!! (So cool though.) 

It's crazy to think that just like that his life could have been over, the matadors really are putting out everything they have - their life is on the line. Faced with situation of life or death, I know I could never do it - and for that reason I respect it so much! Luckily, the matador was fine and just had some bruises and seemed medical attention.. Phew!

Okay bull fighting info time! So each matador had a team of six people - including  two picadors ("lancers") who are on horses (but the horses on blind folded and have crazy protection so the bulls cant hurt them!!) three banderilleros  ("flagmen"), and a mozo de espada ("sword servant"), he hands the matador the final sword right before he kills the bull. 

There are three stages of bullfighting:

Stage 1 – Tercio de "Picadores 

Stage 2 – Tercio de Banderillas 

Stage 3 – Tercio de Muerte - "La hora de la verdad"

And before each stage the trumpets always played to represent a change in stage! 

In the first stage - This is when the matadors assistants - banderillas greet the bull at the entrance with their pink and yellow cape (capote!) There are opening passes in this stage to get the bull fired up, and then the picadores come in (the people on the horseback) and there are 3 main reasons why the picadores play an important part - it's a final test of the bulls "bravura" (willingness to charge at anything), give the bull confidence, and to temper the bulls charge! 

Banderilla waiting for the bulls entry! 

In the second stage - This is when the banderillas plant two "barbed sticks" little flag looking things, with sharp metal ends - they are placed right in the bulls shoulders too weaken the enormous ridges of neck and shoulder muscle. The bull now has lost a lot of blood causing the bull to make also make more ferocious charges. After this the bull is extremely exhausted and the matadors makes an appearance with his sword and cape - really tiring the bull out!

Banderilla about to place the barbed sticks into bulls shoulders!

In the third stage - The moment of truth! This is when the matador re-enters the ring alone with a small red cape "muelta" in one hand and a sword in the other. The matador does a series of passes with the cape - tiring the bull out even more getting ready for his final kill of the sword. This is known as estocada. Literally means "thrusting of the sword." The matador has 15 minutes to kill off the bull!

Matador about to kill off the bull!!! 

When the bull is finally killed there is a team of mules that drag the bulls body out of the ring. 

Here is a little synopsis of what a bullfight is like :)

The matadors wear a special suite called 'traje de luces' aka ""suit of lights." 

These are custom-made and embroidered with silver or golden thread, and easiest way to spot out who the matador is! It was beautiful to see the suit shine as the sun fell and the night grew to dusk - he sparked and shined in the bullring!!!

Fun fact about bullfighting - Bulls are actually color blind so the idea of a red cape has no significance other then it just being tradition and that blood stains are less noticeable on it. Bulls are attracted by the sense of movement and moving objects hence the cape! Lol
Also, what I learned is that the bulls before the fight are taken extremely good care of, fed well, and all - nothing bad nor tortured. Now I know you're thinking well they still kill them, and yes they do - but that's part of the Spanish culture and to many it is an art. 

Something else about the matadors risking their lives.. is that you'll notice that their stance is extremely outward.. meaning they're throwing their junk out there hahaha - because they're risking it all! If you know what I mean ;-) 

 Red cape used by mandator in his 'suit of lights!'

When a matador does really well with a series of turns with the cape, people will typically scream "Ole!" and when the fight is over if it was good people have white handkerchiefs that they twirl around in the air.. oh and everyone stands after each kill too, or atleast when I went! 

When the fight is over - and say the matador had an extremely good fight - he can be presented with a trophy "trofeo." Usually the crowd will demand the presenting of an ear of the bull that was just killed when it is deserved (waving the white handkerchiefs), and if so happens the matador is allowed to take a victory lap (vuelta al rudeo) around the ring! The president always hands out the "trofeo" 

BUT! If a matador was extremely well and has an incredible fight they can be awarded BOTH ears of the bull - when this happens the matador is carried on the shoulders by his 'admires' (salida en hombres)  We got to see both! One matador took his victory lap, and the other riding in his glory on the shoulder of his admires!!! 

First matador taking his victory lap!

Second matador being carried by his "salida en hombres" 

This experience literally was beyond words. This blog post to say the least isn't even a full explanation and description of what exactly I saw and absorbed from this. Without hesitation, my favorite thing I have done with my time here - I would never guess that watching bulls be killed in a ring would affect me, but it truly did - it was beautiful, just like everything else in this city. Being able to absorb all different parts of the Spanish culture is one thing I am so lucky to have throughout my journey here!!

Viva la vida!!!! Vamos al Plaza de Toros ;-)

Hasta hora,

Ayla 

University of Seville Orientation and Visit to Alcazar!

Hola!

Today is the day today is the day! School is finally approaching for the University of Sevilla! We don't start until September 24th, talk about a late start, right? But, anywhos - we had our orientation today bright and early! We got to see where all our classrooms are, the cafe, and offices. FUN STUFF RIGHT? Haha.. and then we had our standard welcome speech, of course all in Spanish!

I'm excited for the University I think the classes will be a challenge, but definitely worth it, and a learning experience to have classes only be taught in spanish with native spanish professors! There's only about 6 of us from ICS program taking classes at the University, but it's cool because we'll get to meet new people :)

ICS Students at US Orientation!

My beautiful University! 

Did I mention it used to be the Old Tobacco Factory of Sevilla?

After orientation we went to Sevilla's Alcazar, better known as the "Royal Fortress" or palace! The word Alcazar is derived from the arabic word "Al Qsar" which meant "fortress." Cool, right?  It is also o1 of the 3 buildings in the Occidental World that has been in constant use for more than 1,000 years! (The other two are the "Mosque of the Rock" in Jerusalem, and the "Mosque-Cathedral" in Cordoba, Spain.) 

The Alcazar was built in the 10th century and still stands today and one of the most visited sites in Sevilla! I fell in love with the Alcazar, a lot of it is original, although some rooms have been restored or added on as history occurred. This Alcazar is the best example of "mudejar" or "hispano-arabic" art, which I know sounds boring - but I swear, it was sooo interesting and honestly amazing to see in person! There are bunch of different rooms and palaces all throughout the Alcazar.. just take a look at all the pictures below :)

Me and Hayley inside the Alcazar!

 Just hanging outside the gardens! 

Main "Mudejar" Palace - of Pedro I

This painting is called "Virgin of the Fair Winds" (La Virgen de los Buenos Aires") painted by Alejo Fernandez!

This painting was inside the "Isabelline" wing of the Alcazar - this exact room known as (Admiral's Room) is where Isabella and Ferdinand met with Columbus before he set out to discover the NEW WORLD!!!! Now, tell me that isn't cool! 

It was a wonderful, beautiful, sunny day! I couldn't of asked for a more perfect day with a great group of people, and of course our lovely guide - Judy! 

Hasta pronto!

-Ayla 

My 19th Birthday!

Howdy there,

Happy birthday to me! 19 years old.. young !!! What an fabulous birthday I had here in Spain, being in Spain on my birthday was a gift in itself. It was such a wonderful day, I had class ICS which wasn't too brutal, which of course, is always a good thing! I received a birthday card from my mom in the mail too! 

When I got home for lunch my host family surprised me with a birthday cake and a birthday present! I finally got a real "Feliz Cumpleanos" sang to me!!! Haha, they are so great! I have never felt so lucky! 

Me with my host brother: Jose, sister: Lucia, and my crazy abuela <3

After lunch and all that jazz, I headed to the park with some friends from the program to play soccer and there they surprised me with another cake and sang to me! I was so surprised, it was soooo nice of them. And of course, we continued with our intense soccer game - world cup! We don't mess, and we met the cutest little pup too! I don't think playing soccer in a skirt was the best idea, but it was my birthday so I could do whatever I wanted! Hehe..

The gang in the park :) Love them!

At night a bunch of us all went to this club called "Puerto de Cuba" and it was AWESOME! Two of my other friends got me another cake and a little gift - it was sooo sweet of them too!! (TOO many cakes.. but hey I wasn't complaining!) The club was super fun, great music, and interesting people as always. It was right on the river so we had a beautiful view of Sevilla :) Also, the club was located on this street called "Calle Betis" and pretty much should just be called death row, because haha it does any person dirty - woops. And since I know anyone reading this will want to come to Sevilla after reading this, you'll find yourself on that street thinking the very same thing!!

This birthday was one of the best I've had in a while and couldn't be happier with the company I had and all celebrations that followed. 

I have never felt so grateful, lucky, or blessed to be surrounded by such incredible people and birthday wishes near and far!

I don't know how my 20th birthday will ever compare to this one celebrated in Spain!

Hasta luego! 

Trip To Jerez and Cadiz

Hi :)                                                                                                          September 17th, 2012

So on Friday the 14th.. our ICS school had a field trip to Jerez and Cadiz. I was so excited to go, and it was of course an AMAZING TIME! Jerez and Cadiz are two cities close to Sevilla it took like an hour and a half to get there, not too bad - plus we were riding in style.. coach bus! ;-)

First stop was Jerez and there we were going to a Bodega - winery :) A famous winery nonetheless! Called Tio Pepe - Gonzalez Bypass. It was SO awesome, we got an entire tour of the vineyards, different warehouses where they store the barrels and grow some of the grapes. We got to watch a movie about the history of the winery and how it has become world wide and supplies to over 130 different countries! 

Barrels with all different flags of the countries the winery is afflicted with

 Some of the vineyards :) 

 The "Tio Pepe" logo! Have you ever seen this before? 

And of course, the best part of the field trip was trying the wine at the end. Although I'm not a big wine fan.. it was fun to try all the different types, we tried a Tio Pepe brand and that wine was more bitter, but then we tried Croft which was a lot sweeter, I liked that one surprisingly! 

 Wine tasting at Tio Pepe with friends Dylan and Natalia!

After we finished at the Bodega we were off to Cadiz, a city right on the beach.. so you know what that means, time to soak up the sun :-). The beaches here are BEAUTIFUL!! There was a gorgeous view of the entire city from the shore line I literally was speechless. The water was warm, not hott nor freezing, but I only dipped my feet in, unfortunately there was seaweed at the break of the waves, but once you got pass that it was nothing but paradise!

 The city of Cadiz from the shoreline of the beach, talk about stunning or what!!! 

(Not to mention this is my FAVORITE picture!)

We didn't really have any specific plans, but just hang out, drink, and relax. I mean.. no one was complaining! One thing about beaches in Spain is that well, it's normal to be topless. All the time, haha so I saw quite a lot of topless women it was uncomfortable, especially old grandmas.. if you catch my drift. But, hey you know what when in Spain do as the Spaniards do.. except I didn't this time around! Lol, but it's completely normal here so, any takers? No need for skinny dipping in Spain. Aye! 

 Hotels and buildings all throughout Cadiz! 

Me and Dylan :) 

It was an awesome field trip, all included of course, so I can't complain! 

Xoxo 

Fun facts :)

Hey everyone!                                                                                          September 17th, 2012

I figured I'd just update everyone on life here in Sevilla, nothing too crazy has been happening, but of course without doubt, it is much different then the standard US living. 

There are some things that are just so different here! Ready for some fun facts?!

-Dessert here is always fresh fruit, always you will hardly see anything else. It's very uncommon to snack here, it's 3 meals and then tapas later after dinner if you wish to do so!
-During meals it's normal to watch the news, spanish people LOVE to be in the loop about whats going on in their country, or others.
-Their main supermarket here that is a chain is called "Supersol"
-A bank that is common here in Spain is called "Caja Rural"
-Una cerveza (a beer) is only 1 euro! This is good and bad... haha ;-)
-The main park here in Sevilla is called Maria Luisa and it kinda reminds me of central park, of course MUCH smaller, but theres people walking, running, playing sports, reading, do anything and everything! Very lively place at all hours of the day!
-It's uncommon for girls to play futbol (soccer) here because it's a boy sport, so when I tell people I play they look at me really weird.. haha
-All cars here are stick shift, it's RARE that you drive an automatic car!
-Kermit the frog here is called "La Rana Gustaba" isn't that funny? The same shows and cartoons, but just have completely different names!
-They read/write dates as "Day, Month, Year" 
-The phones here are only 9 digits as opposed to 10
-OMG the calendars here start on Monday, not Sunday.. so I keep messing up things in my planner.. annoying hahahaha
-Drink at age 18.. anywhere, anytime haha it's crazy (although I've def seen some 14 year olds at the bars.. oh well)
-It's normal to live with your parents until you're married, even if you're 30.
-Pandora and Netflix don't exist in Spain.. really though, when I tried it said "sorry this website hasn't made it to this part of the country yet" Sooooo.. yeah
-ALOT of people smoke here, yuck!

Alright.. well I think that's enough fun facts for now, I'm sure I'll have tons more in a couple weeks!


Xo  

School - ICS :)

Howdy everyone!!                                                                                 September 12th, 2012

So yesterday I started classes at ICS! (International College of Seville). I only had two classes yesterday and they were Three Cultures - a class about Jews, Christians, and Mulisms and how they came about in Spain and were affected. My other class is the Art of Spain.. well I guess that self explanatory. It seems interesting, and we'll be going on field trips to museums all around Sevilla so see the actual art we're talking about, which I'm super excited for.

My Three Cultures professor is from.. well guess where, eh, beaut, mate!? AUSTRALIA!!! Haha, she is SO cool. I like her, and she seems to want to get know us and likes to have group discussions as opposed to just lecturing! (Let's hope this lasts!)

My Art of Spain professor haha, shes a wack-a-doo, but she's great! Born and raised in the US in California, she studied abroad in Sevilla when she was around our age and fell in LOVE with it and knew she had to come back, in which she did and has been here teaching here in Sevilla for over 20+ years.

I only have class Tuesday and Thursday from 10:30-12:00 then 12:00-1:30pm, and I'm done for the day!! (Before all you people even wake up in the states)

I'm also taking classes at the University of Sevilla - we had to take a placement test to see if we could be placed into those classes and it worked out for me! Woohoo :-)

Classes at the University don't start until September 24th.. So I've been having plenty of time to just hang out and relax and explore the city!!!!

I'll be taking 3 classes at the University.. all in spanish, I'm a little nervous, but more excited. I hope I understand the class and will be able to learn and improve my spanish tremendous amounts! I'm taking a spanish literature class, spanish for english speakers, and cooking literature class. All my classes will be on Monday and Wednesday. The classes I'm enrolled in are only for international students so that'll be really cool.. once I start there I'll let  you all know!

It works out nice because I'll be able to ride my bike to ICS Tuesday and Thursday using the Sevici system, and take the bus to the University on Monday and Wednesday! I'm better making my schedule here then at Monmouth, woopsies! 

Boring entry I know.. but school is well, school

ADIO :) 

^(here they don't say ADIOS they only say ADIO! So there you go)

First Night Out!

Woohoo,                                                                                                Sept 10th, 2012 

First night really like out out in Spain was on Saturday night (not counting the night when I got here with my brother or the time I went out with my sister... she's just crazy in a good way though!!!) Haha, this time it was with all the students in the same program! 

We met outside the ICS (International College of Seville) building at 11 and had to be dressed all fancy, it was fun! We made our way to the party vendors place where we had some sangria and just hung out! 

Me, Dylan, and Emily!

After we walked lots and lots - (note: night out in Spain in heels + walking + cobble stone = BAD IDEA!!!!) Haha, but we made it to Hotel EME. This hotel has a whole bar and restaurant on the roof of it where you can see a BEAUTIFUL view of the Cathedral lit up at night, it was SOOOO beautiful, and the hotel is located right in the center of town! 

We got in for free too hehe yay.. it was so funny though, it was like 30 Americans crowding the roof top meanwhile all these Spaniards were trying to enjoy their romantic night out drinking and googily-eyeing their lovers hahahaha.. seriously us dang Americans.

 El Cathedral en el noche con la luz! and a little video showing you what I saw!

On the other side of the restaurant they had a whole pool side and lounge area... I don't know about you guys, but we need one of these ASAP! Hehe :)

Me in front of the Cathedral at Hotel EME!

It was an awesome night, although my feet killed it was worth it! Can't wait to go to a discoteca :)

XOXO