What I Did this Weekend Instead of Studying

1) Bought plane tickets to Austria.

2) Bought bus tickets to Madrid so I can get on my plane to Austria.

3) Church-hopped. Semana Santa (Holy Week) is quickly approaching, and I think it is safe to say that the biggest celebration is here in Sevilla. Weeks ago preparations began for the many processions that will take place with pasos (floats that weigh thousands of kilos adorned with statues, gold, fancy fabrics, candles, etc.) throughout Sevilla and throughout the week. A friend and I spent Friday afternoon going to the many different churches to get a preview of the festivities to come. When we planned on going to check the pasos out, we had no idea that half of Sevilla would be doing the same. Really though, I cannot blame them. We had two churches in mind to visit, but as we wandered around Sevilla, we entered into any church with its doors open and surrounded by crowds, and at every entrance we were amazed. Every church had at least two floats, some with four. Aside from the floats, the statues themselves (some have yet to be added) were an attraction themselves. Hundreds lined up to get a good view of the Weeping Virgin and Jesus carrying the cross; we had joined a pilgrimage. We entered one church that we pass everyday on our way to school but has been closed since we arrived, and were completely amazed by the interior. We never would have thought the humble church on whose steps students botellon (bring their own alcohol to “pre-game” before going out for real) would have such an ornate interior. We entered another church to see a long line of people waiting to kiss the feet of Jesus, after which two guys in old-fashioned purple knight-outfits would wipe the feet with their gloved hands. What started out as an opportunity to take some pictures of the pasos in all their glory before they hit the streets next week ended as an opportunity to partake in a once in a lifetime experience.

4) Made my Señora cry. Somehow the topic came up that I was halfway done with my program (a subject I have tried to avoid as it makes my Señora sad every time) and before I knew it, my Señora was crying just thinking about it. And I don’t mean just a few tears, I mean weeping, even 10 minutes after the real crying had stopped I could hear her sniffling while preparing our lunch. She has already demanded that I come back to visit Caitlin (she already has it planned out that Caitlin will be studying in Spain and living with her), that I come to visit with my husband, then with my kids, and then with my grandkids. I can’t even imagine how hysterical she will be when I leave in exactly 2 months (time is going by WAY to fast).

5) Went on yet another adventure with my geography professor. I should know by now that when my geography professor plans an outing for us it will be anything but ordinary. I experienced this on the reforestation trip, our hike, and now on our “plant identification trip”. This trip was to the mountains north of Sevilla with other university students, professors, and people just plain obsessed with plants. I was delighted to see that my Spanish friend Antonio that I met at the reforestation was along on the trip, and I took the opportunity to catch up with him and pick his brain on places to visit in Spain. Our bus drove around dangerous curves (I am really surprised I didn’t die) for 45 min. only to drop us in the middle of nowhere. There were no cities or houses, or even a trailhead, in sight, just mountain after mountain. We split into groups and then headed on our respective paths to identify plants. Oddly enough, 12 hours of identifying plants was not as boring as it sounds. Our professor basically told us we didn’t have to pay attention to the plant identification but instead enjoy the absolutely fantastic weather and views. This turned the plant identification trip into a hike with breaks. After hiking for 4 hours we arrived at our designated lunch spot with a one-room building. Inside volunteers were preparing lunch for those actually doing work over a fire. In true Spanish style, the lunch break turned into a 2.5-hour party, complete with alcohol, food, Semana Santa pastries, and coffee. While the others filled out information about plants (this took forever since it was mixed in with smoking, drinking, eating, and socializing) we were able to relax in the sun perched on top of a mountain: not a bad way to spend a beautiful afternoon. As each group finished filling out the information, they headed back to where our bus would pick us up. My group left second to last, leaving one group behind. We finally arrived at our bus (we were all pretty exhausted after a long day in the sun) only to find out that the group left behind was now lost somewhere in the mountains. People had cell phones but since we were literally in the middle of nowhere calls were being dropped constantly. In the typical laidback Spanish manner one student said, “Ten people missing, no big deal, let’s head home”. My professor and those in charge were obviously a bit more concerned (aside from the joke that my vulture-obsessed professor kept making about just searching for the circling vultures to find the missing). After waiting 1.5 hours and talking with the police we got in the bus and started searching the mountains for the missing people. After another 45 minutes of searching we found them, in the complete opposite direction than they should have been heading (I have absolutely no idea how they went that way…perhaps all that alcohol was not a good idea). We headed home after a gorgeous day in the mountains with good company, happy to have everyone that we started with. A side note: we were given gifts once again, this time a bit more practical: a t-shirt and rain poncho.

6) Got sunburned. Let’s face it; no matter how much sunscreen I wear, I will always get burned, especially in the Spanish sun.

7) Talked to my greasy sister (and clean Mom and Dad) on Skype.