Dance and romance - ugh, I wish both were easier!

Classes are going good, even though 2 days ago I had to hold back the urge to tell Felipe to shove his cane where the sun don't shine. You see, he had us try an exercise to work on our posture, and when I tried it, I had a little trouble with it and he said "eres difícil" - you're difficult. Never in my life has any dance teacher ever described me as "difficult". It made me feel as if I were a slow learner or that I was like those people who audition for So You Think You Can Dance and think they're good but suck (and don't realize it till the judges tell them they're terrible). Didn't he see the look on my face that made it obvious I was trying to get it right? Geez, sorry I'm not a prodigy like you, Mr. Perfect. Ugh... And if he makes one more comment about me sticking my ass out too much (I'm trying to correct that too, but I think he could be a little more tactful when telling me), I will have to fight back the urge to say "well then, kiss my ass, why don't ya?!"

Anyway, at my next class with Lourdes, I asked her if my dancing was ok, and she said yes and I said "Felipe said I'm difficult..." and she gave me some constructive criticism, which I appreciate. She told me to remember to keep my back and shoulders in the right position. That's what I prefer - constructive criticism helps me to see what I'm doing wrong and do something to correct it. Comments like "you're difficult" make me feel like I can't do anything right. But things are going better in class now. I make more effort to get things right and I don't think Felipe hates me anymore!

I went to the flamenco dance museum a few days ago, and liked it. The admission price was a little too much for such a small museum (10 Euros, yikes! I paid less than that to get into bigger museums!) but it was cool. I also bought a book at the gift shop there called "Flamenco - an Englishman's Passion" and it was written by a British man who loves flamenco. I'll probably start reading it soon.

Tomorrow, I'm going to El Rocío. I'll take the bus there. I figure I can either camp out like most of the people, or if I can't handle it, I can take the bus back to town, sleep in my apartment, then head back on Sunday. I'm definitely staying overnight on Sunday night/Monday morning because it's at sunrise that they'll take the statue out of the shrine and parade it around. I bought a pair of boots to wear, and they were much cheaper than I expected. I normally would expect a pair of quality leather boots to be a lot more than 55 Euros! Frig, my flamenco shoes cost twice more than that...

I'm really confused by Mauro's behaviour. I figured that if he really liked me, he would have called within the first 2 days after I gave him my number, but he never did. I went back to the cafe on Wednesday and asked for his number and he gave it immediately (I figure if he didn't want me to contact him, he would have said something like "you don't need it, I'll call you"). But later while he was cleaning up when they were closing, I would sneak glances at him and Juan said something like "you have a lot of passion when you look" and I said "I really like him...". Turns out Juan didn't know I liked Mauro till then (I thought giving him my number made it obvious?) and he seemed disappointed. Juan often flirted with me but Christine had told me that he's just naturally flirty so I took it with a grain of salt. But turns out Juan was interested and seemed disappointed when it turned out that Mauro was the one I wanted. I'm not interested in Juan - he's too old (36) and honestly, I think he's kinda ugly (looks like he doesn't know much about proper dental hygiene, yuck!). When it was time for Mauro to leave, he gave me the usual two-cheek kiss (I figured if he really liked me, he would have given me a real kiss by now?) and left. Juan kept trying to flirt with me, but I think I made it clear that it's Mauro I want. Then, I went home.

Yesterday, I sent Mauro a text message asking him if he wants to go for coffee that afternoon and he never responded. I actually worried that maybe he had given me a fake number, but then I decided to just bite the bullet once again and phone him myself. It wasn't a fake number and he seemed happy to talk to me. He's been busy lately (long work days, plus preparing to go to El Rocío) but said we can go for coffee next week. He's playing music at a private party in El Rocío so I can't go see him play, but we talked about meeting up some other time during the pilgrimage when he has a break or whatever. I also said I might drop by at the cafe that evening. But when I went (wearing that cute new dress he likes), they were closed and he was already gone. Juan was still there but I still kept my distance to avoid encouraging him. I figured if Mauro liked me, he would have made an effort to stick around till I arrived.

Ugh, I'm so stupid when it comes to trying to figure out men... This is why I don't understand why people think I should be glad I didn't date in school (supposedly, high school dating really sucks) - all the lessons I should have learned a long time ago, I have to learn now. And all the mistakes I should have made a long time ago, I end up making now. Mauro seemed to like me at first (which is why I was so hopeful after I gave him my number), but he's not making much of an effort to spend time with me and he hasn't even tried to kiss me yet. Yes, I know he's busy, but if I were in that situation, I would still make at least some effort to spend some time with someone I really like (I'm not expecting him to drop everything and sweep me off my feet, but still!). I don't know, maybe he's just playing games, or maybe Juan said or did something to make him lose interest... If anyone (especially my guyfriends) has any insight on this situation, please share it with me (fyi - the old "forget him, he's not worth it" stuff won't help - I want to know what's going on with his behaviour).

I asked a few classmates for advice. Neeru from England said to play it cool and ignore him for a bit. He'll miss me and come chasing after me after that. Evelyn from Holland said to be direct and ask if he likes me or not. I think I'll take the British approach for now. I've been direct all week and I think he needs a chance to miss me. Plus, I don't want to seem desperate. My British classmate said that being too eager to spend time with a guy might end up being a turn-off. So I won't contact him while I'm in El Rocío. If he calls me, great. If not, then I'll wait till next week. Maybe even show up at the cafe with a guyfriend like Nathan, Alex, or Antonio - if he thinks he's got competition maybe he'll be a little more eager! Well, we'll see...

I also found out today that one of my other classmates (from Switzerland) had a little fling with one of the male teachers in the flamenco school. She's 22 and he's 34 - he teaches the rhythm/clapping classes and I think he also teaches flamenco singing. He's a really good singer - when I took his course, I would clap out the beat and he'd sing along when I was doing it right.

Anyway, that's it for now!

Holy frig, I can't believe I did that...

Well, it had been more than a week and Mauro hadn't really made a move even though he was quite friendly and kinda flirty with me. I was tired of waiting around for him to make the first move, so last weekend, I figured that since I only have 3 more weeks in Seville, I should just grit my teeth and make the first move myself. If I don't go for it now, I'll lose my chance. And I wasn't going to allow myself to chicken out.


So last night, I put on my cute new dress (black with white dots and a white ribbon around the waist, a little above knee-length, modest but still flatters my figure) and went to the cafe where he and Juan work, and once again, he was friendly with me and happy to see me. I ordered a tinto de verano (red wine mixed with sprite) and a tapa. He chatted with me when the cafe wasn't too busy, but when he wasn't looking, I wrote my cell phone number on a piece of paper. Then, I ordered a glass of wine, and later when it was time for me to pay, he gave me the little plate thingy with the bill, and along with the money, I also slipped in the little paper with my phone number.

Later, when the cafe was closing, he gave me a flirty smile as he was cleaning up. Juan kept giving me a smile as if thinking "so you like Mauro, eh?" And then when they were almost done cleaning up, I said to Mauro "I hope you didn't throw away the little paper I gave you" and he said no and pointed to his pocket. I said "call me sometime" and he said "I will, we'll go for coffee" and later in the conversation, he told me he doesn't really have much to do after work in the evenings, so I said "do you want to go for a walk?" He said yes, and when they had finished closing the cafe, we went to La Carbonería.

Apparently, on the night that he and Juan played music at La Carbonería, the owner threw them out because they weren't officially booked to play there (they just showed up after the real show was over and jammed) but since he didn't have his flute with him this time (he and Juan didn't play music at their cafe last night because apparently the owner's mother is dying so they want to keep things quiet for now), we could go in. He got a beer for himself and a glass of wine for me, then we found a table in the terrace (the outdoor part of the place). We chatted mostly about music, but other things too. I told him I was in town during the feria and showed him the picture of myself in my flamenco dress (the one where Nathan and I are in the tango pose) he said I look good in it. I also said that it took me a while to find a dress that fit properly because I don't have the same body shape as most Spanish women, and he said "yes, you're quite tall" (but he's still taller than me even when I wear heels). He asked me how tall I am and I said around 5'8", or 174-175 cm, and he said "I like tall women". Also, he told me that he's going to play music in El Rocio next weekend during the pilgrimage for 3 days, and I said I might go to El Rocio too. Hopefully, I'll see him there, and hear his magic flute again... Later, he got a phone call from his buddy, and then when he hung up he said that a few of his friends are at his place and invited me to come along.

So we went to his place - he lives close to the cafe. On the way over, I said that I just bought this new dress a few days ago and love it so much that I've been wearing it often, and he said "you should" (I look quite hot in it, actually!). When we got to his place, he had two buddies there watching a flamenco program on tv. We didn't talk much but they commented on the singing and dancing. Later, Mauro was tired so he decided to go to sleep, and said I can hang out with them if I want, but I decided to go home and sleep too (got class in the morning, after all). We said goodbye and gave each other the two-cheek kiss like always, and then I walked home.

Holy frig, I am so surprised that I actually had the confidence to make a move! Normally I'm so shy when it comes to guys I like and I'm always worried that I'd be too forward if I made the first move. But when Christine said she thinks Mauro likes me, it gave me a little more confidence. Plus, I've also been begging St. Valentine (patron saint of romantic love) to pray for me! Hehehe...

And if anyone tries to tell me that it's wrong for girls to make the first move, I'm not going to listen to you. I was sick of waiting for him, so why should I have to settle for just smiling and making eyes at him when it didn't lead to anything? I figure any real man will like a strong woman who has confidence - I may not be a radical feminist, but I still think that it's good to be strong and have control over your own love life (and on the flip side, I still like chivalry and romance even if I'm not super-old-fashioned). I think that any man who is turned off by confidence is a man I wouldn't want to date anyway.

Anyway, that's the saga of flute cutie for now... but hopefully there is more to come! ;)

I got pictures!

Yes, I will show you a few of my many pictures from the start of my stay in Seville till now. If they're too small or not clear enough, just click on them to see the big version:


Holy Week - a barefoot nazareno walks through the streets in Seville in one of the many "pasos".

Holy Week - one of the many floats showing Jesus' Passion.

A flamenco show at Casa de la Memoria

No, they're not Klansmen, they're nazarenos! They give candy to children, for frig's sake!

Plaza de España

Baby nazareno and his mommy.

La Macarena - most beautiful statue of Mary ever.

Spanish teacher (the guy) surrounded by foreign gals (and another teacher in front).

My host family - the guys are Roberto (left - another student who stayed there) and Ricardo (aka Richa - Pepi's son). The women are Pepi (right - house mother) and her mother.

One of the treasures of the Cathedral.

The Feria de Abril - people dancing Sevillanas in flamenco costumes.

Nathan and I lookin' Spanish.

Me and Nathan being silly (In Spain, I've got a "cuerpo guitarra" - guitar body sounds much nicer than "fat ass", hahaha)

Antonio (back row, far right - red tie), Manolo (beside him, with the glasses) and their friends in Manolo's caseta.

Teacher Carmen (front) and the flamenco class.

Mauro *swoon* and Juan jam at La Carboneria.

Night time in the Barrio Santa Cruz.

Little horse rider at the Jerez feria

Felipe and Luna dance at Casa de la Memoria

Well, there you have it! A sample of my photos. Viva Sevilla!

Hot weather, Felipe's mind-blowing dance, romería del Rocío, and longings for Mauro...

Flamenco classes are going well. Actually, I think Felipe worked us harder in a week than Carmen (my teacher for the first 4 weeks) did! I hardly ever broke a sweat in Carmen's class, but in Felipe's class I'm always drenched in sweat at the end! And since he makes us repeat everything all the time without a break, sometimes even outside of class I find myself trying to practice his choreography! And sometime during the week, everyone messed up on something new he had taught us the previous day, so he said in Spanish "the one who does it perfectly is invited to a romantic dinner with me". Hehehe... he's one of those people who's sexy and knows it - actually many times in class I noticed his reflection in the mirror and he was always giving intense "yeah you're hot!" looks, but not to anyone in the class - he was checking out his own reflection! Hehehe...

I went to another flamenco show at Casa de la Memoria and he was dancing there, and he is AMAZING!!!!!!!!! He's only like 5 feet tall (the female dancer there was taller than him!), but he is a friggin' firecracker! I had my jaw hanging open as I was watching him dance. Plus it's not just the dancing that amazed me - he had this look of passion on his face that makes his love for dance so obvious. He wasn't looking at the audience or trying to show off, he was dancing for the love of it - a mark of a true dancer. He has long-ish hair and always ties it back in class, but in the show his hair was down and drenched in sweat. As he was doing zapateados (the foot-stomping in flamenco), I half-expected to see smoke rising from his feet. When he finished and everyone was clapping, I had an urge to scream out "REAL MEN DANCE!" but I didn't - people would think I'm weird. But holy frig, Felipe Mato is one of the most amazing dancers I've ever seen!

I saw Mauro again a few times, but since the cafe was busy we didn't really get a chance to talk much. But I did see him and Juan play some music and Mauro plays the flute with the same passion as Felipe when he dances. I could see it in his face. Christine thinks he likes me - when we were at the cafe together she noticed he was more flirty with me than anyone else. Another time at the cafe I overheard him telling some other tourist that he's 30 - frig, he does NOT look 30! I thought he was around 25 or so. Oh well, 30 isn't too old for me! Christine and I, and her daughter (she has a 6-year-old named Matilda) went there for lunch today so that I could check him out again, but he wasn't there. Juan said he was sick, but I remember Mauro telling me he got hired to play in El Rocio so I figure he probably called in sick to go to El Rocio. I hope I can see him again. I'm so smitten with him that I can't even check out other guys anymore!

Christine celebrated her birthday last night, and invited me and her other friends to a cafe at the Alameda de Hercules. They're mostly Australian and British, and teach English in Seville. I enjoyed my evening with them. Today, Christine told me that one of the men there (originally from Columbia) wanted my phone number, but I declined. He's twice my age, for frig's sake! I think he probably thought I was older than 24 - he has a 6-year-old son and in the conversation he asked me if I have any children. Christine told me that she thought I was around 28 or so (because of my demeanor, not my looks). She also said he pursued her for a long time but they ended up being just friends.

Yesterday, the weather was way too hot. It was way above 30 and the landlady said that even at this time of year, it's not normal. She lent me an electric fan for my room and I was soooo thankful! She said a current brought the heat from the desert in Africa. Today it was still hot, but not near as bad as yesterday.

The big romería (pilgrimage) in El Rocio is supposed to be next weekend, and I think I'll go. But I don't think I'll walk all the way. Originally, I wanted to go hard-core and walk from Seville to the village, camp out like the pilgrims, and walk back. But I don't think I'll be able to do that if the weather is very hot, and I don't want to miss my classes. Some people start the trek during the week, but doing that would mean I would miss several classes. Apparently, there are special bus services specifically for the pilgrimage that take pilgrims directly from Seville to El Rocio every hour (same for coming back) so I'll probably do that. Even though it's more like "El Rocio lite", I still want to experience it. I'll probably go on Saturday (traditionally, people arrive on Saturday) and come back on Monday afternoon. Monday morning is when the take out the statue of La Virgen del Rocio and parade it around, and it's the highlight of the pilgrimage so I don't want to miss it. And of course, for this traditional pilgrimage, I would also wear my flamenco dress and dance Sevillanas. All I need are a pair of pilgrim boots (for the romería, people wear leather boots) but I can get those in a store in town.

My last day in Seville will be June 10, then I'm going to Barcelona for 4 days (booked a flight with a cheap airline) and then going to Italy. I'll mostly be in Rome during that time but I also want to go to Assisi, and maybe see other cities too.

I read the big news on facebook - big felicitaciones to Jason and Steph for the birth of their little niña! I can't wait to see little Madelyn when I return!

Anyway, talk to you all later!

Ballet and flamenco dance, and a possibility for romance...

Well, I went to the Feria del Caballo (horse fair) in Jerez and it was nice. I took the train over (Jerez is about an hour or so from Seville) and brought my traje gitana with me (changed into it when I arrived). Horses are basically the pride of Jerez so there were lots of horse-drawn carriages and people in traditional costume riding horses. I even saw a few people make their horse do fancy walks and stuff. At one point, I saw a little boy who couldn't have been older than 5 or so, wearing the full traditional Andalusian horse-riding outfit (tight pants, boots, white shirt, short jacket, broad-brimmed hat) sitting on a big horse (not a pony, he was on an actual horse) and he was such a little cutie! I thought "Maria would SCREAM!" The feria in Jerez was smaller and less exclusive - more casetas were open to the public and simply had a section roped off for members, instead of at the Seville feria where most casetas won't let non-members in unless a member invites them. I spent the afternoon and early evening there and I liked it, though I had more fun at the Seville feria.

Had my first classes with the new teachers yesterday. Lourdes teaches the technique class and there are only 3 students in that one so we get more individual attention. Felipe teaches the dance/choreography class and the rumours about him being hard-core are partly true. He really did make us stand on demi-pointe for several minutes in a row, but he didn't whip anyone who moved. And he really does tap out the beat with a cane. He rarely gives us breaks and just keeps us going and going and going (he seems to think we're the friggin' energizer bunny). And one time when he told me my arm and back were in the wrong position, I moved so that I could get the right pose, but it made my rear stick out too much, so in Spanish he said "your ass is out too far!" Argh, it's a tough class, but I still like it!

I've been taking ballet classes at a local dance studio and I like those too. I usually go 2-3 times a week, and the first time I went, it was pointe day. Back home, my class only did pointe maybe 10 minutes at the end of class, or we'd do barre on pointe and everything else in slippers, but this class did everything on pointe! I had been out of ballet for a month since arriving in Seville, and I'm only a beginner at pointe, so to be thrown into an hour-long pointe class - holy frig. But my feet still survived! The monday class is only in slippers, wednesday is on pointe, and friday is mostly in slippers but the last 10-15 minutes or so are on pointe. I think my pointe shoes are going to be dead when it's time for me to leave...

Remember when I mentionned the cute flute player whose music I danced to at La Carboneria? Well, he and the guitar player who played with him work at a cafe-bar close to La Carboneria, and as soon as I saw him there, I knew I had to come back again! Well, on Friday, I went there and the flute cutie and I officially introduced ourselves. His name is Mauro and he's Italian. Since most of the tables were full, an Australian woman who arrived at the cafe a few minutes after me sat at my table and later we started talking to a group of men nearby who later offered to take us to another cafe. When we left, I told Mauro I'll probably be back ;) but later when I returned his cafe was closed for the night.

But all was not lost. Last night, I went back and he was there. He's quite friendly and when he saw me again he gave me a kiss on each cheek (common greeting in Spain and Italy, but I still find it special) and said it's nice to see me again. We chatted a bit and later his guitar buddy came out and introduced himself as Juan. They played a few flamenco songs. Someone had left a hand-made paper flower (made from the cafe's napkins) on the table, and Mauro gave it to me. Later, when the cafe was closing, he invited me in for another drink and we continued chatting. He's from Genoa and has been in Seville since September. He didn't go to university because the only universities with the music programs he wanted were in the US and that was too expensive and far from home. He loves jazz and now studies flamenco while he's in Spain. He just found out that he got hired to play in El Rocio for a few days, but I figure I'll see him again - I'm going back to that cafe tonight ;) *swoon*

Aside from all that, I've also been going to museums in Seville, doing a little shopping, etc. Christine (the Australian woman I met at the cafe where Mauro works) is celebrating her birthday this Friday and invited me to a restaurant. I haven't talked much to the foreign students I know, but I think most of them have returned home (Nathan and Alex are the only ones that I know of who are still in Seville).

Anyway, hope everything is well back home!

Missing the feria, but still having fun!

Life is good, even though I still miss the magic of the Feria. There is another feria in Jerez so I might go to that tomorrow, but what really made the feria in Seville amazing for me was spending time with the people I met/knew. On the days that I was on my own, it was still great but it wasn't as fun as when I was with a group (the guys who picked me up, the foreign students, Antonio and Manolo and their friends). At the end of the month, there is also a feria in Cordoba but I'm not sure if I'm going to go to that one - I'm trying to decide whether to go to Cordoba for the feria that weekend or to El Rocio for the pilgrimage.

One of the guys I met at the feria called me to ask me out. On the Saturday of the feria, he called but I was planning on meeting with friends so he said he'd call later. A few days later, he called again and we agreed to meet, but later in the conversation he asked if I live alone. I said no, and he asked if the other person is often in the apartment. I said yes, so he said "then we'll go to a hotel". I said "No! I'm not that type of person!", he said "but I like you..." and I said "we can go out, but I'm not spending the night". Anyway, later in the conversation, he said he'd call me later that evening, but he never did. Guess the jerk didn't think I was worth a date since I refused to sleep with him.

A week before the feria, Tomatito did a concert in Seville. For those of you who don't know, Tomatito is an AMAZING flamenco guitarist. Basically, Paco de Lucia is the king of flamenco guitar, and Tomatito (Paco's protege) is the crown prince. I have 2 of his cds at home (and bought another one here) and I wanted to go to the concert. But when I tried to buy tickets on the internet, it was sold out. I was told that the lineup to buy tickets at the theatre was huge. I remember a few years ago when a few of my friends tried to get tickets for the U2 concert in Ottawa but it sold out in like 20 minutes - apparently it was like that for the Tomatito concert too. The flamenco school I'm with managed to get 6 tickets but the guitar students got first priority so us dancers got nothing. Grrr... One thing's for sure, if Joaquin Cortes (insanely talented flamenco dancer) ever does a show in Seville while I'm here, I'll be first in line to buy tickets!

Speaking of flamenco dancers, I went to see another show at Casa de la Memoria and this time there was a male dancer who was absolutely amazing. Such passion! Within 5 minutes of seeing him dance, I was thinking "REAL MEN DANCE!" He was a gitano (gypsy) with dark skin and long black hair, and holy frig, my eyes were on him the whole time! At the end of the show, he stepped off the wooden platform and started dancing on the floor, and there were literally sparks coming from his feet! Well, flamenco shoes have nails in them so I guess the nails hitting the tiles on the floor made the sparks, but it was still amazing!

My flamenco classes are going great, and now I'm getting moved up to a higher level. This one will be 2 classes - one for technique and another for choreography. One of the teachers I'm getting is a guy (but before you all start yelling at me not to hit on my teacher, don't worry, I'm not going to! I've seen him, he's like half my height!) and I heard he's really tough. People who took his class said he's totally old-school so he works everyone for the whole time without a break, uses a cane to slam out the beat in the music, and someone even said that he'd make everyone stand on demi-pointe for a half hour (to strengthen ankles and core muscles) without moving (she said that if you move, he whips you). Well, someone else said it's more like 5 minutes rather than 30, but still!

The other students at the flamenco school are nice, and taking class with them is fun. They're mostly foreign students too. One of the guitar students was a guy from Malaysia, and if you've heard the stereotypes about Asian men being conservative and straight-laced, well, throw those stereotypes out the window because this guy's sense of humour reminded me of my old friend Bindert! (and you've heard my stories about Bindert, you know what that means...) Example - a group of people from the school were planning on going to a bullfight, and he kept making jokes about "slapping the bull's balls". Well, he left a while ago, but he always made everyone laugh while he was there!

The foreign students and I went to a flamenco bar called La Carboneria last weekend. We were late so we missed the dancing but we did get to see a group of random locals playing music there. There was a man with a guitar and a cute guy with a flute (saw the same people playing music at a nearby restaurant a few days ago, they both work there), and while they were playing, I started clapping out the beat (those rhythm/clapping classes I took at the school helped a lot!) and practicing my moves. As I was dancing, a few people started taking pictures and when the musicians saw me, they were like "baila baila!" (dance dance!) and I totally got into it. I danced a few more times that night and the locals were complimenting me on my dancing! I'll have to go there more often...

Anyway, I have to go now, hasta luego!

Feria de Abril - Best. Festival. Ever.

Well, as you know, last week was the April Fair, and what a week it was! It was my favorite week of the time I've been here so far. I already wrote about the opening night, now I'll break down the rest of the week day by day:

Tuesday - "La Más Guapa de la Feria" - It's Great to be Young and Beautiful!

I had my flamenco class that morning but in the afternoon I decided to go to the Feria. I put on my flamenco dress and the accessories to go with it (fringed shawl, peineta, flower, big earings) and walked over. Since most people were at the Feria, there weren't many people downtown (the fairgrounds are across the bridge). But there were a few tourists in town and when they saw me in my full-length "traje gitana", most of them tried to take pictures of me! Anyway, I found a taxi in town and used that to get to the feria instead of walking all the way.

When I got there, it was just as I imagined - casetas full of people, sevillana music playing, horse-drawn carriages going back and forth, people in traditiona riding attire on horseback, women in flamenco dresses, etc. I walked around for a while and found a public caseta where I could have a drink and some food. As I sat down, a random group of guys came up to me, one of them gave me a flower, and they started flirting with me. They left, but a few minutes later I saw them again and they continued flirting. They danced sevillanas with me, and even got me to dance with some teen boy who didn't look older than 15 or so! Later, that boy pointed to another one in the group and said "he is a spectacular dancing man!" and "he is a matador!" It was so funny! The guys who were hitting on me bought me drinks and later decided to take me to other casetas. The ones they took me to were private ones where you have to be invited in by a member, so I felt priviledged to be there. The first one we went to was very classy - the waiters were in tuxes. We went to a few other ones after that. So I spent my day caseta-hopping with a group of Spanish guys and enjoying free food, drinks, and compliments such as "eres la más guapa de la feria!" (you are the most beautiful girl in the feria). Nice to know that 4 years after my last trip to Spain, I still got it... ;)

At night, I wanted to meet up with the other foreign students so I sent Najet (French girl who works at Instituto Alhambra) a text message on my phone to ask if they were coming. She said yes and I met up with them at the opening gate. We went to a public caseta and later Nathan showed up! I was like "Nathan! I thought you were in Madrid!" Well, it turns out he didn't like Madrid and the language school he had planned on going to was crap so he came back to Sevilla and is staying till June! Alex from Denmark (another foreign student) was very happy to have Nathan back in the group because they're the only guys and he missed having a guy around to talk about guy stuff. I was happy too because I always enjoy my time with Nathan and the group just wasn't the same without him! Anyway, we all stayed in a caseta for the evening and those of us who can dance Sevillanas had fun dancing. Alex was chattin' it up with some Spanish girls in full traje gitana, and I talked to them later too (and they said my outfit was perfect for the feria). Nathan was making jokes about stealing my flower (I had a flower on the top of my head, but I laughed because it reminded me of Monica on "Friends" referring to her virginity as her "flower"), and I tried (unsuccessfully) to teach him Sevillanas. Anyway, we all stayed out late and had a blast.

Wednesday - "That is One Big Bull..." - Bullfight in the Rain.

On Wednesday, I went to the feria in my flamenco dress again (though with different coloured accessories) but I didn't spend much time there because I had a ticket for a bullfight. It took me a while to walk to the bullring (and on the way over, a tourist stopped me to take a picture of me in my dress) so I missed the matadors' grand entrance but I did get to watch the rest of the bullfight. I came in right after the first bull entered the ring, and it was huge! My first thought was "that is one big bull..." Anyway, it was crowded so I couldn't find my seat after that bull was dead, but when I finally found my seat, the person sitting next to me turned out to be a Canadian too! He's from Vancouver and is visiting for a few weeks. He and his wife enjoy bullfights, and he explained all the rules and what was going on. He also said he thought I was Spanish when he first saw me because of my outfit!

The second matador who fought was El Juli - the cutie! He's a huge celebrity and I told the Canadian man that I saw Juli in a bullfight in Salamanca a few years ago and fell in love with him. Anyway, his bull turned out too weak and at the point when they realized that, it was too late to replace it with a stronger one (they were at the point where the matador has to kill the bull) so Juli just killed it to get it over with. The third matador who fought did something wrong while killing his bull so the bull didn't die right away. Someone blew a trumpet to give him a warning - if the bull isn't dead by a certain point, the matador gets booed out of the ring. The bull died in time. Later when it was time for each matador to fight their second bull, it started to rain while El Juli was fighting. I was glad to have gotten a cheap ticket because the cheap seats are under a shelter so we didn't get rained on. But even when it was pouring, it didn't seem to affect the matadors at all! Juli just kept on going but then he slipped in the mud and fell down as the bull ran past him, so he took off his shoes and finished the fight in his tights. The third guy did the same. And as the third guy was fighting, he was doing so well that people started shouting for music, so the band played a pasodoble (traditional bullfight music) as this guy was fighting.

When the corrida was over, the matadors were leaving the ring and as Juli was leaving, the Canadian man said "there's your guy!" I laughed and later when the crowds were leaving I looked outside the ring and saw the matadors' vans driving away. I knew it was them because each van had the matador's name written on it! Traffic was slow so I was able to go outside before they drove away, and as Juli's Mercedes van drove past, I saw him in the window (still wearing his bullfighter costume) and blew him a kiss! Unfortunately, he didn't see me (didn't seem to be paying attention to anything outside the van). It was still a little rainy so after phoning Nathan and finding out that none of our friends were going to the feria that evening, I decided not to go either. I ended up glad I didn't go because it started raining again in the evening, but I still planned on going the next day!

Thursday - "Queremos taxi!" - A Long Day and Even Longer Night.

I returned to the Feria that day, and just walked around for most of the day, enjoying the sights. At one point, two teen girls came up to me with a clipboard asking for donations for a "centre for poor children" since I didn't have much money I said no. But then the one with the clipboard started looking at me as if begging for money and made me feel like I was the most evil person ever for saying no, and said I can only give 5 euros if I want, and though I wasn't sure about it, I ended up giving her 4 euros. After they left, the bouncer of the caseta I was standing in front of said it was a scam and that they're "mala gente" (bad people). Fortunately, it was only 4 euros so it wasn't much. It didn't ruin my day though.

Later that evening, my friends came and though they were very late, I still met up with them and we had fun. I had planned on going home a little early because of class the next day but Nathan was like "Donde está to alma española!?" (where is your Spanish soul!?) so I stayed out. A guy from Barcelona who is friends with one of the other foreign students said I looked beautiful in my traje gitana. Anthony from Australia came along too (we don't see him that often aside from classes because he works in another town) and we all had a blast dancing, drinking, and walking around the fairgrounds. But when it came time to take a taxi home, the taxi lineup was huge. I had taken a taxi home a few nights before and waited in line about an hour, but this time it was even worse. It was slow and after two hours, everyone started getting restless. The people in front of me started chanting "Queremos taxi! Queremos taxi!" (we want a taxi!) and someone even complained to the police about it! But still, nothing was done and the taxi service was still slow as heck. I got in line at about 4am, and didn't get a cab till 8am! Can you believe that?! The sun had risen and everyone in line was angry. If I had known it would have taken that long, I might have walked home instead (walking would have taken an hour or so, but I didn't want to walk alone at night). I knew I wouldn't be able to function well in class that day since I had been up all night, so I phoned the school to say I couldn't come in, and slept for most of the day.

Friday - "Screw Sleep, I'm Going to the Feria!" - All Feria'd Out? Not Tonight, Baby!

When I woke up that afternoon I had a sore throat and runny nose so I took it easy for the evening. I put my flamenco dress in the laundry and drank some hot tea. I figured I should go to bed early so that night even though I felt better, I shut the lights soon after 10pm. But then at around 10:45pm, my cell phone rang - it was Manolo, inviting me to his caseta. So of course I thought "screw sleep, I'm going to the feria!" and jumped at the chance! Since my dress was still hanging on a clothesline and I figured it wasn't dry yet, I put on another flamenco outfit I had bought a week earlier that was actually much cheaper than the first dress I had (but still very pretty). I then realized that this one was better for the evenings because it was heavier and had sleeves, so it kept me warm (the other dress was light and good for the hot day weather). I thought "I'll be fine, I'll just go easy on the drinks and dances..." as I went to the feria.

I sent Manolo a text message to tell him I arrived, but he didn't respond so after waiting a while and watching a group of teens play music and dance close to the portada (entrance) I called him and he told me the address of the caseta. When I got there, he waved at the bouncer to let me in (it was a private caseta so I had to be invited by a member). Antonio was there too, and they introduced me to their other friends. There was live music (guy singing playing Sevillanas on the guitar) and a small platform for those who want to dance, so Manolo and I danced a Sevillana, and I also danced with a woman from their group of friends who said I dance well. I enjoyed talking to them, and then we decided to go to the carnival on Calle Infierno (Hell Street, hehehe...). We rode the ferris wheel and it was huge! From the top, the portada of the fairgrounds looked tiny! Manolo has vertigo so he took off his glasses and refused to look down, but I was fine (I don't like heights either but we were in an closed space so it wasn't that scary).

Then, we went around to other casetas. One of them required a ticket to get in, but since the guys had many spare tickets, I got one too. I had fun with the group. One of the guys says he has been to Toronto and loved it. He loved the CN Tower, but he also went to a baseball game and thought it was sooooo boring (I agree, sorry Jason!). He also said that even though he speaks French and understands French from France perfectly well, he had met someone in Canada who spoke Quebec French and he couldn't understand a word of it! Hehehe... Anyway, I danced with another guy in the group who said it was a pleasure to dance with me. Later when the night was almost over, a few of us (me, Antonio, Manolo, and the other guy I danced with) went for chocolate con churros and after this I didn't need to worry about the taxi lineups that can rival Marienfeld Mass Exodus - Antonio drove me home. I'm glad I went to the feria instead of staying home and sleeping!

Saturday - "I Just Had to Get Up and Shake It" - Another Great Night.

I slept all morning and woke up some time in the afternoon, and decided to go to the feria again that evening. So I put on my flamenco outfit again and headed out. I met up with Antonio, Manolo, and friends at their caseta and had fun chatting with them again. Some old guy walked by and someone said that he's a celebrity in Spain so a few people took pictures with him. I also got a picture. Alex came to the feria too, and he met up with me at Manolo's caseta. Later, a group of us went around to other casetas and spent our time drinking and dancing all night. Alex had to leave early because he had friends from Madrid visiting and was meeting up with them, so I spent the rest of the evening/night with Antonio, Manolo, and friends.

One of the casetas also had a band that played salsa music, which I LOVE, so as soon as I heard "Vivir Lo Nuestro" (one of my fave salsa songs) of course I had to get up and shake it (we were sitting at a table at the time). I have 2 versions of that song on my computer back home - one by Marc Anthony and La India, the other one by David Bisbal and Rosa. Except it's a lot harder to dance salsa in a heavy flamenco skirt... When Sevillana music started playing, Manolo and I danced together again and since I knew that the Dance Umbrella (my dance studio back home) show was that night, I silently dedicated that Sevillana to them. Anyway, we had a blast at that caseta and later on a few of us continued dancing at a disco near the fairgrounds. After that, we had chocolate con churros for breakfast and took the bus home. Holy frig, if only I had known a few nights before that one of the busses stops right at the Basilica de la Macarena (a 10-minute walk from my place)... then again, I probably would have had to wait forever for that one too. Anyway, I slept in again that morning.

Sunday - "It's Dead" - All Good Things Must Come to an End...

I went to Mass at the Basilica de la Macarena at 8pm (considering I was up till 8am before this, I am thankful for evening masses), then got ready to head out to the Feria again. But when I got there, there was only a fraction of the crowds and many of the casetas were closed (including Manolo's caseta). I was thinking "It's dead..." and sent Antonio a text message asking if he was at the feria and he said he never goes on Sundays. None of the other foreign students came out either - Nathan was trying to phone his family, Alex and Sille (also from Denmark) were sick, a few others had returned home because their course at the school was over... So I stayed around to watch the closing fireworks at midnight, then went back home.

I took a bus that brought me to the park near the Plaza de España and then walked the rest of the way home. I was able to orient myself using the maps at the bus stops and the buildings and streets that I recognized so I didn't have any problems. I went to bed and then to class the next morning. Feria week was over, and life had to get back to normal after this. But I miss the magic of the feria...