Learning to Party Like a Spaniard

Hello, readers! Time for another update on the exciting life of Kira Leigh...nothing much has been going on in the last week apart from classes, which are going well. Sometimes I have to remind myself that technically I am here for school. All of my classes are an hour and half long which doesn’t sit well with my short attention span, but Paige and I bought colored marker-pens that make taking notes more fun and we are consequently more likely to pay attention.

This weekend, we had a short travel to the coastal city of Cádiz but this time it was not to view the gorgeous beach or the beautiful cathedrals...it was to learn how to party like a Spaniard! Clearly I’ve been enjoying my wine and tapas here in Spain, but for those of you who know me, I’m much more keen on a low-key wine/movie night with friends than a crazy night at a club. Don’t get me wrong, I love to have fun when I go out, but I guess I’m just more of an “old soul” in that respect. In Spain, the clubs (or discotecas) start getting busy around 1:30 a.m. and it isn’t uncommon for students to stay there till 5 a.m. or later. That is absolutely NUTS! Call me a grandma, but I just don’t have the energy to stay out that late every weekend! This weekend was an exception...we went to Carnaval!

Carnaval is an ancient tradition of singing, parades, and festivals that has been around in Cádiz since the 1200’s (apart from the time of Franco’s rule when it was banned) and it is now a 2-week long festival of singing and nonstop drinking. Some friends hooked us up with an organized bus group to Cádiz and we met at 9:30 am on Saturday to make the 4-hour bus trip there on a bus full of Spanish college student (who are absolutely crazy, by the way). After stopping for several smoke breaks since the Spaniards can’t live without their cigarettes, we arrived in Cádiz around 3:30. Everyone wears costumes to Carnaval, so it was fun to see what everyone else was wearing. We spent the afternoon walking around and stopped at a bar for a quick tinto de verano and began our drinking around 4:30. As the night went on, things got crazier, louder and much, much dirtier. I imagine the closest American thing you could compare Carnaval to is probably Mardi Gras, just to give you a frame of reference. I had a lot of fun with friends and met some cool Spanish guys as well as a guy from Sweden and two girls from Holland.

Things were fun until about 1:30/2:00 am (when I would normally call it a night) and then we realized we were stuck in Cádiz until our bus left at 7 a.m. I REPEAT: we had to stay out partying until 7:00 in the morning!! I was proud of myself for making it to that point, but I think it was definitely a once-in–a-lifetime kind of thing. It got pretty cold while we were waiting and I really just wanted to sleep, but I’m glad I did it!

I think that’s about all there is to report for now, until my trip with the program to Madrid this weekend! Miss you all-sending hugs from abroad!