When in Spain

Household chores:

• To take out the garbage, you leave your apartment building and walk to the nearest garbage dumpster or recycling bin conveniently located right on the sidewalk.  
• There is no dryer.  You have to hang your clothes out to dry.  On humid, rainy days, your clothes will not dry.  On sunny days (even in winter), they will dry the instant you release the second clothespin. 
• Primetime TV starts at 10 PM
• There are commercials in both Spanish and English
• The commercials go at the end of the show, not in the middle of it.
• TV shows start at 15 past the hour and end at quarter to the hour.

At the grocery store:

• When you enter a grocery store with a bag full of items purchased at another store, please proceed to the lockers at the front of the store.  You'll need to put your bags there before shopping here.  It will cost .50 or 1€ to 'rent' the lockerm but you'll get the money back when you leave the store.
• With some larger stores (like Eroski or Hipercor, which are Wal-Mart type stores) you may have to put your bags from other stores in a large, clear plastic garbage bag which are provided at the front of the store.  You put your items in the garbage bag and then sealed it with heat (much like sealing the bags at the food shelf, if you have ever done that).
• Most grocery stores will charge you for any plastic bags you need at the check out (usually between .01 and .03 €).  The ironic part is that they don't charge you for those plastic bags at the front of the store.  (*That's a hint)
• If you are buying fruit at the grocery store, you will probably have to weigh it yourself.  Choose your fruit, and then proceed to the scale/sticker maker.  Press the numbered button that corresponds with the fruit you are buying and a label will print out.  Place the label on the bag. ( I would imagine that some people add another step here: add more fruit to bag.) Proceed to checkout.
•  There are ALWAYS lines at the grocery store.  But SEVERAL times people have let me go in front of them when they have a whole cart full of groceries and I have only 3 or 4 things.  

On the Bus:

• It seems that Spanish people favor the aisle seats.  I have done extensive research (I ride the bus route from start to finish - because I have to, not because I wanted to do this study).  The strange thing is that as the bus fills up and people need to sit in the window seats, people don't give up the aisle seats.  Instead, a new arrival to the bus will indicate that they want to sit in the empty seat (by the window), the aisle-seat sitter stands up and allows the person to pass through to the window seat.  I don't think I have ever seen someone move over to the window seat.  I did it myself once, just to try it out.  I sat in the aisle seat near the back of the bus. I watched the bus fill with people.  A lady noticed that the seat next to me was empty, came back to my row and indicated that she wanted to sit down.  I stood up and allowed her to pass to the seat.  It didn't feel as rude as I thought it would.  It felt like I was just keeping the seat I chose and giving her the one she chose.  There was nothing rude about it.  In fact, I had already warmed up my (cold, plastic) seat, she wouldn't have been comfortable there.  There's nothing worse than sitting in a seat warmed by someone else.
• There is usually a single seat to the right of the driver that is convenient for a rider to sit and converse with the driver.  I think it is a rule that if you sit there you MUST talk to the driver.  If there is no seat on the bus, you will have to stand up (in front of the yellow line!) and talk to the driver.  But it seems that on every ride someone must keep the driver company.
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* the newspapers blur the faces of the police rather than those of the accused.
* titles are on the spines of books facing the other way. Turn your head left to read the title (most of the time).
*Take a number, say 'Buenos Dias' at the post office.
*Cats only have 7 lives
* Pencils without erasers.
* 5 continents
* Bathrooms- no tp/soap
*Double parking/horn
* Red peppers are cheaper than green peppers

All's Feria in April and Sevilla

The Feria de Sevilla, also known as: the Feria de Abril, (although it's not always in April) or just plain 'Feria', generally takes place two weeks after Semana Santa. It is an annual celebration that began as a livestock fair (the original idea of two Northern Spaniards). It's different now: the focus has switched to drinking, dancing and dressing up. It has become quite a big deal, especially in Sevilla. Schools in the city of Sevilla actually close for part of the feria week. I think this is either because A. there are too many tourists and people in the city during this week to have a normal school week or B. because everyone is at Feria until the wee hours of the morning and too tired to go to work or school rendering it pointless to even have class. At any rate, it is a big deal.

Construction for the Feria 2012 began back in December of 2011. Since I lived fairly close to the Feria grounds in Sevilla (about six tenths of a mile) and it was on one of my running routes, I had the pleasure of seeing it being constructed (and later dismantled). A city holds its Feria on a specially designated plot of land (much like the State Fairs we have in the US). In some cities the land holds permanent shelters for the event. In others, like Sevilla and Alcalá, the casetas (tents/stalls/little houses) are set up and taken down just for the event by the city (the people that own the casetas pay a yearly dues to the city for this service. From what I've heard about it, it's quite spendy; it's almost like a second mortgage. Though the cost of the caseta is almost always split between several people). The workers began assembling the metal frames of each of the casetas first, then slowly the main entrance (la portada) went up, and then came all the lights and decorations. I wish I had a 'before and after' photo of the feria grounds. The transformation is amazing. The 'before' would be a large, flat, empty golden-soiled plot of land. The 'after' would be row upon row upon row of colorful tents, round lights and rows of these hanging overhead:

The general public needs several months to prepare for the feria too. The women have to think about their dress well in advance. As with any fashion, trajes de flamenca styles change every year. If you want a new dress, you have to either find one or, to make sure it is unique, have one made just for you: fabric, style and fit. As you can imagine, it can get quite spendy. You can find dresses upwards of 700€. And some people have more than one dress for the feria. It is, after all, six days long. You can't wear the same clothes for six days (especially if it's hot out).

I really wanted to get my own dress, but I was on a budget. I found a nice one for about 300€ ($390) at El Corte Inglés. Two of my Spanish friends drove me to a few places to try on dresses and give their expert opinions. I had champagne tastes and a beer budget, but after just a few stores, I tried this one on and I loved it. It was the traditional red, had polka dots and had lots of 'volantes'. I was so excited that I had found one. I remember talking to my dad the night after I bought it and telling him that I bought a dress for Feria. I said, 'It is white with red polka dots and lots of ruffles.' He thought I was joking.

A few minor hems had to be stitched up, so while I waited a week for those repairs, I focused on gathering the necessary (matching) accessories. This part is almost as hard as choosing the dress. You have to choose the color scheme you want. Since I had a red dress I could have gone with green, purple, red or white. I went with red. I got red earrings, beaded necklace, shawl, a pin to keep the shawl in place, a peineta, and a flower. I was ready for Feria (I already had shoes from last year, but shoes are another very important item).

This year, Feria in Sevilla officially started on Tuesday, April 24th at 12:01 AM. Those that have a caseta were there on the previous Saturday and Sunday, eating the official pre-feria fried fish dinner. But for those that don't have a caseta, the feria started with the lighting of the portada (the main entrance).

The portada by day.

La Portada- modeled after the front of the church of San Salvador in Sevilla.

This first night of the Feria, not many people dress up. They save that for the next few days. The busiest day is Thursday (if I remember correctly.). The weekend is considered the touristy/pueblo days. Most of the Sevillana population goes to the Feria during the week and leaves the other days to the 'outsiders'.  I went to the Feria on Tuesday to see the lighting and then again on Wednesday and Friday. The thing about the Sevilla Feria is that it is one of the most popular Ferias in the country. It is also one of the most private. There are a few public tents (casetas), but the majority are privately owned. This means that you have to know people to get in. If you don't, you'll have to find a public tent or just walk around outside. It's a completely different experience when you know someone. This year my friends and former English students from the language school got me in. Not only that, but they helped me look as Sevillana as possible.

These friends had also spent the previous two Wednesdays giving me a crash course in Sevillana (flamenco dancing) (well, one Sevillana, with four different phases). Maria Antonia was actually a professional flamenco dancer back in the day. I didn't do too badly in class, considering it has been awhile since I've been in dance. But I only learned the foot moves. The arm movements add another dimension of difficulty. When it came to the Feria, I got up on the 'tablao' only once to show off my moves. I got stage fright and couldn't remember a thing. I need to go back and take more classes.

The food of the Feria

We went to a few casetas talking, eating and drinking (and dancing that one time). I think I walked (the mile) home at around 2 or 3 AM. I was tired and walking up to the fourth floor was quite a chore, especially in such a big dress. Although my friends warned me to lift up my dress so I didn't rip it, I took a step up, put my foot down and heard a ripping sound. Oh, well, I thought, I won't need the dress again anyway. Little did I know that I'd be going back on Friday in the dress (with Katie). Unfortunately that day we couldn't get any of our contacts to answer their phones and get us in to a caseta, so we ended up walking home after just a few hours of walking around.

Then, on Sunday, we walked to Parque María Luisa to see the closing ceremony fireworks. Much to our surprise, they lit them from the side of the river, very, very close to where we were standing.

Even the Police stopped to enjoy the show.

So the Sevilla Feria was over for the year, but there were other upcoming fairs in other towns. I ended up going to three more, and all were quite different. I went to the feria in Jerez (de la Frontera), where all the casetas were public and fewer people dressed up in the traditional dresses than in Sevilla.

Salmorejo at the Feria in Jerez.

My fellow Jerez Feria-goers.

The Jerez Feria

I went to the feria in Córdoba at the end of May. It was a good-sized feria and since it took place later in the year, there were fans, spraying water and sometimes even AIR CONDITIONING in the casetas! I took the train from Sevilla to Córdoba and my friends met my there. María Jose is from the Córdoba area, so she knew the good casetas at the feria.

Me and María Jose.

Pulpo a la Gallega

Serranito- pork, ham and green pepper sandwich

I also went to the Feria in San Jose de la Rinconada. I went with three (preschool) teachers from the school in Alcalá del Río the Thursday of that feria (the first week in June). The casetas at this feria were also all public and since it was a small town it was quite a bit smaller feria. They were also much more spacious than those in Sevilla. We had a few rebujitos (the official drink of the feria- manzanilla and sprite) and left around midnight. I remember they were concerned about the shrill voices that awaited them the next morning.

That was the last feria I went to for the year, although the season was far from over. You could go to a feria somewhere in Spain or Andalucía even, every week clear through to October. Then there is a one month break before it's time to start building Sevilla's feria for 2013.

Another Feria de Sevilla 2012 ad.

Aracena

Aracena is a small town in the province of Huelva in Spain, which is maybe an hour from Sevilla. I wanted to take a trip to a nearby town and Huelva fit the bill. And I'm glad it did, because it turned out to be one of my favorite places in Spain. It wasn't the most exciting, but it had a charm to it. On the long weekend in April (April 30-May 1), I took a day trip to see what it had to offer. I had read about the two main attractions: the Ham Museum and the Cave and planned to see both.

I don't think I have to tell you that I arrived at the Aracena bus station without a map. I took a few guesses on which way to go (namely, not uphill) and eventually found myself right where I wanted to be: in the center of town.

My first stop was the famous cave tour (La Gruta de las Maravillas). I had researched the tour times, and I came upon it just in time. I bought the package ticket with the Museo del Jamón. I also picked up a map of the city at the ticket office/tourism office, so I did well at my first stop. The tour was in Spanish and besides myself and a German couple, everyone on the tour was a native Spaniard. The tour was not strenuous in the least. It was a little slippery, but there were a lot of handles and stairs built especially for tourists and tours. The tour was a series of rooms with stalactites and stalagmites and underground lakes with the clearest water I've ever seen. It was hard to take photos since it was so dark, but Google it, it's worth a look. The last room you visit on the tour is called the 'Sala de los Desnudos' (the room of the naked people). Its famous because the formations look like naked (male) body parts.

The next stop was the Museo del Jamon (the Ham Museum). I think the name speaks for itself. The guide explained the process of feeding and caring for the pigs and why the ham tastes so good. I learned the words 'dehesa' (meadow) and that the pigs that eat acorns (bellotas), the most prized pigs, don't eat them all year round, they just eat them when they are in season.

Hams of the World

Ham stats. China has a lot of pigs.



Free Ham Sample!

After the ham appetizer, I headed out to find a restaurant recommended in a tour book. It wasn't supposed to be too far from the museum, just down the street. The streets were pretty empty because it was siesta/lunch time. The restaurants were open though and a few food shops. I found this one:

Mountain-Oak Cheeses

But found the place I was looking for near the Plaza Marqués.

The Plaza de Marqués.

The casino is straight ahead.

 And just to the left, in the direction of Portugal was the restaurant.

But I stopped to take a photo of this before I ate:

Iglesia Parroquial de Ntra. Sra. del Carmen (s. XVI)

The Rincón de Juan. (Juan's corner/nook).

The Rincón de Juan was the place I was looking for. It was packed for lunch, so I had to stand at the bar to eat. Even then, it was so busy it was hard to place an order but eventually I know I ordered some sort of pork, recommended by the bartender. The inside was a typical Spanish bar- small and decorated with tiles, wood and bricks.

Here's a photo from the Internet of the inside.

I wasn't particularly hungry, but there is a famous pastelería in Aracena that one of my Spanish friends told me I had to visit. It is called Confitería Rufino. So I sat in the plaza and waited for it to open after lunch/siesta time. It is my opinion that the Spanish are not really good at desserts, but I wasn't opposed to trying them anyway. I got an assortment of a few things. The store's selections were all bite-sized and most were filled with cream. I got something that reminded me of a cinnamon roll, something with 'yema' (egg yolk) and something with chocolate. They wrapped them up in nice paper and I took them to go!

This was the part of Aracena that I really liked. I had a few extra hours and I hadn't seen the part of the city at the top of the hill, so I climbed the hill. I ran into some traffic on the way up:

The view from the hill was amazing. The sun, clouds and blue sky were absolutely perfect. At the top is a 13th century Gothic church next to a castle. Underneath is the cave I toured earlier. The website said the hours of the church were 10-6, every day and they didn't close for lunch. It was closed when I got there though (no, it wasn't 6 yet). I think it was because it was a holiday weekend. I didn't see any signs though, which is normal. I guess Spaniards just know when things will be open and the outsiders just don't. It didn't matter though. The view from the top alone was worth the trip up.

This is what's at the top:
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Castillo

I wandered back down to the city, but still nothing was open and I didn't have anything else on my list of things in Aracena to see. So I found a plaza near the bus station and I sat and rested and enjoyed a view of Spanish life. There were a couple of adults sitting on a bench talking while their kids played in the plaza (I assume they were playing soccer, because that's what most kids do in the plaza, but I can't remember exactly). There was also a dog I assumed was theirs. He came up to me with a rock in his mouth and placed it at my feet. I kicked it. He ran and got it and brought it back to me. I kicked it again and he once again retrieved it. This went on for a few minutes until I got bored with it. He did not. He started to whimper because I stopped playing fetch with him. I kicked it again, but decided that was the last time. I got up and made my way toward the bus station. As I did one of the kids playing in the plaza shouted 'Adios' to me.