Feria

So I don’t know what I was expecting Feria to be like, but after seeing just one night of it, I’m blown away. It has already exceeded my expectations. For the past 3 months I have walked past hundreds of flamenco dresses in the windows of little neighborhood boutiques. I have walked past the “portada” (entrance to the Feria) almost every day. I just didn’t get it. It’s definitely another one of those things you just have to see to fully understand.

I was trying to describe Feria to my dad, and he actually put it to words quite well… He said, it almost sounds like a Spanish version of tailgating. Although that description does not nearly do justice, it might help you all picture it better.

I’ll try and describe Feria in my own words in a way that might make sense to all my lovely American friends. Picture an area the size of the Penn State tailgating grounds. Picture the tents and then multiply the size of each individual one by 5. Imagine those tents almost looking like restaurants… with tables, a bar, a dance floor, paintings on the walls, ceilings decorated with flowers. Now picture all the women dressed in beautiful flamenco dresses and the men dressed in suits. Picture everyone dance Sevillano (lots of spins… lots of hands in the air… lots of twirls…). Now keep in mind that these “tents” are not easy to come across. You have to pay I think about 5,000 Euros to have your own “tent” during Feria. That’s why you see a lot of businesses with private “tents.” In fact, a lot of the “tents” are private. There are a few public ones.

Now outside of the tents (called “casetas”) it looks like a carnival. There are strings of lights everywhere. The streets in between the tents are crowded with more Spaniards dancing, drinking, singing, and socializing.

Speaking of carnivals… at the farthest end of the Feria grounds… there actually is a carnival. 2 Ferris wheels, tons of rides and games, Spanish music blasting. Anyone who knows me must know how happy this makes me….

Last night (Monday) was the first official night of Feria. We got there around 11:30 so that we would be there for midnight when they light up the portada. Beautiful. The Spaniards went wild.

After, we all decided to go to a public caseta. We got a few drinks (the famous Feria drink here is rebujito) and I even tried out some of the Sevillano dancing I learned. I think I now know about half of the dance. By the end of the week I’ll have it down. At about 3 am the public casetas close. Everyone decided they would just head over to the carnival and ride some rides. While I was waiting for everyone outside, I struck a conversation with a few Spanish girls. I asked them if it were possible to get into any of the private casetas (I wasn’t ready to be done dancing for the night). They said… well… if you go up to one of the bouncers (yes…all of the private casetas have bouncers) and ask to use the bathroom, they’ll probably let you in (especially if you’re not in a big group… and if you’re a girl). So I took Sam aside and I told her my plan to crash a private caseta. Success. Once inside, Sam and I enjoyed free drinks and met some new friends.

Today I woke up early and right now I’m at a café trying to get some work done (or blogging for the moment). After lunch I plan on walking around Feria for a few hours before I have to get ready for tonight. Tonight one of my Spanish friends is taking me to his step father’s private caseta for dinner. I don’t think many Americans have this kind of opportunity. I feel very lucky… Apparently his caseta is air conditioned??!! Yesterday, I was talking to him on skype and he put his mom on. She went on for about 20 minutes about what I should wear. She made me send her a picture of my dress. She said it was ok (obviously I don’t have a flamenco dress which would be ideal…). She told me she had a flower I could borrow for my hair. She asked me if I had a white jacket. I didn’t so she said I could borrow hers. She asked me what color shoes I had. She told me to wear stockings because it would be cold. If you aren’t getting the idea… Spanish mothers are a little controlling sometimes (and she’s not even my mother!!)… But part of it is that Feria is a big thing for Sevilla. I’m sure she just wants to make sure I won’t stick out too much. I also think she might have been testing my Spanish to see if I could hold my own in a conversation. I think I passed. Either way, I’m extremely excited for tonight.

Tomorrow I’m going to Barcelona. I’m very excited, but at the same time I want to stay here. I hate leaving Sevilla, but I know I have to take advantage of the opportunity to travel. And I get to see TINA! I’ll be back to Sevilla Friday night to enjoy the last 3 days of Feria (assuming that dumb volcano doesn’t mess up out plans…).

Now I should probably get back to my reading… but side note…. I’m living with Arielle this summer in New York City!!!!! Again… although I DO NOT want to leave Sevilla… if I MUST go, at least I’ll be in an amazing place with a good friend doing what may be my dream job.

Also… on a side note… for all the adults out there (my parents, aunts, etc.). I know it sounds like I’m having a lot of fun and not doing much work… but that’s not true to clarify the rumor. I have 5 classes. One was my intensive class that we had the first 3 weeks here (we learned all about the history of Spain and Sevilla… supplemented by visits to sites…), one about the European Union (quiz me if you’d like!), one about business (we’re learning about the economy in Spain, the monetary system, marketing in Spain, we have to give a presentation comparing Wal-Mart to Corte Ingles, we have to write a brief essay for every class about our thoughts on several articles related to business of course.), one about communications (I love my professor for this one and we are learning about the different political ideologies of the different media here while staying informed about what’s going on in the world), and a final class about the history of America in the modern age. This last class might just be my favorite… It’s my class that I’m taking at the university with Spanish students. My professor is amazing. It’s a very specific class, focused on the colonization and development of the Americas in the baroque period. I never thought I would like a history class this much. I have a text book of over 200 pages that I have to read for this class, pero vale la pena.