Day 45
Sunday
So Sunday I got up at a decent time after sleeping for the first time in my new place! So at like 1:30pm I had plans with Alcyn & David to get a cup of coffee. David ended up not showing up so Alcyn & I decided to go & get lunch. We were looking for Mexican but ended up having Chinese which was really good & cheap. Then we grabbed a coffee (I got chocolate) & I actually walked by these "international markets" which ended up being closed more or less. They have many different countries' products so I will have to check it out when it's open. So then I headed to Corte Ingles to buy some stuff for the gross cockroaches we have (ick!). Of course though in Spain EVERYTHING is closed on Sunday so I ended up just giving up. After that I headed to Plaza de Toros to see a Corrida de toros (a bullfight basically). Rhea & her friend Pedro were supposed to meet me at 5:30 but I got there a little early to get in line to make sure we got tickets this time. So I got us each tickets & then waited for them. Unfortunately they never came. I got a call a few hours later from Rhea telling me that she was with Pedro (they are sort of a little item which is cool) & his family & his family took them to some place outside of the city & she had no phone service to call me & tell me what was going on. It was alright because I went without them. I wasn't super thrilled about the idea of the whole thing but it was interesting to watch from a cultural point of view & a sports point of view but it was very sad. I'm going to get some pictures up but I will try & explain how it works. Each fight takes about 15 minutes & there are multiple fights that day. I saw 3 fights in total. For each fight this is how it works:
First the bull comes out & there are about 4 matadors that have some larger "capes" that are actually bright pink & they more of less run the bull around with the capes getting him tired before they can do anything else. After that a man on a horse comes out (the horse wears padding to protect itself from the bull) with a very long spear & stabs the bull a few times in the back (the "top" back, not the rear end back). Then the horse leaves & then there are 2 or 3 people that do the next part. Each of them one at a time have 2 "spears" that are very colorful & they have some matadors around to help them keep the bull distracted. They take the spears & run face first towards the bull & kind of throw them at it's back stabbing the bull with them & they more or less always stay stabbed in the bull. There is a total of 6 of these spears in the bull at the end. Then the main matador comes out with a sword & eventually stabs it very deep in the bull & they run him around a little more & he eventually falls over dead. Then 3 horses come out & they hook the bull up to the horses & the horses drag the bull out of the ring. It is not a great sport because it's so inhumane. It was very sad. It was interesting to see & after a bit I was okay but then the last bull made me leave. When the bull got the final sword in, a minute or 2 later, he started bleeding profusely out of his nose & just fell over dead. It was so sad & horrible. It was a horrible sight & I just stopped looking. I had to leave after that. It actually made me cry a little because it was so horrible. Poor bull. So after that I actually headed over to my old place to give the new guy (Jonathan from Mexico) his keys & collect my part of the commision & my deposit (the girls will give him back his deposit at the end). He wasn't there so I had to wait for a bit & actually I got a call from Rhea telling me what happened with her and Pedro so she said she would come to my old place really quick & pay for me the tickets which was nice. So her & Jonathan got there at about the same time & so we all just spoke in Spanish for a while & then each of us headed home. I got home kind of late & just dinked around on the computer a bit & then finally went to bed. Oh, also this night my Spanish roommate arrived (Beatriz but we call her Bea). She was at her parents all weekend. She is a very nice girl. I can see she's a little more serious than the other girls but I think it will make for a good balance. So then I hit the sack! Pictures tomorrow.
Sunday
So Sunday I got up at a decent time after sleeping for the first time in my new place! So at like 1:30pm I had plans with Alcyn & David to get a cup of coffee. David ended up not showing up so Alcyn & I decided to go & get lunch. We were looking for Mexican but ended up having Chinese which was really good & cheap. Then we grabbed a coffee (I got chocolate) & I actually walked by these "international markets" which ended up being closed more or less. They have many different countries' products so I will have to check it out when it's open. So then I headed to Corte Ingles to buy some stuff for the gross cockroaches we have (ick!). Of course though in Spain EVERYTHING is closed on Sunday so I ended up just giving up. After that I headed to Plaza de Toros to see a Corrida de toros (a bullfight basically). Rhea & her friend Pedro were supposed to meet me at 5:30 but I got there a little early to get in line to make sure we got tickets this time. So I got us each tickets & then waited for them. Unfortunately they never came. I got a call a few hours later from Rhea telling me that she was with Pedro (they are sort of a little item which is cool) & his family & his family took them to some place outside of the city & she had no phone service to call me & tell me what was going on. It was alright because I went without them. I wasn't super thrilled about the idea of the whole thing but it was interesting to watch from a cultural point of view & a sports point of view but it was very sad. I'm going to get some pictures up but I will try & explain how it works. Each fight takes about 15 minutes & there are multiple fights that day. I saw 3 fights in total. For each fight this is how it works:
First the bull comes out & there are about 4 matadors that have some larger "capes" that are actually bright pink & they more of less run the bull around with the capes getting him tired before they can do anything else. After that a man on a horse comes out (the horse wears padding to protect itself from the bull) with a very long spear & stabs the bull a few times in the back (the "top" back, not the rear end back). Then the horse leaves & then there are 2 or 3 people that do the next part. Each of them one at a time have 2 "spears" that are very colorful & they have some matadors around to help them keep the bull distracted. They take the spears & run face first towards the bull & kind of throw them at it's back stabbing the bull with them & they more or less always stay stabbed in the bull. There is a total of 6 of these spears in the bull at the end. Then the main matador comes out with a sword & eventually stabs it very deep in the bull & they run him around a little more & he eventually falls over dead. Then 3 horses come out & they hook the bull up to the horses & the horses drag the bull out of the ring. It is not a great sport because it's so inhumane. It was very sad. It was interesting to see & after a bit I was okay but then the last bull made me leave. When the bull got the final sword in, a minute or 2 later, he started bleeding profusely out of his nose & just fell over dead. It was so sad & horrible. It was a horrible sight & I just stopped looking. I had to leave after that. It actually made me cry a little because it was so horrible. Poor bull. So after that I actually headed over to my old place to give the new guy (Jonathan from Mexico) his keys & collect my part of the commision & my deposit (the girls will give him back his deposit at the end). He wasn't there so I had to wait for a bit & actually I got a call from Rhea telling me what happened with her and Pedro so she said she would come to my old place really quick & pay for me the tickets which was nice. So her & Jonathan got there at about the same time & so we all just spoke in Spanish for a while & then each of us headed home. I got home kind of late & just dinked around on the computer a bit & then finally went to bed. Oh, also this night my Spanish roommate arrived (Beatriz but we call her Bea). She was at her parents all weekend. She is a very nice girl. I can see she's a little more serious than the other girls but I think it will make for a good balance. So then I hit the sack! Pictures tomorrow.
posted by Aly D | 11:30 PM
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