I woke up before my alarm today! I had it set for 8 so I could sleep in, but I woke up around 7:45 anyway. Fun fact about my day. I had plenty of time to get ready for el Rastro, Madrid's well known flea market, held every Sunday from 9 to 14. I got there as people were still setting up their booths, so there wasn't large crowds yet. It was a good move. There was a lot of really cool stuff, but I didn't buy any of it. There was one ring that I really liked for 1 euro, but there were so many colors! I couldn't decide which one to get, so I didn't get any of them. I also liked a mug that said Madrid, but I would never use it so I didn't get it. There was a really cute dress in about four or five stalls, but the cheapest I could find it for was 15, and that was over my limit.
I did buy two scarves, however. They were 1 euro each! I kinda laughed because everywhere else I saw them had them ranging from 3 to 6 each. The ones I got seemed to be of the same quality too. I got one to match my green tanks, my yellow tank, my whites, and my brown tank, and also one to match my maroon tank, my green tanks, my brown tank, and also my whites. That's all my tank tops. I looked at a lot of sandals, but I didn't find any I really liked. Well, there was one pair, but it was real leather and they were hand made in Madrid, so it was WAY out of my budget. I also bought a small coin purse, because I can never grab my money (or see what I have) from my purse the way it's set up. That was only 3 euros. I bought it and then when I was walking back the way I came another woman had very similar ones. I held my breath as I asked how much they were, and then sighed in relief when she said four.
I looked at a lot of jewelry today too, a lot of it was expensive, and a lot of it was cheap. I didn't buy any though, I rarely wear jewelry as it is. There was a few stalls with animal pendants. There were dolphins, crabs, butterflies, lady bugs, elephants, lizards, turtles, snakes,lions, and even fairies, but to my dismay, no squirrels. El Rastro was really fun though, there were so many vendors down so many streets, it was crazy! I could definitely get lost if I had somewhere to go in there. I may go back next Sunday with my camera to get some major people shots. But maybe not.
After I found a metro station (different than the one I came on) to get home on, I headed back. I was so tired, I was at el Rastro for three hours! I ate a snack of pretzels and Nutella (finishing off my jar) and then edited my composition for my homework that's due tomorrow. I felt quite productive after that. So productive that I allowed myself to take a nap. hehe. When I woke up it was around 5, so I headed out to a metro stop that was supposed to have a super market for me to buy a sandwich. There was no supermarket. There was a small food store that had some sandwiches, though for 50 cents more than my usual. I also bought a rather large and inexpensive bag of peanuts for a snack later. I found cashews, but like in the US, they're expensive here too.
After I ate my sandwich, I headed to the stop that has the bull fighting arena. I took some quick shots of the building, and then walked around, since I had an hour and fifteen minutes to kill. I stopped into a little souvenir shop along one of the roads. It was pretty small and busy. I could have stolen something and they would never have known. My parents raised me too well for that though. I did, however, buy my second regalo for a loved one back in the states! It's not too special or big, like the last one, but it has a meaning. I also caved when I saw an ice cream shop. I got my two scoops of pistachio and was a very happy Sara. I sat in the shade outside the shop and enjoyed my cold treat.
After that I headed to the arena. I met a bunch of other students outside and went in with them. We found our seats easily, there were workers taking us in and seating us. We had paid for sol (sun) seats, but with the way the sun was, we ended up having shade, which we were all really happy about! There was also a nice breeze, which was helpful. The inside of the stadium was really pretty, lots of arcs and flowers and detail. I got a decent amount of photos.
(The main entrance and the inside of the arena)
After they started, it wasn't quite like I was expecting. They had two horses come in and walk around, then the matadors came in, followed by more horses. Once the horses all left and the matadors were in position, they let the first bull in. They were "baby" bulls, but they didn't look like it, thankfully. The first part wasn't bad, they just teased him a lot with their cape things. The part most of us didn't like was when they started stabbing the bull with hooks and swords. Everyone else in the stands was cheering, but we weren't. I think our group was most excited when one of the matadors was hit by the bull. He got right back up, but he tumbled around with the bull for a few seconds. There was another matador who wasn't so lucky. He was carried out of the arena (though he was conscious and didn't look too bad). I don't mind the matadors getting hurt as much as the bulls, because they at least enter the ring willingly, knowing the danger that it has.
When it came time to actually killing the poor bull, the locals got out their binoculars so they didn't miss the action. My group turned to their phones, to the architecture of the building, to the clock, etc. The whole process after they start stabbing the bull is really sad and cruel. He didn't have any warning or any chance to get way. He was led right into an arena of death so that humans can laugh and make fun of him, literally watch him die. It made me feel like a bad person, sitting there while it was going on. We watched three bulls go through the same process, and then about a third of us left at the intermission. One young bull wasn't enough, they killed six today. Another highlight of the event was when one matador had to leap over the wall to escape the bull. He had so much adrenaline he flew over it. We laughed at him for that, and I wish I had gotten THAT on camera. I only took pictures of the beginning part, when they were teasing the bull.
After we got back on the metro, Jennifer, Mariam and I were on the same line. There was an old man sitting across from Jennifer and Mariam who saw my camera and asked if we wanted a picture. We said sure, and I carefully handed him my camera. I showed him the button to press, and when he was confused that the screen wasn't working, Jennifer told him to look through the eyepiece. She's been helping me to slowly learn my camera too. She has one just like mine back in Texas, but she was too scared to bring it. I didn't want to miss anything, so I bought mine especially for this trip. But after I got my camera back, I got off, because we were at my stop. I walked to the apartment and I was going to take a photo of my building with my balcony door, but the church was either getting ready to start or just ending, because there were people everywhere, so I decided to wait until it was a little more vacant. It also only took me two tries to open the door! Woo!
I uploaded photos to my computer, and then to Facebook while I did my emails. Then I got called to dinner. I'm not sure what it was today. I think it was a bean soup? They were little bitty forest green colored beans in a sort of thick, mushy soup. It was really good, served with a piece of bread, like usual. I wanted to ask what was in it, but knew there was no point. Pilar was the only one there, and I don't know many food-related words in Spanish. But I'm glad I can say I tried it (it didn't look very appetizing) and that the only thing I have had that I haven't liked was the gazpacho. Yesterday's dinner was another pasta salad. This one only had noodles, egg, banana, and some type of either fruit or vegetable. It looked like banana, but tasted kind of like corn. Maybe it was a plantain? I'm not sure. It was pretty good, whatever it was.
Now I'm going to head to bed to rest up from the weekend before class tomorrow. Part of me is hoping to get our exams back, and part of me is hoping we don't. So I guess either way I'll only be half-disappointed! We still haven't gotten our first compositions back either, so I don't know how I did on that still. Hopefully well enough to pass! But I'll eventually find out. So until tomorrow, goodnight America.
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