Las Fiestas de San Juanes in Soria, Spain

Day 7 1/2? I lost count...

First day of Las Fiestas de San Juanes!

Today we woke up at 1 and had some hot chocolate milk for breakfast. Jim, Nayla, Ian and I played fronton after for a good two hours- my shoulders got sunburned really badly :[. We came back to the house and enjoyed lunch pasta, patatas, bread and salad. I took a shower because I was pretty sweaty after fronton, I am not very good but we played teams so I actually had a chance. No one really cared if you messed up and Jim is worse than I am so that makes me feel good lol. After my shower I took a nap and slept for a good two or three hours. We will need our rest for the fiestas! I woke up and finally finished my peto, the girls came over and signed Nayla’s and mine. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. Camino tried it because she’s only seen them made in movies-she liked it. The boys left because their pina has to get there early because they are in the parade. Nayla says we are leaving around 10. I tried last night and this morning but the internet still isn’t working. The storm last night must have messed things up-it’s not even seeing the network. Ian tried to help but couldn’t get it. We left at ten for Soria, Nayla and I look so good in our petos. We parked and made our way to the main plaza, there are fireworks (not really good ones just lights that go up but don’t explode) and someone important makes a speech about San Juan (the person we are celebrating) from a balcony. Everyone is cheering and the streets are full of smiling faces. Another thing is that the fiestas are very family oriented. There are many children and families as well as old people that come to see the crowd. Its amazing how everyone here is very open to drinking. It’s accepted by everyone no matter the age. Its pretty encouraged actually even the person making the speech declared that we should all get drunk. I like it that way- its better than acting like its some giant secret. The song following-instead of like an anthem or something of significance was called alcohol. We then made our way down to the end of the plaza so we could see the parade of penas as they come by. Ian’s was last and Aldovor (one of Nayla’s cousins) was nice enough squirt us some wine as they walked by. Next all the penas go to their own bars and groups like us (wearing petos ect.) go to the park to meet up and start drinking. The park is pretty open but is surrounded by trees. Here people pee or makeout. Everyone pees in the streets during San Juan, guys will go just a little of the main path but girls usually find a more secretive spot-I peed by a hedge and got my butt scratched by a branch lol. The park was covered with empty bottles of calimocho, I started kicking the plastic around only to find that one was glass-my foot really hurt!! we played a fun game where you sit in a circle someone says a number then the next says an animal and the next makes the animal sound then you keep going around and whoever messes up has to drink. The girls in our group our mostly Lowda’s friends so they are new to both Nayla and I. Most of them are 3-4 years younger than me but they are very nice. Bella is my favorite, she is really sweet and likes to practice English. There are three stages set up in different parts of the city, the first one we went to was playing American rock music ( queen & elvis) it was crap to dance to but Nayla and I were pretty hyper because of the excitement of the fiestas, we were dancing crazy and it was really fun. Boys and girls in Spain don’t dance. I love dancing, it’s my favorite thing about parties. Their idea of dancing is making a circle and then shifting their feet forward and backward. They sing along to the song but I don’t know it so it’s ten times worse. At first I just thought it was Nayla’s friends but it’s everybody. They stand in the middle close to the stage and then they talk, why are you near the stage if you want to talk? The next one we went to had great music and lots of people we got in the center and it was the perfect place. The girls got mad because there wasn’t enough room to make a goddamn circle for them to shift their feet around so we left. When it was time to leave I was relieved.

The Amazing "La Saca"

Day 8

Incredible night in Soria at the Fiestas de San Juan

Today we got up at 11:00 didn’t take showers, put our petos on, drank some hot chocolate milk and drove to where the bulls would be released. We took a really long walk to a good place and saw many of the bulls pass through. It was very beautiful with all the horses. Some bulls however didn’t get into the caral and I don’t think the horsemen were very good not that I know anything about riding horses or getting a bull to run in the direction you need it to. We walked farther down and I got a great seat right on top of the gate where the bulls run through. We had some lunch and Jim met up with us there. The horsemen finally took a break when the bulls wouldn’t budge and had something to eat. I met a really nice guy from Soria. He heard me speaking English to Cesar and told me he liked my camera, he had a lumix too but it was 12x. We talked a little and I was surprised at how impressive his English was, some people try to speak but he had no problem with complex sentences and questions. I took a lot of videos and I’ll explain to you more about the saca when you seen them. My shoulders are completely ruined with burns :/ Right now I am going to take a nap and then we’ll go into Soria tonight and stay at the apartment. I hope I remember everything I do for the next few days because I know I wont have time to write.
This is what I remember from that night (I am writing this on Sunday and you know how my memory is): We hung out with the boys tonight and I am really glad we did, at around midnight we found the pena. Mostly they just bar hop all night but I liked being with Ian, Nayla and Jim because it meant that I wouldn’t be left out of every conversation and that I could speak some English). I danced a lot. I decided not to let it piss me off how stupid they look when they dance instead I just learned to dance like them-except I am a lot better at it than they are. There is a marching band that follows the pena around whenever they go to the next bar and also plays music at the bar. I was dancing through the band and going all through the boys. It was a lot more fun than the previous night. We hung out with them for the majority of the night. At about 4:00am though everyone kind of splits up and does their own thing. At that time the bands close too so everyone goes to the discotechas (disco bars). We went in all of them just to see what they were like, it’s not really my thing though-there’s too many people and the music isn’t very good. Another thing they have here are kabobs. Everyone eats kabobs late at night-it’s weird and their gross-I had a bite but it was too spicy for me. We stopped at a discotecha and Ian started flirting with some girl. Nayla and I took the hint to leave so we went back to the apartment.
Another interesting thing here is that I really don’t find anyone attractive. But when you meet someone you judge them on appearance and I just don’t find anyone attractive. Nayla thinks there are lots of cute boys in Spain but we have very different tastes. I have seen only few guys that I think are attractive and girls too, I look in the crowds or see people and can only point out maybe one or two that I would deem as pretty or beautiful. As far as I am concerned, I am the best looking one here!! Lol. She points out guys to me that she thinks are cute and I gag a little. I don’t know what it is but Spanish boys and girls are not attractive to me. I see more cute guys walking around UNR than I do here and prettier girls just in my sorority house! Weird huh?
Another interesting thing I have seen here is the racism. It is so blatant I find it disturbing. There are Chinese shops here and everyone calls them chinos (highly offensive), they are so rude to the Indian people selling kabobs and they call black people niggers like its nothing, even worse is how they treat gays. Javier tried to explain that here there hasn’t been a martin luther king jr. here and no civil rights but it was a little bit of a shock to me growing up I always thought every where had had a civil rights movement. There is also political unrest here because the basque country wants to be their own country and even radicals in the region around Barcelona don’t consider themselves catalon. So many of the problems here revolve around race.

Fireworks & Las Farias

Day 10

Spaniards and their non-stop fiestas. Will I last?

We didn’t wake up until 5 o’ clock so the day was pretty much shot. We watched shows in Spanish and just hung out. Javier was pretty sick. Spaniards drink very differently than Americans. They don’t do shots here, they are really slow drinkers too. They drink a lot but over a long period of time, where Americans try to get as drunk as possible as quickly as possible-just a difference I have noticed. Paula, Javier’s girlfriend, invited us all to dinner at her house. They were doing fireworks that night and she lives not two blocks away. We walked to her house-really fast because none of us had eaten all day. This apartment was incredible-top floor-you could see have the city from the balcony. We had pizza, patatas, chorizo and jamon. I also ate pigs tongue!! They told us to try it but wouldn’t tell us what it was-Ian and Nayla had their suspicions but I didn’t understand what was going on I only understood that they wanted us to try it. I was really good but and I ate it but regretted it a little when they told me what it was. Ugh! Happy I tried something new though :] The fireworks were gorgeous, I don’t think I’ve ever had a view so good! There were these spiral ones that were really pretty. There was also one that made a big number 8 in the sky. After dinner we cleaned up and watched wedding crashers-in Spanish of course (not as funny). I was feeling not myself at all that night- maybe its cause I didn’t do anything that day but this partying every night is really causing some stress. After the movie we went to the Farias (fair) which is just a section of the city where they have some rides and games, like the Rodeo in Reno, Nevada. We went on this one ride called the grasshopper, it was fun. The best was the Caballo (horse). There are three “horses” that have long bodies of that cushiony bouncy stuff. You basically climb on and hold on. The horses go up and down and side to side trying to push you off. I was in the very back and was laughing the hardest I have in a really long time. Because I was in the back I could see everyone! You know how I love it when people fall but this was ten times better. I told you how everyone is really short-their tiny legs can’t reach the ground so when the horse would go to the right I would stick out my legs to support myself but they can’t reach the ground so they would just fall! Then they would try to get back on while its moving and they would just fall again. There were like 10 people on the ground all around me, it was really really fun. After we did the bumper cars but it took me like five minutes to figure out how to get out of reverse so it wasn’t much fun. We went on the grasshopper again and after Nayla and I really didn’t feel good. I think we ate too much candy-everyone is getting drunk and throwing up but we're getting sick from candy? -wow what glorious preschoolers we are lol. We walked back to the city and hung out for a while when it started to rain. I told you how Spaniards are in the rain-everyone scattered-it wasn’t even bad at first. People were hiding under the stage and inbetween doors. Nayla and I just danced in it while everyone watched. We got some candy and just walked around and then danced again. Somebody threw ice at me and missed (twice) and after that I stopped dancing, I don’t want ice thrown at me. While everyone was hiding we found the pena, they were dancing too and had their marching band. We danced with them while they dropped of the band at their hostal, it took a while though because we kept doing oncores. I don’t know how but the drunken boys had gotten a hold of a wheelbarrel and started acting like it was a bull. They picked the drunkest guy to run behind it and chase after all the others. Nayla’s friend got flattened and then this other guy got hit hard. It started to really rain though, hard and uncomfortable. I had to pee and had nowhere to go. At around 5:30am I asked Ian to take me home. I took a warm shower and headed to bed. Nayla didn’t get home til 8:30am and Ian and Jim got home at 12 in the afternoon. Oh my goodness, these fiestas are definately built for Spanish locals not American tourists (not that I would have it any other way!) but I am dying!

Lunes De Bailes

Day 12

Last day of the Fiestas

Today was the Lunes de Bailes and everyone goes down to the river to drink and listen to music. We went with Kerri and Cesar at like 3 and it doesn’t start until 5 so there was lots of time to just do nothing. We walked a little ways to this awesome church built on the side of the river. It was constructed on top of natural caves so half church is inside and half built on top, it’s pretty cool. We some jamon and bread and got ice cream, I had strawberry-delicious! Then people started coming, we said hi. I was so happy when Ian suggested that we go and clean the piso and leave with his parents early (so we’d only be out til like 3). We went to the ceremony where they say goodbye to San Juan and then we went to the fairias for a little bit. I got a hot dog and a coke and then we went on this big swinging ship ride where you stand in a cage, I sat down in the cage because I was scared :[. Then we danced a little and I was happy to head to Abejar at 3.

Sailors Beware

Day 7

Big Storm

Today I got up at 10 and took a nice warm shower :] I hurried to get ready because we needed to get to Soria at 11 today. We had some hot chocolate milk (cola cao) for breakfast with some galletas (cookies) and we all hurried out the door! It took us about 45 minutes but it felt like longer because it was so hot! We walked all around the town and Nayla showed me where the fiestas will primarily take place. Ian had to get his vests for him, Javier and Jim who just came today, he is alec’s age and he has been teaching English in Bilbao for a year now, he is really nice and I am happy I have another person to speak to in English although his Spanish is very good as well. We found the pita (apartment) that we will be staying at in Soria for most of this week and then we went to the store to get food to stock up on snacks. It is so cool to see the supermarket here. I learned so many words just walking around the store. You should see their seafood section. It’s crazy they keep all the fish eyes still on them and their heads and everything. I don’t really care but most of the time I feel like I know where my food comes from but I still don’t want to see it lying there dead-you know? We also got a giant cured pig leg which is a real delicacy in Spain, Cesar said they bought one for Alec’s birthday for 250 euros. It still has the hoof on it and even has little hairs on the hind leg. Uggh…but the meat was very good. We drove back to Abejar and started making lunch-it was already 4 and I was really hungry. We had steak, leftover shrimp, bread, salad, fries and melon. Very filling. After we went to the pool, Nayla, Ian, Jim and I plus Nayla’s friends, Camino and Lowda who I told you about plus two other girls that I met the other day-they are very nice but I forgot their names. It started to rain so we headed up to the bar and got some drinks and snacks and played cards. We played lots of different Spanish card games, they were fun. We left the pool because it was really getting gloomy but the boys stayed. Nayla and I got back to the house and the girls wanted us to meet them at the school (only about 100 feet from the house) to finishing designing our petos (the overalls). We got there and it really started to rain, we were there for maybe 20 minutes when a full out storm started. I’ve never seen so much rain in my entire life. Lightening and thunder too- Nayla counted how long the thunder sounded after the lightening stroke and said that it was not far at all. We made a run for it a return to the house soaking wet even though the school is only seconds away. The streets were flooded maybe a good inch. The power went out but luckily its on now and hopefully it stays on. I have to say I think Spaniards are much more afraid of thunder than Americans, they act like scared dogs but I don’t know. Cesar’s friend who is a sheep herder has been hit by lightening twice and survived. For dinner we had some jamon (ham), chorizo, bread and cheese and a little lomo. After Nayla and I went out with the girls after the first bar closed on us though I asked Nayla to walk me home. The next week is going to be a nightmare as far as lack of sleep goes so I want to get as much of it as I can.
The fiestas start tomorrow night and I really don’t know if I’ll be able to write. I am so excited to see this part of Spanish culture!

Day Spent Sleeping on a Park Bench

Day 18

Travel pains...

Today sucked, really sucked. We got to the bus station in San Sebastian and waited about 15 minutes for a bus. I wasn’t tired at all but slept a little. We got to Bilbao and had a three hour wait to the next bus to Burgos, it sucked ass just waiting, I was tired, uncomfortable and hungry. We finally got on the bus, I slept a little but it was so uncomfortable it was hard. We got to Burgos and had to wait 8 hours for the bus to Soria. We ate lunch-thank fucking god, and sat for a while. I finally ate my churros con chocolate that I had read in a spanish culture book in high school and always wanted to try. We walked around and found a bench to sleep on and put our stuff down. I slept some but got weird looks from tourists and locals who probably thought it was disrespectful that I was sleeping on the grass by a fountain. There was a little artist show so Nayla and I walked around but we didn’t buy anything. We made our way to the train station and after 2 hours made it to Soria where Javier picked us up to take us to Abejar. Seriously that is the short version but it was such a miserable day I can’t even explain it. Javier made us dinner and I jumped in the shower, then went to bed. Sometimes people forget how stressful and uncomfortable travelling can be. Travelling with money is so much better, I would have had a private jet take me back to Abejar instead of an 8 hour process. Travelling on a budget can be dreadful-it made me miss home where things are easy; eating is easy, sleeping is easy, driving is easy. But then I remember all the things I have experienced and think about how I'll remember this day with my cousins and have a story for my kids or someone who cares and I stop complaining. I have to be strong! lol.

Dancing, Drinking and Rain!

Day 17

Discotecas and funny Australians!

Today we woke up and went shopping, we walked all over the city and went to lots of shops. We got breakfast and had eggs and bacon (very rare in a Spanish breakfast). It was amazing to me how great Ian was, he’s the only guy that I would ever take shopping. We would look around and I would ask him if he liked this or that shirt and he was such a good sport about it, smiling all the time. We had a lot of time to kill because we didn’t want to go back to the apartment while everyone was sleeping. We looked for a pension but gave up when nothing was available except for a high price. We decided to pull an all-nighter and catch a bus early in the morning. We spent the whole day just walking around and shopping until we caught up with Christie and her friends. Christie picked up her sister and brother in law from the bus station and we all had Kabobs together. After we went back to the apartment and found like 10 of her friends there pre-partying. We hung out for a while and then we all went out. We jumped clubs, one had really good music and a strobe light that made me really feel crazy lol. We spent some time there and then went to Bebop. We were dancing for a really long time, some Irish guys danced with us and also this like 50 year old lady who was going crazy. When we left pretty much all of Christie’s friends went home so it was just us four again. We were walking to another club when we met this Aussie named Jack he was so funny, I can’t even explain it, it was like having a personal comedian. We stood in the street listening to him for like 2 hours. It started to rain pretty hard so we went back to Christie’s apartment, we loved Jack so much we invited him. We ate some and just talked until we decided it was time to go to the bus station. We pointed Jack in the right direction and left.
hey punch me, punch me.
What the fuck is a catelope? Its a rock melon!
Here straddle me, straddle me-its not sexual, not sexual!
She's a witch!
I am going to give you the best kiss on the cheek you have ever had.