Guest blog: R.I. Students Abroad

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April 22, 2006

Spring Break

As some of you probably noticed, I went a long time without writing an entry. The reason for this was that I was traveling around Spain and Europe for my Spring Vacation. Spring vacation for me included the typical Spanish week off for Semana Santa (more to be explained shortly) and a second week off. During my free time I went to Barcelona for two days, visited a friend in Germany for three and then finished my trip off in Valencia.

I guess I should start off my story with a short description of Semana Santa (Holy Week). Semana Santa starts on Palm Sunday and lasts until Easter Sunday. The week is filled with processions led by what are called Nazarenos -- people dressed in a robe and a hat that covers the face (to hide the identity of the "sinner seeking forgiveness). In reality, these people scare me as they look very much like members of the KKK.

Here is a picture (photo from www.exploreseville.com).

The processions take place throughout Spain, but the most famous of these is in Seville, where millions of people come to see the festivities every year. Unfortunately I was unable to see one, but I was lucky enough to celebrate Easter in Germany and Palm Sunday in Barcelona.

In Barcelona, Palm Sunday was celebrated by, well, waving palms. Throughout the streets there were people waving what appeared to be branches cut off palm trees and dyed various colors. Another "celebration" I was witness to was Los Castellers de Barcelona. I call it a "celebration" because in reality it had nothing to do with Palm Sunday, it was just a live art show put on in the street. However this live art was like no other that I had seen before. This involved humans climbing up and down other humans to form a gigantic tower of people.

After Barcelona I was off to Germany to visit an old friend. Easter there is very much the same as an American Easter, except that apparently the whole egg tradition doesn't end at a young age as it does in the United States. Because of that I was lucky enough to revisit my childhood by painting/dyeing eggs and then later searching for them and various other small gifts in the backyard.

After Germany it was back to Spain and to the city of Valencia. Valencia for me was a time to relax and get my mind off the impending AP Exams, SAT Subject Test and work waiting for me back in Zaragoza. Because of that a lot of the time was spent at the beach. However I managed to visit a couple of sights. One of the more interesting things in Valencia is its market. Up until 1928 Valencia's central market was held in the streets, however in 1928 a building was constructed to house the market and protect it from the weather.

One of the main tourist attractions in Valencia is its aquarium. And while that may seem weird at first, it is obvious why once you see it and the area surrounding it. The aquarium is located among a mini-city of incredible architecture. The building the surround the aquarium are made up of architecture with incredible curves and buildings of amazing grandeur that just can not be translated well into words.

Thus concluded my spring break and a wonderful one it was at that.

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