This past weekend I took a bus to Cadiz, where the Carnivales de Cadiz is held. It is the worlds largest festival and can be compared Mardi Gras. The interesting part about Carnivales is that everyone comes in costume and in many cases a whole group of friends will wear the same costume or related costumes. I believe this is done for two reasons, the first to make it much easier to find your friends in the masses of people that overtake the city, and the second because it is a lot more fun. When I arrived in Cadiz there were large groups of people playing drums and the atmosphere was indescribable. My friends and I ventured to the Cathedral Square where there was a giant square. Throughout the night there were singing performances from large groups of people dressed in costumes that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. The festival goes on for days and I cannot imagine being apart of the entire thing.

This week it has been raining everyday and all day. One of the cooler things that I have noticed is that everyone has an umbrella and since the sidewalks are very small it is important to either raise or lower your umbrella while walking past someone. This creates a pretty cool effect of dancing umbrellas on the sidewalks as people pass each other.

Lately I have been eating like a king here, today for lunch we had swordfish and yesterday we had pan-seared tuna with onions. I finally asked the cook, Reyes, how she made the strawberries and I was surprised to learn how simple my new favorite desert was to make. She simply cuts the strawberries into small parts then puts a few aside to blend with sugar into an almost paste like substance. About an hour before lunch she puts the strawberries into small dishes and pours the paste over the strawberries in the fridge. The result is a sweet delectable paste with firm and fresh strawberries. It is a great treat to finish off a great meal.

This morning while wandering the city with a friend of mine we visited the Church of Jesus de Gran Poder (Jesus of Great Power). It was incredible and I am quickly learning that even though there is a church on every block they are all very different and have a very particular style. Jesus de Gran Poder is a round church with a domed ceiling and a layer of transom windows on top. It is done very tastefully and became my favorite immediately. Today after my class I went to the Cathedral in Sevilla for Ash Wednesday mass, the cathedral is by far the most immaculate building I have ever been in and no picture can do it justice. The mass was very elaborate and an interesting part of the Spanish culture is the way in which they receive the host. To me it seems quite primitive, but instead of forming lines they simply all huddle around the priest and budge to get up there before taking a zigzag way back to their seats. I don’t know if there is any particular significance or it is just tradition but it was very interesting to see the differences in masses from the US. Tomorrow I am heading back to the Cathedral with my school for a formal tower in which we will head up to the tower, the highest building in the center of Sevilla