Hola desde España

¡Buenos días estudiantes!

When we last spoke, I told you all a little bit about the city of Madrid, Spain: where it is on the map, how most families live, and the transportation system in Madrid. Also, were you able to figure out the time difference? Isn’t it a little strange to think that while you are sleeping, somewhere else in the world the sun is shining?

“What do I like to do for fun” is a great question, and to tell you about everything I will have to use some Spanish vocabulary. When I use a Spanish word, I will italicize it.

A very traditional activity in Spain is to watch a corrida de toros, or bullfight. To Americans, this can seem very cruel to animals, but to Spaniards, it is a very historical and important part of their culture. In the picture I will attach, you can see the matador, or bullfighter. He is using a red cape to persuade the bull to charge. It can be scary to watch, but I’m glad I got to see it!

Another time, my friends and I went to a restaurant called Casapatas to eat tapas, which are very traditional for a Spanish dinner. Sometimes, when Spaniards go out to eat, instead of ordering one big plate of food just for themselves, they will order 4, 5, or even 6 plates of food for the whole table to share. Each plate has a little bit of food on it, and this way the whole table gets to try a little bit of everything!

After tapas, the restaurant hosted a flamenco show. Flamenco is a very traditional style of dance in Spain. Often, in a traditional flamenco show, there will be a woman with a long dress, that has many ruffles around her legs. She can dance alone, with another woman, or with a male flamenco dancer. When the man and the woman dance together, there is a lot of symbolism in  the dancing. The woman represents a matador, and her dress represents the capes the matador uses to engage the bull. The male flamenco dancer represents the bull that is fighting the matador. In the video I will try to attach, watch the dancers’ hands; the movements are very intricate. The interaction between the male and woman is very intense, and represents the fight between a matador and a toro, or bull.

After the show, my friends and I stopped for another traditional food in Spain; a very popular dessert called churros con chocolate. Churros are a dough that has been fried, and tastes a Little like the fried elephant ears you can get at the Kentucky State Fair! With your churros,  you also get a cup of chocolate that has been melted, in which you dip the churros! ¡Qué rico!

But my friends and I do more than just eat! We also like to go exploring. One place we explored was Bernabéu Estadio, the stadium where the most famous soccer team in the world, REAL MADRID, plays!  Everywhere outside of the United States, soccer is called fútbol. In Spain everybody, boys and girls, play soccer for fun. It’s great exercise, and the people are very passionate about cheering for their teams. The biggest rivalry in Spain, if not the entire fútbol world is REAL MADRID verse BARCA. BARCA is the fútbol team from Barcelona, Spain. The rivalry is even bigger than Yankees verse Red Sox. Can you find Barcelona on the map?

Those are just a few of the activities people like to do in Spain for fun, but there are many more! Please ask me more of your questions!

Un beso,

Tori