Hello again. I think it’s been about a month since I last wrote, but it seems like no time at all. I don’t know how it is for all of you, but this year is passing extremely fast for me. It’s true, I always say that at the beginning of my blogs, but I always expect the year to seem longer. Friends, family, and just about everyone I know ask how things are going, and there’s really no other response except “life.” There are good days, there are bad days, just as if I were in California. Actually, it’s hard to believe I’ve only known these people for about 5 months. But this isn’t what I really want to write about, so I guess I’ll just jump in.

What I really want to talk about is Carnaval. I know many of you are going to read that as “carnival” as in fair, with a Farris wheel, cotton candy, etc. But this is actually more closely related to Mardi Gras than our idea of a carnival. During Carnaval, the streets come alive with hundreds of people (in the case of larger cities, thousands) mostly dressed up, dancing, singing, shouting, and generally having a good time. It’s something you don’t tend to ever see in the U.S. The closest thing you could probably compare it to is Halloween on steroids. There are big parades and Carnaval lasts several weekends in a row, with people staying out in the streets into the wee hours of the morning.

My experience of Carnaval was probably the same as a typical Spanish high schooler’s. I went out with my family one weekend to C?diz, the big city in the area, to see the parade. It was pretty impressive (although not exactly on the scale of the Thanksgiving Day Parade — no 50-foot Snoopy), with big floats, balloon dinosaurs and lots of people dressed up in a wide variety of costumes.

While the parade was fun to watch, it wasn’t actually the highlight of the day. The real highlight was the trip back. We had taken the train from a nearby city, San Fernando, to C?diz and now we had to take another train back. So many people had done the same, however, that the train station was so packed that we couldn’t even see the automatic ticket takers.

We decided to go to another train station, and luckily we got onto the train platform immediately. On the train we were squeezed in so much that I was crammed against the door. Luckily for me, the doors didn’t open at the next station, where all I could see out the window was a sea of people. Very, very frustrated people, who took to banging at the doors and windows. I was happy when we left there, but we opened the door at the next station, and so many people crammed themselves into the train that I literally couldn’t move without digging someone in the ribs with my elbows. Don’t worry, I got out alive. And I got to go to school the next day. Lucky me.

The next weekend was Carnaval here in Chiclana. I went out on Saturday with five of my friends, who were all dressed as prisoners in black and white striped uniforms. It was pretty funny to see. I was dressed up as a pirate, and looked pretty spiffy, if I do say so myself. We saw the cabalgata (parade), which included the same inflated dinosaurs. I was a little disappointed. My sister managed to get in the parade, throwing confetti. Speaking of confetti, I was finding it in odd places for days afterwards. After seeing the parade, we spent a good amount of time walking around and mixing with the crowd.

The plan was to eat around 9 p.m., and then go to a disco, at which one of the girls? dads works. Everything went according to plan, until we got to the disco. It was on the second floor of the building, and we had to walk up some stairs to get to it. I was last, and saw two of the girls doubled up laughing at the top of the stairs. When I got to the top I saw why. The dance floor, and really the entire disco, was filled with senior citizens. There were probably a couple people who were under 40, but most were probably over 60. I was petrified, just as the trolls that captured Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit and turned to stone when the sun rose. In other words, I couldn’t move. It was something between disbelief and absolute mortification. Nothing against people over 60, of course. Two of the girls even wanted to stay and dance, but even if I had been in the mood to dance, I got the impression these people wouldn’t have found it very amusing. We spent the rest of the night more or less wandering around the city, so there’s not much more to tell. At least I can say that it was an interesting experience.

Another topic that I suppose is always on the table is school. I think everyone is surprised that I’m actually passing my classes, and no one more than me. Everything is more or less normal, although my professors like to refer to me in class, as an example in more than one sense. For example, my economy teacher made the point in class that I bring my sandwich to school in Tupperware, which isn’t embarrassing in and of itself, until someone points it out to the whole world. Something a lot of people here have been asking me is how I get along with my classmates. There have been a lot of cases of bullying in schools lately, which is why the question comes up a lot. The truth is, I have my friends, and I get along with just about everyone.

Well, with that, I’m going to say goodbye once again. I know this is more or less the time of year where everything gets really stressful. I’m feeling it too. The next time you all hear from me, I’ll hopefully be done with all the end-of-the-trimester tests.

I hope you enjoyed this blog. I look forward to hearing any feedback you might have.

Until next time…