Barcelona is crazy.

As my time in Spain has continued, it has become more clear that Barcelona is an absolutely crazy city. This weekend my friend Jenny came to visit from Paris and it was by far the best weekend yet. Friday was still beautiful so she got to visit the beach and then we painted the town red at a grand opening of a nightclub! Saturday we walked around for close to 6 hours!! We saw La Sagrada Familia, Guadi's famous church in the middle of the city, La Pedrera, another Guadi building, a bachelor party from Scottland, friends visiting from Rome, Jenny's high school friend from Cali, a fire run, "Giants", the Olympic pool, the Olympic stadium...and so much more! 

Since I last posted I've also visited Parc Guell, which is Guadi's park with mosaic benches and the famous lizard. But now, for the fire run. This was what confirmed the sanity or lack there of, of this city. Let me preface this with the fact that no explanation I can give will truly describe what I experienced. The fire run was indeed a 2 hour parade of people running from fire. We had no idea what to expect so just followed the masses to the main street and waited along to side for the "correfoc" to begin. As we looked around we realized everyone was covered from head to toe, people had bandanas around their faces, and there was even an old woman next to me wearing safety goggles! We were in no way prepared but this didn't stop us. People dressed as devils in various groups from around the city, walked down the street carrying a staff with basically the worlds biggest sparklers on top. They would light the sparklers and spin them around, sending small flames everywhere! When they gave sign that they were about to light them, which don't be fooled, was not a warning sign, i just mean it was evident fire was about to be shot at you because they pulled out a torch gun, people would sit in front of them or gather in a circle around them and run! In the beginning we freaked out and I got a burn on my thigh, my arm, and the worst...my head. I pulled off a small chunk of scalp the next day only to discover a small bald spot amongst my hair...I kid you not, in this small circle it looks and feels like I got a buzz cut!! But god bless the thick hair I have always been unable to manage, because you can't see it unless I move stuff around. Eventually we realized we needed the full cultural experience, we tied extra layers of clothing that people had around our heads and ran with the fire! IT WAS INSANE! The best but scariest adrenaline rush ever. The fire people would come in packs so sometimes it felt as if you couldn't escape the sparks but then it would be over. There were also drummers that followed and then huge lizards, dragons, and even a fake horse that also gave off massive sparks. The streets were full of small children, teens, adults, and even much older generations. Everyone was ready for what was to come and the safety issues were not issues in the least way for it was a tradition and therefore nothing else mattered. Needless to say, the US would have had barricades lining the streets and police on every corner and really would probably never let it happen.

The next day we went to the castellers, which are human towers. Literally, towers of people. We some some walk around almost 4 people high and others who had a tower of 8 or 9 come falling down, which was very scary. 

Even without all these crazy and exciting events, I am having the time of my life. I have 9 hours of Spanish class every week and feel I am learning more than ever. (it helps that I'm actually able to apply what I'm learning to get by each day!) Its been very interesting to learn the many cultural differences and the opinions that people have of the states. I have met wonderful people who are all here to have a good time, be adventurous and live every experience to the fullest. Tomorrow is the actually holiday, La Merce, which is why all these events occurred this weekend. All of the museums are free to enter and everyone I've talked to is going! When people think of a typical group of college students, they would not imagine them to be excited for museums, so this is a really great atmosphere. 

Next weekend I board the plane for Munich to experience the world's greatest beer festival, Oktoberfest! This will surely be quite the adventure as we still have no place to stay but we are not worried and are all very excited! Don't panic mom and dad, we will be smart and safe!

Hope all is well in the states, it sounds like life is crazy over there. 

Con amor, Mary

*The pictures are: Parc Guell, my first FC Barcelona soccer game and we won, La Sagrada Familia, and me in front of the Olympic Stadium