Monday, February 21, 2011

Flamenco, favorite foods, and a baby!

I would like to start this post by saying Congratulations to one of my close friends from ISU, Nina, and her husband, Shaun, on their new baby boy! I'm so excited for you both and I can't wait to meet baby Ezra this fall! :)

On Friday, a few of us went to a Flamenco show at the Gran Teatro here in Caceres. When we were let inside to the lobby, we hung out for about 15-20 minutes before they started seating us. Let's just say those 15-20 minutes were some of the most awkward minutes of my life. I've never been to a Flamenco show before so I don't know if this is typical... or if it was because this particular show was very dark and sad, but my friends and I were starting to get a little creeped out. There were about 3 women all dressed in black with lots of dark eye makeup and they would slowly walk around everyone in the lobby while we were waiting for them to seat us, and they would come up close to your face in the middle of your conversation, hide behind pillars and stare at you, or hug the pillars and smile? It was weird. We never understood why they acted like that, either.

The cast of the Flamenco show
I also thought it was weird that the audience sat on the stage where the show was. We all sat in a huge circle around the performance. I was a little confused by this because the theater reminded me of the Orpheum in Sioux City, or Cy Stephens in Ames, so there was plenty of seating, and it was a really nice theater. Instead, we all sat in folding chairs on the stage. The performance was really awesome, though. It lasted about an hour and half and there was only talking/singing for about 15 minutes of that time. Even though there wasn't much talking, we were all still a little confused by the storyline. There was one man and five women, and we were confused by the parts that all the women played.

My new all time favorite candy bar!
I also thought I would use this post for talking about my new love for all of the amazing foods here. I'm not even sure where to start. Oh wait, yes I do. KINDER BUENO. My new favorite candy bar of all time. I'm seriously bringing five boxes of these with me when I go back home. It's just a chocolate bar and inside of it is a wafer and the rest is filled with hazelnut cream. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it is. Trust me. Speaking of candy, there are these candy stores called Sanchez Cortes that are literally on EVERY block. It's so tempting to go in one every time I pass by one. I'm actually temped to stop writing and walk down the street and go to one right now. But I won't. Like I told Claire the other day, I need to work on my self-control! That was the night when I almost ate a whole loaf of bread. Seriously. The bread here is SO good. Lola buys a big, fresh baguette for every meal... and those of you who know me, know I love carbs. This whole 'bread with every meal' thing is not good. All of the seafood here is unbelievably delicious, too. Mostly because it's so fresh, and it has so much flavor since they never take out the bones. We probably have fish about four times a week. When I first got here, we had it the first night and I didn't even want to touch it because it did not look very appetizing. Now, it's one of my favorite things to eat here!

Lately, a lot of people in our group have been talking about foods they're craving from the U.S. For example, Subway, mashed potatoes, or hamburgers. I haven't really been craving any of those things (okay, maybe mashed potatoes.) But I have been craving PIZZA. I haven't had pizza in forever it feels like. Thank goodness they have a Pizza Hut here. Even though it's a good 25-30 minute walk, some of us are going there for dinner sometime this week.

This past weekend was a nice, relaxing one here in Caceres. However, it will probably be my last. I think I have travel plans for every single weekend up until the end of the semester when my dad comes to visit! This weekend is our second group excursion. We're heading south to Cordoba and Granada. I'm excited to see the Mediterranean for the first time!

Hasta luego!

3 comments:

  1. Shea, I can't wait to try one of those candy bars. I would love to have fresh fish 4 times a week. Continue to take pictures. I love looking at them. Love, Dad

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  2. First thing we're doing when you get here is buying a Kinder Bueno!!!! PS it was good Skyping with you today! :)

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  3. And please bring a candy bar home for me (not to mention some wine!)

    I love reading of your adventures, Shea! What an amazing experience you are having!

    Kathy

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