It's strange how both occasions have a completely different time concept though.
The past week was culture overload. Alcala celebrated their local holiday, the birthday of Miguel de Cervantes, who was born in Alcala and is represented all over, whether it be streetnames, statues, buildings, squares, parks,...
To celebrate, Alcala held a week long Mercado de Don Quijote. A medieval festival with a market that spread all over the city, the stalls were all medieval themed, arabic, artisanal, etc. All the shopkeepers were even dressed in typical medieval fashion. All the products were devine, handmade jewelry, kitchen stuff, toys, accessories, cheese, bread, chips. A vintage, hand operated carousel; a little farm, birds and snakes! Even some traditional barbecues. I went back to the centre a few times this week, just because there was so much to discover!
Me and one of the Brazilian guys attempted to climb the Alcala mountains, which was once again a failure. We asked around a bit and it turnes out, Alcala people don't know their city, since we walked about 12kms to finally find the entrance to the park, and by then we had lost interest. It was a nice walk though with good company. Turned out we had been very close at one point until someone pointed us in the wrong direction.
Next time, I'm taking the bus.
One evening Jessica, a friend and me went to a latin bar where people practice their latin dance skills.
I am no longer a latin dance virgin! This does not mean I am any good at it though. I was mostly there to watch, so I did feel bad for all the men that asked me to dance. I can't even tell what dance it is by the music, so I figured it best to walk before I run!
Also, I am not good at following :)
Since the hiphop class is probably a no-go, I will start a quest for the perfect latin mix dance class to get my feet wet!
Later we went to an Erasmus party which was pretty busy. It think there's going to be some fun times ahead at these parties.
This week I also got my bachelor-paper options. But since only one option applies to my field of study I don't really have a choice and it isn't all that interesting. Thankfully I have my friends in Belgium to advise.
No more complaining about the weather! It is my perfect temperature now, around the 20s - and it seems it will stay like that for a little while longer.
This week I sadly have to give in to Madrid temptation once more. One of my teachers is moderating a American debate between a republican and democrat in Madrid which I'm really interested in attending, I'll let you know how that goes.
Since I'm in Madrid I might as well catch a movie; whether it'll be an original or a horribly dubbed film (to practice my Spanish) I have yet to dedice :)
Untill next time!
