Day 5-¡El toros!

Today we got to go to Alcanzár!!!  It was a royal palace with many gardens and it was absolutely beautiful!  I do not think I have ever seen a building with more detail.  It was a combination of the main three cultures there as well, which are muslim, christianity, and judaism.  It was cool to see the differences between each and simply unbelievable to know that someone used to live there!!!  It was probably 7 times the size of my house!  We went on a long tour with a very descriptive guide and took tons of pictures!  Then we headed home and had some lunch, which was a treat because my señora made a combination of arroz y mariscos: gamba, langotino, y mejillones.  Then I took a little siesta and then headed out for quite a shocking experience.  We went to our first (and LASTTTTTT) bull fight.  Our group went and again were not quite sure what to expect.  I was kind of excited because I thought this was a real "Spanish" experience.  Well we did enjoy seeing the different outfits they wore and the part with the flags was kind of cool, as the matadors sprinted away like little girls to hide behind their boards.  But then it was horrendous!  Two men came out on horses and speared the bull, stabbing in multiple times.Then three men came out and stuck it with these littler spears that we think had drugs in them.  Finally the main matador would stab it with a sword.  The Spanish people LOVED it and would go

nuts whenit died.  It was pretty awful to watch blood dripping down it as you could tell it was suffering.  I am glad to say I got the experience, but it is definitely not something I would need to ever attend again, and yet somehow the boys loved it...weird...anyway then I was supposed to go meet one of my friends for dinner.  Well since she doesn't have a phone and mine is not really efficient, I was supposed to meet her at the entrance of the stadium at 9.  Well the others in my group left because they knew I was meeting her, but at 9, she was not there.  At 9:10 she wasn't either, which is not like her.  So I decided to try to find her and ended up practically running around the stadium, but luckily when I got back she was there!  Clearly facebook communication is not as efficient either, as she thought I meant entrance 9, not at 9...anyway we went for more tapas with her host brother and his friend and a girl who had studied abroad in Seville two years ago.  It was interesting because we got a combination experience of talking English and practicing more Spanish.  The food, again was great, and we let the boys choose since they're from Sevilla!  But lesson learned: don't ask for agua you must ask for un vaso de agua or else you will have to pay.  Sneaky sneaky.  Well then they walked me home and we got the chance to talk some more and as I was about to head in I mentioned that I wanted to go read my Bible, and the boys spun around so quick and were shocked when they asked if I was religious and I told them yes, I am a Christian.  They asked if I went to church in the states and I said yes and they were surprised again.  They said that only old people go to church in Spain, so I think that is just another reminder that this country needs Jesus and to be praying for them!  First day of classes en la mañana!