Semana Santa (Holy Week)

So, we arrived home from London to find blocked streets, police officers, and hoards of crazy, Virgin-loving people. What should have been a 20 min walk for Kellsey and I to get home from the bus station became a 1 1/2 hour fight with all of our luggage to make it through the small, crowded, cobblestone streets. To get home, we had to walk by the Cathedral, and we happened to walk by while a procession was going on.

Let me take a minute to explain the utter craziness that is Holy Week. Holy Week, of course is the week before Easter. Everyone in Spain is on break in order to enjoy the festivities. All the stores are closed, no one works, and school is out. There are 60 processions total that happen throughout the course of the week. The processions are like parades. Each procession is composed of 2 "floats," which in Spanish are called pasos. The floats are made of gold, are stored in the Cathedrals every year until Holy Week, and are carried by men on foot. The first float is always of Jesus, and the following one is always one of the Virgin Mary. The floats can weigh up to 100 tons.

Jesus Paso being stored in a Cathedral:


Virgin Mary paso:


Close Up:


The sculptures of Jesus and the Virgin are very intricate, and every paso of Jesus depicts a certain image or scene from the Bible. In the Virgin pasos, Mary has different facial expressions, but most of the time she is crying. She is usually surrounded by candles, flowers or both, and wears that funny looking crown. The Mary floats are way more popular than the Jesus floats because the Spanish feel much closer to Mary. They feel that Jesus is too holy for them, but they can relate to Mary through the death of her son.

Every paso leaves from the Cathedral in which it is kept, is carried to the main Cathedral, goes through the main Cathedral, and is carried back to it's home Cathedral. So the farther away you are from the big Cathedral, the longer your journey will be. Keep in mind that the Santa Cruz streets around the Cathedral our tiny. The pasos barely fit. Men called costaleros serve as conductors in the front of the parade telling the men carrying the floats where to go. The men carrying the floats and people involved in the processions are collectively call brotherhoods, and every church or cathedral has its own. Each member of the brotherhood is called a nazareno, and the nazarenos wear long robes, pointy hats with fabric that hangs down over their face with holes cut out for the eyes, carry long candles, and are prohibited from speaking. The nazarenos 100% look like members of the KKK. It is quite scary.



Kellsey and I walked through them trying to get to the grocery store:


There are also members of the procession called penitentes. Penitentes look like nazarenos except for that the don't wear tall pointy caps. Instead of carrying candles, they carry crosses and walk barefoot through the streets in an attitude of repentance. The number of crosses they carry depends on the amount of repenting they want to do. They are supposed to resemble Jesus carrying His cross on the way to Golgotha.



Each procession usually has a band that accompanies it, and the music is specific to each paso. However, there is a silent one that I will explain later.

Okay, so as I was saying, we were walking home from the bus station when we encountered this, the student procession, filling the streets:



So, it was pretty impossible to do anything except wait for the procession to pass by. We found a spot to stand on the corner of one of the smaller streets that we needed to turn on in order to get home. What we didn't realize was that the spot was available because the corner is the worst place to stand. When the procession came by, there was barely enough room for it to clear the corner without hitting the walls of the buildings. So naturally, as it was turning, all of the people including me and Kellsey were being pushed and compacted against the wall to make room for the paso. I have never experienced anything like it. It was worse than a mosh pit because there was nowhere to go, and it took several minutes for the paso to get by. Let's just say I became very close with the poor woman standing behind me. Everyone was frustrated wtih Kellsey and I because we had our bookbags on, and kept complaining, "ooo, la mochila..." but we couldn't help it. After the paso passed, we still had to push and shove to get through, but I'm just glad we made it out alive.

After recovering from the London trip, we got to see many more processions much more comfortably. We didn't have to go far since we lived close to the Cathedral and they all came there. Here is some footage and some pictures of what the processions look like:



This one is called La 0:






Pretty crazy, huh? The Spaniards love to go and watch their favorite ones. The middle of the week is the most popular, especially Thursday because Thursday night the processions last until the next morning. Popular ones include "El Silencio" and "La Macarena." Kellsey and I stayed up to watch El Silencio, which passes by at 3 am. We staked out our spot at about 1, and waited under a tree eating sunflower seeds and leaning on each other's backs. When the paso finally came, it was pretty intense. Obviously, it had no music and to my surprise, all the people watching really were quiet. If anyone talked they were quickly shushed. You could even hear the footsteps of the nazarenos carrying the paso. It is meant to be very reverent, being the morning before Jesus' death on the cross, but for me it was a little on the creepy side.

The Nazarenos of El Silencio:


Jesus El Silencio Paso carrying the cross:


Mary of El Silencio:


The one following El Silencio is La Macarena. This one is the scene of Pilate sentencing Jesus to death on a cross. Kellsey and I went home at around 4 after watching the silent one, so we didn't see La Macarena at the Cathedral. However, we got up the next morning to see it at the end of it's journey going back into it's home Cathedral. I thought it was a pretty good depiction of the scene. They carried it under this yellow arch that you will see in the video and had trumpets blaring in the background, and since I was up close to the front looking up at it, I really kind of felt like I was there. People all around me were sobbing and crying out to it. There was also a person serenading it opra-style from a window, which is very common and is called a sainete. It was a neat experience. We didn't wait long enough to see the Virgin float, but we caught the back of it on the way home. It is supposed to be the prettiest one. By the time we got home, we watched it going into the home cathedral on the news with Pepe....you know, quality bonding time. He didn't believe we had actually gone to see the first part of it.

La Macarena:


Pontius Pilate and Jesus:


Side view of the Jesus paso:


Semana Santa is a tradition that Sevilla has had for years. Yes, I think it is important to remember Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, but I think it is just as important or even more important to celebrate his rising again!! The climax of their Holy Week is Good Friday. Saturday there are some processions, but on Easter there is only 1!! Easter is the least important day of the whole week for them. I can't understand that. Yes, Jesus was crucified for us on Friday, but then He conquered death so that we could be reconciled to Him and have a way to Heaven!! And he did it so that we could have a relationship and open communication with Him. There should be a HUGE party about this on Sunday.

I think it is sad that the Spaniards feel as though Jesus is too holy for them, because although He is holy, He really wants to know them intimately. It is interesting that everyone is so reverent during Holy Week because like 2 weeks later is Feria de Abril, which is a big party. In a sense it is good that they emphasize Holy Week, but I feel like they are really lacking the relationship with Jesus that grounds their faith. I am so glad I got to experience a huge part of their culture during Holy Week, and I pray that Jesus will become more than someone they acknowledge greatly just one week out of the year, and will realize that He loves them more than they could ever imagine.

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
John 17:3

Harry Potter's Home.

Our next trip after Morocco was to London during our first spring break! To get there, we took a 5 euro flight to Alicante, a little town in the northern coast of Spain, and spent our 8 hour layover on the beach there in our winter London clothes and bearing all of our luggage. It was really fun! I got to sleep on the beach and eat some Subway and gelato, so I was happy.

On the Alicante beach:


A flight, 2 buses, and a taxi later, we arrived to our hostel in London, which was the most interesting hostel of them all by far. I wish I had taken a picture of the room we stayed in. It was like a long blue hallway with bunked beds lined up against both walls. The beds were like little capsules with blue curtains to pull to separate yourself from the 16 other people staying in the room with you- including boys and girls. Upon our arrival to the room at 3am in the morning, my one question to Kellsey was, "How do we feel about the large German man watching me put sheets on my bed?" Her response was, "Not good." However, as strange as it sounds, it was actually not that bad. The hostel was really good about enforcing a low noise level, most of the people were nice, and large German man had a girlfriend with him, so all was well.

After getting all of our pounds together and preparing for the day, we went to the train station to buy "tube" passes. London is so big that you have to use the tube aka metro to get around or you won't be able to see everything. The tube is also very confusing and large, but thankfully Kellsey was an excellent navigator. Our first stop was to the famous Camden town market! We spent way to much time there because a) it's huge, and b) it has really cute stuff. Aside from all of the cool stuff it had, my two fondest memories of the market include the delicious falafel I ate there, and when I had to pay almost $1 to use the bathroom. That's London for ya!

Falafel from the Funky Falafel:


After going to the market, we walked around and saw a lot of the famous places in London like Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, The Parliament Buildings, and China-town. On the way, we spotted many red double-decker busses and old red telephone booths. I also discovered that the McDonald's had a Cadbury Egg flavored McFlurry. More on that later.

Trafalgar Square:


421 girls with Big Ben:


Prepared with our umbrellas for London rain:



After hitting up the grocery store and finding beloved peanut butter (Spain is severely behind in that peanut butter is hard to find and expensive when you do find it...so basically we had all been deprived for months), we went back to the hostel to make dinner. We used the kitchen there, made pasta and packed our PB&Js for the next day. In the kitchen, we met a really nice guy from Sevilla , and he had some friends with him from the Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. It was cool to have a lot of different languages going on at one time.

That night we visited platform 9 3/4, although I don't think it is the exact one from the movie...it's just a tourist spot. Anyway, we put our pride aside and played some pretend quidditch in the train station while waiting in line to take our picture with the sign.



The next day we walked on the London bridge, went to Buckingham palace, toured the Tower of London, and got to go to Hillsong London church!! I wasn't very impressed with Buckingham...it was a lot smaller than I thought and you can't really taunt the guards because they are behind the gates. The Tower of London was awesome. It used to serve as a residence to the royals and a place where they held and tortured prisoners, and now it holds the Crown Jewels. I could write an entire blog post just about that place! After the touring the Tower of London and seeing how all of the prisoners used to be tortured, we decided to go to church! Hillsong London takes place in Dominion theatre and the atmosphere is awesome. It was so nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of traveling and spend some time in the presence of the Lord. After that, we ate some fish and chips and mushy peas, and then I got to try the Cadbury Egg McFlurry!! That needs to come to the States ASAP.

Tower of London:


The next day was our "tour cathedrals and more famous places" day. First we went in St. Paul's Cathedral, the 2nd largest cathedral in the world! It is very immaculate inside and I liked that the ceilings were sparkly. We went downstairs and saw the crypt, and also climbed the seemingly million stairs to get to the top of it. The view from there was incredible and worth the work out.

St. Paul's:


From top of St. Paul's:


It's Windy Up There:


Then we went in Westminster Abbey and saw some famous dead people, and Tate Modern to see Claude Monet's water lilies painting and also some Andy Warhol paintings. (love him) We also walked on Millennium bridge and saw the Globe Theatre. Then, Alyssa and I got to ride the LONDON EYE, the big ferris wheel!! The views were amazing because we could see almost all of London. After this day we were all pooped, so we stopped for a coffee break and then went to see the show Wicked at the Apollo Victoria!

Westminster Abbey:


London Eye:


View from the capsule of the London Eye:


I had never seen Wicked before, but I loved it. It was a brand new cast that night and they did fantastic. Rachel Tucker played Elphaba and she gave me goosebumps as she sang some of her solos.

Congrats if you made it to the end of this. Sorry for the novel. Also, the British accents were awesome and the English was nice because I could understand everything that was happening around me. I really loved London and want to go back! Also, I am obsessed with Big Ben. That's all. :)

What's Love Got to Do With It?

6th grade throwback, anyone? Well, technically the old school Fat Joe and Ashanti song is called "What's Luv," but I refuse to spell that way.

Anyway, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the relationship between the head and the heart for Christians. I have heard it mentioned several times in the past month that 18 inches exist between the two, and this distance can be fatal for some who know about Jesus but never really fully trust Him or know Him in their heart. However, I believe the relationship goes deeper than that. I think a lot of times the head gets in the way even if you do have Jesus living in your heart.

What I have been focusing on lately is that my relationship with Jesus is much more of a heart thing. When I got saved, Jesus didn't debate me or try to logically prove anything to me. Rather, He showed me His immense love for me and I realized my need for Him, and those are clearly matters of the heart.

"For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." John 10:10

Also, it's easy to just get caught up in the motions of things. It's easy to read my Bible every day to say that I did, to go to church because it is Sunday, and to invite people to church because that's outreach. Those are things my head knows that I should do and tells me to do them.

However, when the heart of someone has been touched, it is obvious. Take, for example, Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch declaring his love for Katie Holmes.
(k, maybe not the best example, but you get my drift) We should be that excited about our relationship with the Lord Almighty. Jesus came directly into my heart so I could know Him, not into my head so I could know about Him. I don't want Christianity to be something that I know and accept as a means to an end. I want to be radically changed by the daily transformation Jesus makes in my heart because He loves me, and I love Him.

Today, I realized a simple truth that I have let my head complicate: When you love God, you love people. Living by that truth is simple, yet imperative. What is loving God? Trusting, praying, worshiping, and reading His Word. And why do we love God? Because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) God loved me so much that he sent his only begotten Son to die for me. And I didn't do anything to deserve it. The Creator of the Universe chose to love me. If that doesn't make you cry, I don't know what will. What can I give Him besides my heart?

I think I often let my head filled with the logistics of life get in my way and complicate that one guideline. I worry about what I "should be doing" or "what God wants me to be doing" when he wants me to love Him and love people. All people. In doing that, I believe the the rest will fall into place.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

So, as I am examining my heart, I challenge you to examine your heart as well. Separated from your head and what you have been taught about Jesus, what does your heart say about your relationship with Him right now? Do you trust Him in all areas of your life? Are you joyful because you know Him?

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 28:7

I'm back. :)

WOW, how time has passed. I can't believe my last blog post was in April. Time really has flown by. I am going to try to catch up on everything, including my trips! I'll start with Morocco.

I was so stoked to go to Africa...a whole other continent and new place! 3 other girls and I went with a tour guide group called We Love Spain because we knew Morocco isn't the type of place you just wander around by yourself. It turned out to be a very interesting experience to say the least.

We rode to the border of Spain on a bus, then we took a ferry (which is really cool by the way) to Ceuta, which is in Africa but still considered Spanish property, and then we arrived at the Moroccan border. Kellsey and I had a minor freak-out session as the bus stopped and our tour guide Mohammad took all of our passports and walked off the bus to "take them to the officials." While he was gone we were comforted by children climbing and jumping over the border fence with black bags, large Muslim men standing around with guns, and black packages being transferred from one car to another. Thank the Lord after a good 15 min our dear friend Mohammad came back with our passports and we were off to our first stop, feeling a little unsure about Morocco.

It was pretty reasonably cheap for us to go through the tour guide company, and then we realized why. Almost everywhere they took us to on the trip was a sales pitch...a sketchy sales pitch. Over the course of the whole trip, we went to 2 rug stores, a "pharmacy," and some markets. It was still interesting because those places did give us a sense of the culture...and we met some pretty interesting people in the process, like our tour guide, Mohammad. He spoke English, Spanish and Arab and liked to joke around a lot...but sometimes too much. For example, he hid my friends passport at the border of Morocco and said he lost it....yeah not so funny at the time. And he also had apparently hired extra people to keep an eye on us, but didn't tell us...so we just thought we were being followed by some stray Moroccan men. Thanks, Mo.


Anyway, our first stop, Tetuan, was really just a dirty, unique looking town with lots of markets and signs with Arab writing. Apparently the King lives there, but they said that about everywhere we went, so who really knows.

First glance at Tetuan:


City center:


Typical:


So after walking through some markets and such we ended up at sales pitch location #1: the pharmacy. We were led into this strange looking spice store and listened while this man wearing a lab jacket tried to sell us saffron, cinnamon, color-changing lipstick, lotion, herbs, and all sorts of random things. At the end of his presentation it was like a big auction where people called out when they wanted to buy something. I only ended up with cinnamon, which turned out to be quite disgusting by the way. Some of the demonstrations were funny, and they let us sample lots of things, but I was kind of wierded out by the looks of the place.



So, onto sales pitch #2: the rug store. They took us all upstairs to this beautiful room where they had like a million rugs ready to show us. The little guy working there would tell us all about a rug and throw it out in the floor unrolled so we could marvel at it. Then, after throwing out at least 20 rugs, he asked us all to take the ones we wanted. He said they couldn't tell us the set prices because they had all the prices listed in some book. So, I picked up a pink blanket just for kicks. They took me back into this dark corner, (I am not exaggerating) and thankfully Kellsey went with me, and the guy took out a little pad of paper. He said he would give me a student discount and quoted me at 180 euros (over $200) for a blanket. I couldn't help laughing in his face. Then, he said "Why you laugh. I like your laugh, but why you laugh. This good price." It was too much to handle. I told him I didn't want it and I left. No one bought anything in that store because the prices were so ridiculous and they were so creepy.
Rug thrower man:











For lunch we went to this really touristy place to eat, but it was actually really cool. It was a pretty building and we ate soup and cous cous. They had a Moroccan band there and many entertainers dressed up in fun costumes.


We stopped in a town called Tangier and looked around, and it looked similar to Tetuan. We also stopped at the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean sea and that was pretty neat. After that went in this Hercules cave and saw the Mediterranean Sea from there. And finally we got to ride some camels!! Mohammad calls them the Moroccan Rolls Royce. haha



The camel ride was pretty short but really fun, and then we were off to the next hotel. At this hotel we encountered 2 very large cockroach friends, who unfortunately I had to conquer so everyone could sleep at night. They were HUGE but I got two glasses out of the bathroom and cupped them both. Seeeee ya, Fernie and Eddy.

On the last day we went to a town called Chefchaouen which is located in the Rif Mountains and means "town between 2 cones." The neat thing about the town is that everything is blue...and mostly Carolina blue! We had this hysterical little tour guide named Achmed who had the voice of Grover and wore a little red hat like Abu from Aladdin. Achmed claimed he was famous in the States and told us that pictures of himself were very valuable. Chefchaouen was very cute and had an excessive amount of cats. We went to a rug store sales pitch there too, bit the people were way less pushy and it was more enjoyable.
Achmed and I:






After exploring blue town, it was finally back to Sevilla!
When we got home we washed all our clothes and anything that had been with us to Morocco. We were really glad that we went and got to experience an African country, but I think if we went back I'd rather go to Casablanca or the Sahara desert or something. Ana said she would never go to Morocco even if you paid her, and thought it was hysterical that we were washing all our clothes to get the smell out. Well that about covers this trip! London's up next!