Semana Santa vs. Easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holy Week (Semana Santa)! Since I didn't have a chance to talk about Easter in the U.S., I thought I could share some info with you all now...how does that sound?

Well, this last Sunday (April 24th) was Easter and in the states it's celebrated very different than here in Spain. First of all, "Holy Week," which is Semana Santa, doesn't exist in the states. So this year was the first time I had ever celebrated Holy Week and seen processions from it  (and they were beautiful!). We do have a week of vacations (only for students) but it's not to celebrate any holiday, only to have a break for the schools- it's called Spring Break. Second, Easter is only one day, Sunday. It's not really celebrated at all other than that day. Let me go ahead and explain how exactly we celebrate Easter Sunday...

Each family celebrates differently but there are some similarities between many families. The most important thing that everyone does is go to church. Many people don't go to church the rest of the year but EVERYONE goes on Easter Sunday. Church only last about an hour or two and then the rest of the day is usually spent with the family. Many families have a special dinner together and do other activities with the family. Some fun activites include dying hard-boiled eggs, decorating cookies with a "Easter theme," and doing Easter egg hunts. Almost all families with children ALWAYS do an Easter egg hunt and even sometimes adults do it for fun- I just did one 2 years ago with a friend! In case you don't know what an easter egg hunt is, it's where one person (or more) hides eggs all over the house (inside or out) or park area. Then all the children (or adults) go and search for the eggs. Usually the eggs are plastic with candy or toys inside but sometimes people use decorated hard-boiled eggs too. The person that collects the most eggs wins a prize (there are also usually second place and third place prizes as well). This is a very fun activity for everyone!

One other very important thing about Easter are "Easter baskets." These are colorful baskets that children receive and they're filled with chocolate bunnies, hard-boiled eggs, toys, jelly beans and other goodies. This is another very important part of Easter but is mostly for kids.

Those are the most important parts of Easter in the U.S. and obviously VERY different from the celebrations in Spain (and the rest of the world for that matter). Let me know if you have any questions. I have had a lot of fun being able to see how Easter week is celebrated here and learn about all the traditions that I didn't know about! Even with all the rain, it has been very fun. Happy Easter everyone!

Bounjour

I have returned from a weekend in Paris! I thought it was amazing. Have you ever been to Paris? If you haven't been there yet I recommend that you visit sometime. The city is very big and everything is very different than in Spain, and especially different than Lucena. The people there are very diverse, meaning that there are people from all over the world and everyone dresses very different. You can see all types of people there- it reminds me of Seattle even!

I was only in Paris for a weekend but I was able to see many attractions there. I saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur and MUCH more! My friend and I even went into Louis Vuitton and looked around- it's beatiful inside. Feel free to ask me about where else I went and I will be sure to tell you. I also got a chance to eat crepes, croissants, frech cheese, and the famous macarons. The entire trip was great and I can't wait until I can go back again!

Au revoir!

France anyone?

I thought I would let you know that this weekend I am going to PARIS! Have you ever visited Paris? If you have please tell me what you liked the most. I have never been before and am very excited to see what it is like. I will be visiting a friend and hopefully she will be able to show me many fun and exciting places. Since I've never been before I've decided to do some searching on the Internet to see what I must see in Paris. This is what I've found:

Must sees-
Eiffel Tower
The Louvre
Notre Dame Cathedral
Musée d'Orsay
Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées
The Sorbornne (university) and the Latin Quarter
Centre Georges Pompidou
Sacre Coeur
Père Lachaise Cemetary
Seine River

I will be very busy! Do you have any suggestions on what I should see? I will only have a few days there but it should be a wonderful time! I also hope to learn a few words in french...let's start with this one- A bientôt!