Some Great Spanish Experiences

So far I have been in Spain for a week but it feels like I've been here forever. It's amazing how time flies once you get settled into the lifestyle and culture here. Last night the group of students from the University of Utah went to a traditional Spanish "Espicha" which is a type of party specific to the region of Asturias where I am staying. Austurias is one of the oldest regions in Spain and has a wide variety of very old tradtions. The "Espicha" is a very common one. We went to a bar called a "Sideria" that is obviously known for its Sidra which is a type of alcoholic cider beverage. There were a bunch of long tables set up in the room with various food to eat. Typically at an Espicha people just walk around to differnt tables and sample the food and drinks while talking with friends. It's a very informal setting and there is often music and dancing as well. Some people showed up in costume and attempted to teach us all the traditional dance. It was a lot of fun and one of the coolest parts was the Sidra that you get out of a gigantic barrel next to the wall. The "waiter" (for lack of a better term) turns on a spiggot on the barrel and then the Sidra shoots out and he holds the cup about four or five feet away from the spiggot. It was quite unlike anything we would ever see in the U.S for sure. It was a great experience and it was interesting to see influences from other cultures at the Espicha. The music sounded very Celtic and they had a man playing the bagpipe, the dancers were dressed in costumes that looked like they came from Holland and the food definitely had a traditional Spanish flavor. After the great party last night today has been very uneventful. I just went to class as per usual and I took a very long siesta after lunch. I went home and ate lunch with my host mom and we talked about the weather, futbol (soccer), different places around Spain, and politics.. You know, the usual. It's amazing how much people from Spain know about U.S politics and it makes me feel ashamed that I don't know more about what is going on internationally. My host mom knows all about Obama and Romney and our political system and I honestly knew nothing about the politics in Spain before I came here. Well anyways sorry for the brief digression.Tonight I am going to go out with some friends to a local bar to play cards. My host mom recommended that we visit a local karaoke bar where apparently a lot of students hang out so we'll see how that goes! We are making tonight an early night because we have a big excursion planned in the morning. Tomorrow morning we are meeting at the school and then we are off to Leon and (I temporarily forgot the name... Argosta or something like that). In Leon we are going to visit a true Gothic cathedral that is very historically significant and took over one hundred years to build. I learned today that the archetiect of the LDS temple in SLC was very inspired by various cathedrals around Europe, especially the one we are visiting tomorrow in Leon. I'm excited to get out and about around different parts in Spain! Thank you for reading my blog loyal followers and I will be sure to keep you updated!Hasta Luego!