The Way of St. James ... El Camino de Santiago

On Tuesday (April 22), I will begin the Camino de Santiago ... a traditionally Catholic pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela where St. James is buried. Actually, there are many routes of the pilgrimage. I will be taking the French route. I will start at Roncesvalles (just inside Spain) and walk about 800 kilometers across northern Spain to Santiago.


Why? Because ...

... it is there
... I love walking
... I love Spain and I love to see it close-up
... I love seeing and connecting with history
... because I am here.

I will be going by myself ... though the (French) camino is a well-traveled, well-marked route and I will meet a lot of people along the way. Of course, I will bring my parents, Sarah Bush, Sherri Prestangen, and other angels in my heart.

On May 22, my friend Susan, is going to meet me and we will walk the last 100+ kilometers together. As she said, we will contemplate important things in life such as "Do these hiking shorts make my butt look big?" and "How far do you have to walk to burn off a Spanish breakfast pastry?"


The average pilgrim takes about 30 days to complete this particular route. I'm giving myself 40 days because I want to "smell the roses" along the way. Plus, I walk slow. I figured I couldn't finish the whole thing in 30 days without killing myself so I bumped it up to the next nice even number. Also, 40 is a biblical number. If God wants to work on me, I'll give Him 40 days to get started. (You are probably thinking that God will need 40 years. I agree.)


Three weeks after I leave, my brother, Eugene, will begin the camino. (I'm just hoping that Eugene doesn't pass me before I get to the end.)


The easiest part is packing. I have to carry everything so I'm not packing very much. I am wearing almost all the clothes that I'm bringing ... (yes, including my blue SPSS sweater that I have worn almost every day for the past 10+ years).


The hardest part will be - being away from my family. Matthew and I have never been the type to want vacations away from our kids (though, at times, it would probably be rejuvenating). Most of the time, we really enjoy being with the kids. One of the reasons we came to Spain at this time in our lives is because we wanted to experience it with our kids.

Language Acquisition

We've been in Spain for almost a year. Matthew and my language acquisition has been slower than we hoped ... but we have improved. If people a-r-t-i-c-u-l-a-t-e-d as well as our Spanish learning tapes and used the same phrases as our Spanish learning tapes, it would be a lot easier!

When we first arrived, we strained and struggled to recognize keywords. Someone would say,
"Blah blah blah mañana blah blah blah."

We would nod our head, smile stupidly, and think to ourselves, "Okay, either something happened this morning or will happen tomorrow. Great. I hope it isn't important."

Initially, I repeated the one word I understood and hoped they would repeat the remainder of the sentence. They would repeat, "Blah blah blah mañana blah blah blah." It is no use asking most people to speak slower. They often just speak louder and faster. "BLA BLAH BLA MAÑANA BLA BLAH BLA.¨

Then we started recognizing a few phrases that are used A LOT in Spain ...

"Vale Vale"(Okay Okay) ... preceding, interspersed, or following any other phrase. I use this phrase when I'm trying to act like I know what is going on.

"No pasa nada" (Don't worry) ... spoken in any moderately uncomfortable situation. We marveled at this -don't worry, be happy now- attitude that seems so deeply rooted in the Spanish culture. We have since learned that sometimes people say this as a reminder to themselves when really they are feeling, "¡SÍ PASA!"

"¿Quién es último?" (Who is last?) Many tasks require standing in line though often there is no line - there are lots and lots of people standing around in no apparent order. When another person arrives, the person asks, "Quién es último?" The last person raises his hand ... or, back when we didn't know what was going on, everyone else pointed at us.

Now ... a year later ... we understand more. At least, sometimes I THINK I understand. There certainly are times when I THOUGHT I understood but turns out, I didn't. We asked Antonio, the godfather of our apartment complex, where we could get keys made for the gates. He said (in Spanish), "There's only one place in town that can fry mangoes." Huh?

Speaking is a different story - though, that too, has improved.

When we first arrived, we had a handful of words and phrases that we could use when we first met someone. The first time we met our next-door neighbors, we were on the way to the supermarket. We introduced ourselves and quickly used up all the Spanish words we knew. After a moment of staring blankly, Matthew said "Vivimos a supermercado." (We live at the supermarket. instead of We are going to the supermarket.)

Friends (with patience) understood us when we spoke what they called indio-español ... "Hi. Me, Ann. You? Good. We go beach. You come? Vale." I throw "vale" in at the end so it sounds more Spanish.

Matthew had a couple of phrases that sounded good ... as long as he used them on different people. But after a while, people catch on that he just keeps saying the same thing over and over again. Once in a while, he will write something on his hand ... and then he peeks at it when he is trying to talk. The kids think it is hilarious (and embarrassing).

Matthew and I are speaking much better now. The problem is that people don't understand us. A few weeks ago, I was telling my art teacher that we were having guests and I would not be at class for a few weeks. She paused and then said that my Spanish was sooooooo good (she even squinted when she said "buenisimo" which makes the superlative more super). Then she turned to my friend, Noelia, and asked what it was I was trying to say.

Sometimes, it can be so frustrating. I KNOW the words but my mind and my mouth suddenly become paralyzed. I open my mouth and try to talk but only gurgles come out. Some people stand back because they think I'm going to vomit. I use ridicuous sound effects or obscene hand gestures that embarrass our kids and send them scrambling for a place to hide.

Now, we are at a level where we speak English using Spanish words. Most people are very patient or at least allow us to humour them.

Our kids are light years ahead of us. They often speak for us while we are gasping for air between Spanish words or when we are babbling because we've already used all the words currently available in our readily accessible memory.

Well, they say that the best way to learn is to just get out there and talk. Sometimes I say Buenas Dias! to people walking by. Some parents try to sheild their children from me. The children look at me like I just fell out of the sky. Young adults walk faster. (One day, Elena told me not to say hello to people because they think I'm weird!) Older people often smile. A few older people correct me - Buenos dias (it is an o, not an a). I always forget. Buenos dias doesn't rhyme.

I'm reading the newspaper pretty well and (juvenile) Spanish books. I can usually get through the acknowledgements of a book without the dictionary.

Fallas de Valencia

Hello it's Matthew & Bronson. Until now, Mom has posted all the blogs and taken most of the pictures. Our guilt runneth over so now it's our turn. How coincidental that we begin by blogging “Fallas” - Valencia's largest fiesta. So, please bare with us.

What in the world are “Fallas” and where on earth did they come from? This is the question we asked ourselves when Elena came home from school one day full of excitement. She couldn't wait to tell us that she had just invited her friends (Silvia & Empar) over to our house so they could design and create a “Falla”. Our first reaction was panic. We had no idea what to do. There weren't any instructions.



Once we settled down and let life take its course, we learned and experienced the following.

Fallas date back to the 18th Century when they were just one of the many activities leading up to the St. Joseph Day (San José) celebration on March 19 each year. Carpenters used torches to light their work space during the winter. When the torches were no longer needed in the spring, they were burned. Over time, clothing was placed over the torches to create a person-like figure and a bonfire took place on March 19.

The difference between fallas in the days of old and fallas now is the amount of time and money involved. Today, these person-like figures (Satirical Fallas Figures) have grown in size and complexity. Approximately 700 beautifully made and highly decorated satirical fallas are created each year and they are displayed in the street of every neighborhood in the city (2008 winner is pictured below).

Some of the fallas take a year to build and some cost over a million dollars to make.
Fallas Fiesta attract over 2,000,000 visitors each year for a week-long celebration. It was 2,000,003 this year because Mimi, Gabriel, and Dominique joined us : ).


The literature around town tells everyone that the Fallas Fiesta is March 15 – March 19. However, the city-wide free-for-all fireworks set off by everyone who can light one begins March 1. I'm not referring to the sparklers and snakes that we lit as kids with our parents holding our hands but of firecrackers, M-80's, bottle-rockets, etc. that can be purchased by anyone at the local kiosk.

Everyday at 2 pm from March 1 until March 19, mascletás (day-time fireworks) are unleashed by one of the many local Pirotecnia Empresas (Firework Manufacturers). Different fireworks companies display their mascletás each day and thanks to our friend Julia we had a birds-eye view from her second floor balcony office (view left and right respectively).

Valencia's mascletás are the loudest fireworks we have ever heard. They are so loud that they recommend opening your mouth to protect your eardrums. They are also so powerful that they may reach your inner-core – just ask Ann.

Elected representatives called Falleras (females) and Falleros (males) sing as the bands play popular Fallas music on the balcony and at 2 pm one of these representatives says “Pirotecnics, begin the mascletá”.

So, Fallas refers to the fiesta and to the gigantic monuments created for the fiesta. Everyone gets into the spirit of the fiesta. Neighborhood groups called Casals come together to design and create their falla. The falla artists compete for who can make the best fallas (in various categories). Kids learn the art of falla making in primary school and some go on to specialize in falla-art after high school.

Elena and her friends did successfully build their falla without our help.



Maria and her friend (and neighbor), Micaela worked together to make their falla.



Bronson made one with his mother. Bronson also wore a special falla outfit and scarf to school on the 19th called a bluzon.















The kids fallas along with all the other ones made by the students were part of a special falla celebration on their playground on March 19 prior to the city-wide fiesta later on at night. Balloons were popped to mimic the mascletás, the fallas were displayed as the kids marched around the playground and then they were burned. Try that one back home on school property!!!

Falleras and Falleros who are elaborately dressed in traditional hand-made outfits attend the parades, social events, and neighborhood gatherings all over town for the month of March. They are also the ones who elect the “best” falla monument each year.

We don't know what criteria is used to choose the winner but we do know that the falla monuments are satirical. They poke fun at or criticize a local, national, or international issue or person (all in the name of fun – no offense intended).

We also learned that with the exception of one small piece of a falla called a Ninot (pictured above), all fallas are burned on March 19th ... just like in the olden days.

As we walked around the city, we sensed an incredibly strong neighborhood togetherness. Wherever a falla was placed, there was a large white tent. This tent became the gathering place each night for the neighborhood during Fallas fiesta week. Everyone danced, sang, ate, and drank (in moderation) until the wee hours of the morning. The children, too, were there playing and having a good time.



Also during Fallas there are free concerts, buñuelos (doughnut-like pastries), thick hot chocolate, bullfights, marching bands, street-light contests,



mascletás (day-time fireworks), castillos (night-time fireworks), ninot displays (small fallas), fire parade

and the amazing Ofrenda. The Ofrenda is 2-day procession of 100,000 Fallaras, Falleros and their families through the streets all carrying flowers to the Cathedral for the Blessed Virgin in the Plaza de Virgen. The Virgen Mary stands 3-stories tall and these carnations (150,000) are placed within her wooden structure that makes up her colorful robe. In addition to this offering, the plaza is filled with beautifully arranged baskets and carts of all types of flowers. The fragrance was wonderful. An awesome tribute to the Mother of our Lord.


Fallas ends with the Cremá ... the night when the ~700 fallas are burned ... the night the city is on fire!



Fallas finally end for us at 2:30 am and we know that when we wake up the planning has already begun for Fallas 2009. Peeked your interest? Do you want to join us next year?????