Seville seems really happy this week. It's sunny and warm, orange blossoms are falling off the trees making everything smell good, and everyone is gearing up for Semana Santa. I was in Spain during Holy Week once before with the MHS trip, but we were in Basque Country and Madrid, and the traditions are a little more somber and serious in the north. Andalucía is especially famous for its processions, which, according to this CIEE sheet I'm plagiarizing from, come from the 16th-century tradition of performing a "Via Crucis," or a journey commemorating the final moments of the Passion and crucifixion of Christ.

All next week, brotherhoods from neighborhoods all over Seville will carry these elaborate floats, or pasos, on an official route. There are 50 to 60 processions with over 100 pasos over the course of the week. Marching with the pasos are bands, who you can hear practicing on the waterfront late at night, and nazarenos, members of the brotherhoods; the nazarenos are always a little disconcerting to Americans at first because their tunics and caps so closely resemble the KKK uniform.

I'm actually going to be in Amsterdam and Brussels (!!) with my friends for the first half of the week, but I'll be back in time for Holy Thursday, when most of the pasos come out.

My birthday in Madrid was a lot of fun. We first went to the John Carroll Weekend welcome reception, where we saw DeGioia, all our favorite Jesuits, and Spain's Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia. We spent the rest of the weekend wandering around the city and enjoying the nightlife. I keep trying to upload pictures, but something's up with my connection.

I've been to Madrid several times before, either with student groups (MHS, AFS) or with my first host family, and for some reason I never liked it. I hoped that being able to wander around on my own and avoid going to all the same museums would make me change my mind, but I can't get over how intimidating and unfriendly it can feel. It reminds me of Washington in its architecture and by how spread out it is, but it doesn't have the same personality. The buildings are taller and there are more cars and even the gypsies are more aggressive (than those in Seville, at least). I have to hand it to them for their discotecas, though. I also stumbled upon an amazing photography exhibit by a contemporary Brazilian artist named Miguel Rio Branco in this private museum called Casa América.

So that's what's going on with me. Today Georgetown is playing Villanova in the Big East tourney, so we're all going to watch the game at Tex Mex. It should be a really authentic Spanish experience. Hoya saxa and adiós.