hola all,
Sorry it has been so long with out an update but I have been traveling almost every weekend then catching up with school during the week. I should be able to get everything up to date now because I just got back from the doctor and I have pneumonia, so they prescribed me bed rest and antibiotics. Enough of the boring stuff lets talk about what I have been up to.

My First Bull Fight:

Seeing a bull fight was on my list of things to do in Spain. I had no real idea of what to expect but that is why I wanted to go. Many people in my program here in Spain chose not to go because they did not believe in it. I thought this was strange because it is not about whether or not you believe in it, it is about experiencing a piece of Spanish culture.
I had a great introduction to bull fighting from my Art teacher Judy. She is an American who has been living in Spain for something like 30 or 40 years and her husband was John Fulton the first American matador. Judy explained how the bulls would be extinct with out bull fighting. Also, how the bulls live a complete life. On the ranches were the bulls are raised they are basically left to them selves to do what bulls do and what a bull likes to do is ram things. The smallest movement can get a bull to charge; leaves blowing, butterflies flying, or a matador moving. Another point Judy made was about how the bulls do not really feel anything during the fight. It is like when you are playing a sport and you hurt your self. You do not feel it because of the adrenalin and endorphins. The same thing goes on with bulls. In the end the bull has lived a life that we can only hope to achieve.

No amount of information can fully prepare you for your first bull fight. I went in with an open mind and respect for the ceremony but after the first fight I was full of sadness and shame. First off, the fight is not one man against one bull. There is actually a crew of people that help out the matador. This took away some of the respect I had for the fights. Secondly, the first fight is done by the matador with the most seniority. Unfortunately, he was not very talented. He took way to long to kill the bull. Also, the bull was not very good either. It was slow and unenergetic. After the first fight I thought about leaving but decided to stay and see how the next matador would do.
The second fight showed me the soul of bull fighting. The 1500 lb. bull was electric and the matador was an artist. The two moved as if in a well rehearsed ballet. The bull would charge and the matador would stand perfectly still and lure the bull with in inches of his body. The matador showed his true skill with the killing stroke. With in a few minutes the matador had sized up the bull and laid the bull to rest with one thrust of his sword. In the end I felt some sadness for the bull but mostly I felt honored to have witness its life cycle.
Bull fights are not for everyone. In order to enjoy the bull fights you have to be able to blend the physical, spiritual, and cultural aspects together. When you do this it is no longer just about a bull being killed. It becomes a dance, a dance of life.