nikhita

A few things first: People keep asking me why I'm in spain...Hello everybody, I'm one of the underbelly, otherwise known as ERASMUS students..the generally hated throughout all european countries.

This is my year abroad, it ends in 4 months..I hated it at the start, as you do when you go to a country where you dont speak the language well and then are forced to try with people laughing at you at every turn...But now i love it, and I'm pretty sure soon I wont want to leave..

Now that's over with...

Las fallas has finished. The city was covered in smog and cloud all yesterday as if Valencia was mourning the end of it's favourite festival, the streets are covered in ash...and for a few short hours, everything was silent.

Then the parades started up again, only this time, instead of Falleras it was men, women and children in Robes and cloaks, marching through the streets, to the beat of drums...Yes, it's the end of Semana Santa, Easter is in two days and already the churches are warming up their bells and calling the faithful to mass.

Las Fallas has been an interesting week, my parents came over for 4 days which meant i got to go out and see a lot of the city centre stuff with them, then they left and so i spent the Nit de Foc (night of fire) with Rachael and then La Crema too, around Aragon area. Everyone complains about the tourists in Las Fallas but i didnt think there were too many, maybe thats because when I was in the city centre I made sure we stuck to the back streets, and the rest of the time we spent down in my favourite place, Cabanyal, home of Valencia's gypsies. We met some fun guys who looked after us in the street party after the Nit de Foc and helped us catch falling bandanas from the Estrella Damm bus. I completely filled up my memory card on my camera with pictures, most of which ended up being too blurry to put up, of the Crema...and there was about 4 hours of sleep to be had a night. It feels so quiet without the constant explosions that we've had here since the start of march. I've never lived in a war zone but at the height of Las Mascletas I imagine I got a glimpse of what it must feel like...It's weird not to be woken up at 8:30 every morning by a marching band and a procession, or petardos going off outside your window. It's strange to be able to walk down the street and not have to run for cover as a kid throws a firework in your direction. I've become used to the bangs now and I don't think i'll ever jump at a firework again.

And then the Fallas, the fallas are amazing pieces of art work...so much work goes into them, and so much money...and then on the last day, they attach ropes of fireworks to the statue and blow the whole thing sky high...it is seriously amazing and i am so glad to have been here and been a part of it...I'm also eternally glad that i LIVE here and that I got to see the fallas in Cabanyal, Benimaclet, Burjasot and all the way up the back of Blasco Ibanez as well as the Fallas in el centro and in el carmen. Still i think Na Jordana was my favourite.

To the people that have messaged me in the past few days in english or spanish..i'm so sorry, I've been sleeping it off...5am bedtimes and 8:30 am wake up calls are more than i can deal with! especially at 5 nights in a row...

Okay, enough of my babbling, I know you all only want to see the pictures anyhow! Warning: those of you with a slow internet connection...this will take a while!

So there you go...

I forgot to say before that my twin came to visit me and she took some pretty pictures of my town, so I have stolen them to show you..

lots of images, not much sense...