İCarnaval Badajoz!

This past Saturday night, the Erasmus crowd (non-Spanish European students) and we Americans went to a carnival in Badajoz, a city less than an hour from Caceres. Let's just say that it was an event that was unforgettable. First of all, it was a costume carnival. At first, we thought that we were supposed to wear something simple and basic, so we just bought accessories. My roommate Steph was a leopard and I was a bunny. However, when we arrived, I think that every person in Spain was there, and they were completely decked out from head to toe in costumes. There were people from every age, too. We saw groups of Snow Whites and Peter Pans, brides, a parade of drummers, a mobile Pope who was pushed around in a cardboard box, very flirtatious Roman soldiers, toothpaste, and Jesus Christ himself. There were so many characters that I can't even remember them all. Second, apparently carnivals in Spain are not like carnivals in the U.S. There were no rides or venders selling cotton candy and such. There were people selling balloons and bars where you could buy drinks and tapas, but that was it. Actually, some bars wouldn't even let you use their bathrooms unless you bought a drink. Everyone just gathered in the main square and danced the whole night. That's another thing. It was an all-night event. A university bus picked us up at 10pm and took us back at 7am. It. Was. Very. Cold. Third, people were crazy. Harmless, but crazy. And it wasn't just the younger generations either. There were quite a few Spaniards who were clearly out of their 20s and 30s who were having a good time. Then, Steph and I saw our roommate who, let's just say was making the most of the evening. He even took my bunny ears and wore them for a bit, and then he put his sultan's hat on my head. Fourth, since there were so many people and very few toilets, we saw that several people were content to find street corners (and car tires). We definitely had some good laughs. Although we still don't know what the celebration was about, we had a good time. Once we got back, we rushed back to the piso, ate cereal, and then slept until 4pm. I'd do it again, but hopefully when it's warmer.