More Pix of the San Juan Procession... Because I Can

And because I took a lot!

It all started off at the Iglesia de la Inmaculada.  This is where the floats emerged from, and where everyone formed up to start the procession.

San Carlos emerges.

This is San Carlos being brought out of the Iglesia de la Inmaculada.

And here is his buddy, San Juan (who seems to be the star of the show).

Once they have come out of the church, they are then paraded through the streets of the town, like this.

Many people follow the parade, some line the streets and wait for it to come past, and some are lucky enough to see it from their balconies (which are normally bearing a special banner for the occasion).

San Juan on parade.

San Carlos on parade.

And it continues!

Note the banners and spectators on the balcony!

However, it's not just the floats which are in the parade.

There are also bands, and people representing the different 'cofradias,' a type of religious group which I do not know how to explain, but who are the ones who parade in Semana Santa (Holy Week, around Easter), too.  I believe they are often based around a particular saint.

A band in the procession for San Juan.

Representatives of the cofradías.

So, all things considered, it is a rather long procession.

The procession in our street.

Once it has passed through the town, it makes a stop at the Parroquia de San Juan.

There was a lot of this going on:

It then heads back to the Iglesia de la Inmaculada, where the Saints are to be returned to the church.

San Carlos on his way back to the Iglesia de la Inmaculada.

The procession heading back to the Iglesia de la Inmaculada.

But, wait... all of the lights have gone out!  What's going on?

Ah, yes.  The firework display...


This year, it finished with a kind of 'bomb,' the shock waves from which I could feel right through my body.  For a minute, I really thought something had gone wrong!

The Saints, who have stayed out to enjoy the fireworks, then head back into the church, and it's on to the next part of the fiesta.  :)

¡FIESTA! San Juan de la Cruz

Spain is a very Catholic country, and parties are what Spain is all about.  So, of course, the festival of the patron saint is something to be enjoyed!  It's a big event, which brings many inhabitants out into the streets, wearing their best clothes, and waiting to cheer for their Saint as he emerges from the church.

There are several important parts of the festival.

San Juan being paraded through the streets of La Carolina.

San Juan at his home church.

• Procession which takes the figures of San Carlos and San Juan to the Chapel of San Juan, where San Juan is said to have lived.

The procession, with its floats and bands, makes its way through La Carolina.

Building up to the finale, November 2011

• Firework displays

Firework display during 2011 Fiesta de San Juan de la Cruz

• Shared meal
• Raffle of a live pig
• Sports tournaments
• Drawing competition for kids

San Juan de la Cruz: Patron Saint of La Carolina

Yesterday was November the 24th, and something big started happening in La Carolina: the festival of the town's patron saint (San Juan de la Cruz).

Here's what I have managed to gather in terms of his history, with the help of St John of the Cross, New Advent, and La Orden Carmelita en Málaga, by Eduardo Postigo Pérez, and a few other sites!

Short version:  He was an important figure in the the order of Discalced Carmelites.  He was born into an extremely poor family and, eventually, realised that it was his calling to serve God.  He worked with St Teresa of Jesus, who was reforming the Carmelites in Spain.  He founded many convents in Andalucia, and apparently lived in La Carolina at one point.  He eventually died in Ubeda, which is about 40 minutes from La Carolina by car.

As an aside, according to Pope Benedict XVI, Saint John of the Cross is also considered to be one of the most important lyrical poets in Spanish literature.

Long version:
He was born Juan de Yepes, on the 24th of June, 1542, in Fontiberos, Castilla Vieja.  His family was extremely poor.  While he was a bright pupil, he couldn't seem to learn a trade.  After helping in the local hospital, caring for the poorest of the poor and attending a Jesuit school, he realised that his calling was to serve God.

He took the robes in Medina, a Carmelite order, in February 1563, as Juan de San Matías.  In 1567, after further studies, he became a priest.  However, he became overwhelmed with all of his responsibilities, and disillusioned with the leadership, and almost converted to the Carthusian order.

His friend Saint Teresa convinced him to stay with the Carmelite order.  She was heading a reformation, as she wanted to return to "the Primitive Rule embodying Carmel's first ideals." Juan worked with her in several different areas of Spain: initially helping to train novices, and eventually as director and confessor.

In 1577, Juan de la Cruz was ordered to return to the house of Medina, and was imprisoned in Toledo when he refused to do so.  After almost a year of imprisonment in awful conditions, he miraculously escaped.  For the next few years, he founded and directed monasteries in many areas in Andalucia.

After Saint Teresa died, Juan (now vicar of Andalucia) rejected a change in the distribution of power in the order.  This apparently disgusted one of his superiors, who sent him away to one of the poorest monasteries.

He then fell seriously ill, and retired to the monastery in Ubeda.  Unfortunately, due to his treatment there, he spent the rest of his life fulfilling his prayer: to suffer and be despised.

However, in the end, even his enemies had to recognise his sanctity.  He was canonised on the 27th of December, 1726.



San Juan in La Carolina

San Juan de la Cruz is not the only patron saint of La Carolina and, for this reason, he has to share the glory with San Carlos.  For instance, in the traditional procession, both San Juan and San Carlos are carried through the streets.

A statue of San Juan de la Cruz outside the Church of la Inmaculada, La Carolina.

The hymn of La Carolina includes the following verse:

Por esa tierra de Jaén
renace el vergel
de San Juan de la Cruz.
La Carolina le hizo patrón
y aquí quedó como andaluz.

This is as well as I can translate it:
In this part of Jaen (province)
the orchard of St John of the Cross
was reborn.
La Carolina made him their patron saint
and there he stays: Andalucian.

When I Came to Spain, and I Saw the People Partying...

I would have done more blog entries, but I was too busy partying... all day, and all night...

(That's a reference to this song, for those who didn't know.  ;p  It's a pretty awful song but the funny thing is that it's actually kinda true.  Spanish people do like to party!  Or, at least, socialise.)

So, a few snippets of life in La Carolina.

El Cerro de la Cruz, with La Carolina behind.

• A couple of days ago, the teacher said something to a student, and he replied 'joder, maestra.'  The teacher (somewhat bravely) said 'In English.  How do you say 'joder, maestra,' in English.  The student's reply: 'F@*k, teacher.'
  I put my head in my hands and told them that they could not say that to a teacher.  Another student said 'why not?'
• Regular tapas sessions.  The teachers at my school are terrible influences in this respect!
• Have started jogging again, because I am eating too many tapas and drinking too much cerveza.  
• On the upside, I have discovered 'clara.'  It  apparently has lemon juice.  Anyway, that means it's less bitter, so I'm happy.
• Doing about four different language exchanges to speak some more Spanish.  Spaniards are really keen to learn English!
• Spending lots of time with the other auxiliares, amusing ourselves with stupid dance moves, playing Headbands or other such party games, dancing it up around town, having dinner parties, watching movies...  Basically, we always find something entertaining to do!
• Spending Sunday nights in a bar, taking free salsa lessons.
• Last night, I was in a bar at about midnight, only to see two of my eleven-year-old students there with their families.  (This seems to be reasonably usual in Spain.)  They came over to say hello, which was sweet of them.  But I'm waiting for Tuesday, when they say 'Teacher, I saw Libby drinking wine in a bar!'  Because they do like to tell their other teachers about how they saw me in the street, etc, etc.
• Checking out the Saturday morning market.  Apparently, most of the vendors are gypsies.  There are cheap shoes, clothes, and sheets galore.  Plus, it's right by the town market, where I can get a big bag full of fruit and veg for only 5E.  Huzzah!
• Recently gained a few 'students': some who want some extra conversation practice, some school kids, and possibly a 3-year-old to follow.  That one could be fun!

Kingi the Kiwi, getting ready to tuck into patatas bravas!

The Answers You've Been Waiting For...

This could equally have gone in my blogs for France, too, but anyway... Finally, I checked some answers for people.

NZ to Europe flight time: up to 25 hours
http://www.newzealand.com/int/getting-here/

NZ to Oz (Australia) flight time: 3 hours to Sydney
http://www.newzealand.com/int/getting-here/

Price of a return flight to NZ:
It is now Sunday 6 November.  If I were to fly home for Xmas, leaving Madrid on the 20th of December, and returning to Spain on the 1st of Jan, the cheapest flight that eDreams finds me costs €1741.04.
That is why I am not going home for Christmas.  The Madrid-Auckland flight time is listed as 36 hours and 25 minutes.  That is another reason.

In 2007, the sheep to person ratio in NZ was about 10:1.
http://population.govt.nz/myth-busters/myth-8.aspx

Bonus sheep fact: 
(From An Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966) New Zealand's first sheep were set ashore by Captain Cook on 20 May 1773. 




Population: As of 2011, the resident population of New Zealand is over 4.4 million. The population is estimated to increase by one person every 10 minutes and 46 seconds.
http://www.dol.govt.nz/immigration/knowledgebase/item/4026

Surface area: The Surface area (sq. km) in New Zealand was reported at 267710.00 in 2008, according to the World Bank.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/surface-area-sq-km-wb-data.html

Wikipedia says we are the country with the 75th largest surface area.  Spain is ranked 52nd (505,992 sq km - including Spanish territories on or near the coast of Africa), and France is 42nd (640,294 sq km, but this includes overseas territories and departments.  The UN source reports 551,500 square kilometres / 212,900 square miles as the geographic European area of France).

Weather in my home town, Napier:

• The average temperature in Napier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand is 13.8 °C (57 °F).
• The warmest average max/ high temperature is 23 °C (73 °F) in January & February.
• The coolest average min/ low temperature is 4 °C (39 °F) in July.
• On balance there are 116 days annually on which greater than 0.1 mm (0.004 in) of precipitation (rain, sleet, snow or hail) occurrs or 10 days on an average month.
• There is an average range of hours of sunshine in Napier, Hawkes Bay of between 4.5 hours per day in July and 8.1 hours per day in January.

http://www.climatetemp.info/new-zealand/napier-hawkes-bay.html

"New Zealand has mild temperatures, moderately high rainfall, and many hours of sunshine throughout most of the country. New Zealand's climate is dominated by two main geographical features: the mountains and the sea."

Check out their weather map, to have a look at current temperatures in NZ.

http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/weather-and-climate.html

I'm sure there are more things that I should add, but anyway.  That'll do for now.  Watch this space.