Carnaval!

CARNAVAL! Venga!

I thought this picture was appropriate to capture the essence of Carnaval. I don't recall when and why I took it but it's colorful and wild just like that night. I wish I could have taken more pictures of people in their costumes but the night time lack of light did not allow for quality shots. Just imagine Halloween in a city except people are allowed to drink in the streets and everyone guards their own bottle of rum. Rum and orange Fanta, the choice of drink in Mallorca. Yes it's spectacular!

Leonor y yo giving kissy faces at El que Faltaba, a hip dance club and bar where you can hear anything from Beyonce to traditional Spanish music.

A couple beverages into the night...I'm still getting used to the end of the fiesta coming around 7am. All in all a very memorable experience.

Mika's little girl was a "bailarina"/fairy for her celebration of Carnaval at the "guardaria" (kindergarten). Too cute!

My time here in Mallorca has been going by too fast. I feel like I just got here and yet there's only 4 weeks left of the season. Practices, games, and hanging out with my teammates has been keeping me busy. This weekend we will be heading to Alicante on the east coast of the mainland to play Playa Finestrat. Stay tuned...

Photo Gallery

San Miguel

Plaça Major

Bridal Shop on San Miguel

Me, Belen(right side), Leonor(DS)

Belen, Leo, Laura(Libero), Silvina(Middle)

Ciao Bellos

PalmaArena

Men's Italy vs. Men's Palma

El Fin de Semana #4

Hola Todos!
It's hard to believe that another week has gone by here in Mallorca. Every week that I'm here I find myself able to understand more and more of this strange language. It's much easier for me to participate in conversations and express myself clearly, whereas in the beginning I was clueless. The local Mallorcans speak a completely different language apart from spanish that even the girls on my team have a hard time understanding. Let's say it's a mix between Moroccan, French, and Spanish, sounding NOTHING like spanish. I'm very thankful for my Spanish speaking teammates and my early education in the language.
Having the weekend off was a nice treat after a week of practice. I finally got a chance to explore life outside the gym. Above is my teammate and newfound friend, Mika and her baby girl Jeninne. I spend at least one day a week with Mika taking walks, shopping, eating out and going to the park with her little girl. Mika is originally from Israel but married a man from France and now they live in Mallorca. So Mika speaks Hebrew, English, French, and Spanish. As does Jeninne!! It's quite astounding to see a two year old speaking four languages. Mika has been wonderful in showing me all the great shopping hot spots and hip cafes downtown where she, her husband, and little girl live. Plus it's great to be able to speak English with someone since NO ONE else does.
Yesterday was another relaxing day resting the body. I'm proud to report that I saw my first American movie dubbed in Spanish. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Hearing it in Spanish wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Plus you really don't need to understand any language when you see Brad Pitt in a bomber jacket and aviators mounting a motorcycle. Woowee. Una creatura hecho por Dios! It was also neat to see that people in Spain love to go to the movies just as much us as Americans do. I've never seen a theatre that packed after a movie has been out for a couple of weeks.
Well I'm off to practice soon. More pictures to come I promise!!

Bailamos!

Buenos Dias! This was a very exciting weekend for Club Voleibol CIDE. It marked the first win for our team this season!! A long overdue victory called for a fun night out on the town dancing and having a cocktail...or two. Now when I say "night out" I mean the WHOLE night! Bars and clubs in Mallorca literally don't close until 7am. 7AM! That's a little different than the 2am last calls back in Chicago which forces everyone to find an "after hours" location to keep partying.

A typical night out for these Mallorcan babes starts off which a delicious diner at one of the most popular Pizzerias on the island. With hip, classic rock inspired decor and the best sangria this joint lets you create any pizza you could possibly desire. And if you can't decide for yourself you can always go with the "Bob Dylan" or the "Led Zeppelin". After diner, around 1:30am, we head to the men's volleyball apartments and socialized with a couple more cocktails. When 3am rolls around we make our way to the strip along the marina to a bar for some serious dancing! 7am marks the end of our adventure and my roommate and I get home with smoke drenched hair and clothes from the millions of cancer sticks that pollute the bar's atmosphere. All in all it was a well deserved night for a victorious match.

Coming up next weekend...no match so we will get to cheer team Icaro, another Palma Volleyball team. And definetly some shopping seeing as the island is tax free and loaded with awesome little tiends downtown. Hasta mas tarde...