Nicole in Spain: The Show

Before I talk about the show we went to in the evening. I want to write a bit about some things we saw in this city. As we were walking back to the bus because we were finished with our tour, we had young kids (4-10) years old come up and ask for money. I had never experienced that before, and it broke my heart. I gave them all the small bills and change that I had, but of course, it wasn't enough for all of them. I still think about those kids, without shoes and nice clothes, living in poverty. We take a lot for granted in the US, and they have nothing. I think about them often.

When we were in the Medina, there was a young boy (around 10-12) selling little keychains. One of the guys in our group was talking to him because he spoke Spanish. Travis (the guy in our group) asked how much a keychain was and bought one. Then, joking around, he asked how much it cost to buy the boy. The boy said, "To go to America? Free!" He was just kidding, but it definately put things into perspective for all of us.

That evening, before the show, three girlfriends and I decided to venture out to find cheap water. We soon regreted leaving the hotel without a guy. First of all, traffic was absolutely crazy and chaotic. There are crosswalks and even signals, but the traffic does not follow them. If we weren't tagging along behind locals to cross the busy streets, we were running for our lives across them! But it was the cat calls that were borderline scary. There are cat calls in Spain, but not like this. Men on the street, in passing cars - it was definately another culture shock to say the least. But it ended well, we got cheap water and back to the hotel safe and sound.

The show was fantastic. Lots of traditional music with drums and really neat beats.

This guy was amazing. He has full glasses of tea and candles on top of the tray on his head. He did the splits, layed down, flipped himself over, danced, all while the tray was on his head. I was impressed.

The belly dancing was also really interesting to watch. The dance is very sensual and the hip movements are amazing. I could never move like that. I did find it interesting that in a very arab nation, these women are allowed to show so much skin. I guess the art of belly dancing is something very controversial in their culture even now. It started when the sultans had harems. Women would have to dance, and if they didn't dance well enough, the king would give them to a friend.

These guys were fantastic. One of them even played the scissors. There beats were so complicated. This show was excellent.