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Published: September 20th 2005
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Sunday, September 11, 2005
Today I went back to the same church that my host family attends. Isaias (my host family’s son) played guitar, because his big brother (a 40 something assistant pastor named Juan) was visiting a sister church that day. Needless to say our señora was quite excited about it. Not that the message wasn’t interesting, but the real excitement began right afterwards. After meeting a few more people from the church, Isaias said, “Ok let’s go.” And I followed him down the street with some of the Spanish girls and another girl from the program they had invited.
After a long walk to other side of Asturias (the quarter where we live), we met up with Andre (the crazy flute player) and a few other people I didn’t know yet. We split up, five guys and six girls and packed into some waiting vehicles. After only about a fifteen minute drive to another pueblo that is yet isn’t (I didn’t really understand) a part of Seville. Arriving at the barbecue at a small church building, I found a several faces I recognized from the night before. Soon around 45 people were gathered, probably most of the
Karaoke
Karaoke breakup song with boys, swear I've heard that tune before. evangelical Christians my age in the city. Jairo, the big guy who had driven the night before, had a hilarious game with him that I would love to find. It consists of a small base station with 4 telephone chord-like wires leading to hand contoured sticks with a red button on top of each one. Four people would take them and the person holding the base pushed a button in the middle of it, changing it from green to flashing red. Some music would play from the box as the red light flashed faster and faster, eventually at a random point the light would turn green and music stop; at that moment whoever was the last person to push their red button received a hefty little nine-volt battery shock, not painful, but awfully unsettling. If someone pushed their button before it turned green, they got the shock and no one else did. Watching people play I could describe nothing less than absolutely hilarious. People laughed, yelled, reached up behind players and pushed their button while they were watching the light, etc.
The barbecue had a greater variety of meats on it than any barbecue I have ever encountered. For
Alabanza Celtica?
I can honestly say I've never heard music like this. those who can relate, it kind of reminded me of Brioso Brazil in Arkansas (if you can’t relate, put it on your to-do list for the next time you’re in Northwest Arkansas).
After a great meal, a bunch of guys set up a laptop and speakers for karaoke. With the general degree of apathy toward structured silliness that I find in parties back home, I was impressed by the willingness (perhaps I should say exuberance) of people to collectively make fools of themselves. This may even have been at a magnitude near that exuberance found at JBU’s orientation week karaoke night. On the five page list of songs to choose from, I found three or four in English. Unfortunately, they were not exactly tunes I would choose: Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra, My Heart Will Go On, and Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton… you get the idea. On the other hand, I was surprised to find that I recognized many of the song titles, again thanks to my Latin American friends at JBU. Soon enough I found myself up front with about 15 other guys singing some hilarious ‘break-up song’ to all the girls. I know I’ve heard the tune before, it’s really catchy, but I just could not put a name on it. The lyrics were hilarious, mostly talking about tearing up her letters and burning all the pictures of her so “I won’t have to see you anymore.” As we went along, the guys around me made up actions for every verse (I seriously think they were making them up as they went along) to the point that eventually some people were being hoisted in the air, and not sure exactly what any of it symbolized.
After about an hour and a half we rounded up into a circle to sing some praise and worship music. What amazed me about all of this was that the whole nobody yelled out and explained anything. No one asked what’s going on next? People just started setting up to do something and gradually everybody figured it out and went along with it. I found it a vast divergence from the manner of structuring parties and events at home. I think I’m beginning to understand in a different way the ‘over-structuredness’ (to me) of some other cultures that I have seen in books and movies (e.g. Japanese or business cultures). It’s amazing how little efficiency is lost here in proportion to the increase in tolerance for ambiguity, which seems to lower stress a lot for the leadership. (Where that tolerance hurts, however, is in formal systems like traffic law and business structures.)
The worship band was great, composed of two guitars, two flamenco box drums, a fantastic keyboard player, a little flute, and… bagpipes. Yes, Andre, the hilarious flute toting guy had towed along his bagpipes, which he had used to start up the barbecue earlier. Now they added the most unusual element I have ever heard in a laid back session of praise and worship. I can say with all honesty that I have never heard anything like it, and I did like it. Another thing I liked is the way they sing and pray for the country of Spain, in its state of astounding spiritual starvation and dryness. One particular song titled “Somos pequeñas llamas” cried out for Spain to be saved at any cost. Of course, I had to figure out first that it was talking about being “little flames” not “little llamas”, which I must admit had me utterly confused at first, and proved a source of immense laughter and entertainment to my friend Emilio who explained it to me.
Getting home about 8pm, only about 4 hours later than I expected to, I will still able to get my homework done, mostly. Definitely the best weekend I’ve had in Spain yet.
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