La Cremá

by Mikel, Tufts 1+4 Participant

Two weeks ago, Valencia celebrated their world famous Fallas/Falles festival. I, along with my friend from back home, Eddie, headed to Valencia to partake in the celebrations. We stayed with Carmen, a friend of mine studying in Valencia, and her roommates who also invited a number of their friends. Thanks to Carmen, and her friends, Eddie and I were able to enjoy Falles through a somewhat local perspective; although they are not from Valencia, they have now lived and studied there for several years. Falles felt like a kick start to the last two months of my time in Spain, providing a spark that made March fly by, leaving me and my fellow fellows, trying to fill every weekend, day, and minute with a meaningful and new experience.

Falles was, like most European festivals, a pagan ritual that celebrated the spring equinox and was later converted into a Christian celebration. Falles now coincides with the day of Saint Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. Falles has become Valencia’s most important and celebrated festival, attracting young people from across Spain and the world to participate. The main attraction of Falles, is the massive cartoonish doll structures that go by the name of the festival itself. Each neighborhood has their own falla that sits in a major street or intersection, along with tents serving food and drink to members of that community. Each neighborhood also has a procession with girls and boys of all ages dressed in traditional Fallera clothing and accompanied by a marching band. This neighborhood setup to the festival allows for neighborhood bonding as well as friendly competitiveness between rival neighborhoods.

The festival of Falles lasts one week but is truly a yearlong cyclical process. Every year the new Falles season starts in the weeks after the actual festival comes to an end with planning and design for next year’s falles. Each neighborhood hires an artist/carpenter to design, and oversee the construction and setup of these structures. Besides providing a year round job for many artists, this long process symbolizes the underlying theme of Falles.

On the last day of Falles, at midnight and into the early morning, each neighborhood lights their falla on fire using firecrackers and gunpowder. In a matter of minutes, these immense pieces of art, are burnt to the ground in a fiery and explosive display. Photos from the hills to the outskirts of the city are able to capture this event every year, making Valencia look like one of those animated models of ancient cities as they are set ablaze in a siege or uprising. This event, ‘La Cremá’, besides definitively confirming Valencianos and Spaniards fascination with fire and gunpowder, also illustrates the cycle of this festival and the unique way Spaniards view life itself.

According to my father, the French, who stereo typically spend their time drinking Bordeaux and discussing philosophy, still jealously say that the Spanish live twice. After living in Spain now for 7 months, having attended many festivals, enjoyed many long weekend lunches, taken one too many siestas, and been out to enjoy Spain’s tapas culture, I can confirm this assertion. It may be the Mediterranean culture and climate that dominates much of the country, the abundance of good food and wine, or Spain’s history that includes its rapid fall from imperial giants to one of the most underdeveloped European countries at the turn of the 20th century, but Spaniards tend to have a cynical yet relaxed view on life and death. I will not go as far to say that there is no fear of death, but it seems that in Spain, and much of Latin America where Spanish influence runs deep, death is an accepted and awaited end, allowing Spaniards to enjoy and accept life for what it is and live in the present. Falles in this sense is a yearlong process with a long, yet fundamental process that all culminates in preparation for one week of celebration and excess finishing in a fiery, and violent, yet calming and bittersweet Cremá.

One day as we shared delicious paella and good conversation in a beautiful terrace in the center, Carmen mentioned a saying I had not heard before, “La vida es una lenteja, o la tomas, o la dejas”, translating to “life is a lentil, you either take it, or leave it”. Although it sounds weird in English, in Spanish it defends itself as it rhymes and lentils are a very common food. Although the saying is silly, it does relate to my experience in Spain. I have had my bad moments, my mundane moments, and my exhilarating ones, but I have learned to try and accept life at face value and enjoy it while I can.

My volunteer experience, although it may understandably, not be among the most exciting things that I have done this year, has provided a fundamental basis that gives my life here a defined purpose, much like the preparations for Falles. My travels, festivals and holidays, lunches and dinners with family and friends, concerts, fútbol matches, and other unforgettable moments, can all be considered my week of Falles celebrations. With only two action-packed months left, I haven’t quite come to the Sunday of la Cremá, but I can definitely see it right around the corner. Leaving will be no less heart wrenching or fiery than when I had to leave Ecuador, but I hope this time, with Carmen’s ‘la vida es una lenteja’ saying, and way of viewing life that I will more easily accept the end and be able to move on to the next period of my life at Tufts, much like Valencianos do as they clean up the ashes of La Cremá and step into the next season of their sacred Falles.

Cultivating Connections and Creating Opportunities

After eight or nine months of a year that are spent doing social impact work, Tufts 1+4 fellows hope to be able to continue similar work throughout their college careers. The motivated and inspiring collection of students that are now or soon to be 1+4 alumni are doing just that. This bridge year experience allows students to make life-long connections to their host communities and the many people who work to make an experience like 1+4 possible. This summer many of our Tufts 1+4 alumni have exciting internships and jobs that have resulted from connections they have made through 1+4. From internships in New York City to a fellowship in Rwanda to research in Japan, the 1+4 alumni are embracing their ability to make a difference both domestically and around the world.

Two Nicaragua fellows, Abigail ’15-’16 and Mateo ’16-’17, have decided to work for their host organization AMIGOS this summer. Abigail, who is finishing up her first year at Tufts, worked in León last year at Las Tías a before and after school center for children who need extra support in getting proper nourishment and support. Abigail worked to help reorganize Las Tías, paint a beautiful mural to re-energize the space, and taught classes for the children. This summer she will be working as a project supervisor and will coordinate with partnering agencies to prepare host communities for summer volunteers in Azuero, Panama. She will plan the structure for implementing community service activities and assist in problem solving throughout the summer. After a year on campus and her year working in Nicaragua, Abigail feels very excited and prepared to continue work in the social impact field throughout the summer.

Mateo, who is still living and working in León, Nicaragua is also working for AMIGOS now and this summer. As a 1+4 fellow right now, he is working at Las Tías and is teaching English and music lessons to children of all ages. This summer he will be heading over to the Chimborazo region of Ecuador where he will be working as a project supervisor. This is AMIGOS’ entry level position. He will be responsible for making sure that his group of 8-12 kids is safe and to respond to any needs they might have. Another important part of the job is all the work that goes into it both before and after that students actually arrive. The project supervisors are responsible for vetting the host families and making sure that they’ll be a good fit, as well as confirming where our participants will be working at. Mateo explains, “Participating in Tufts 1+4 helped me to prepare for this job because it taught me early on how to be more confident and to be extremely aware of whether or not what I’m doing is efficient. Furthermore, I learned how to have lots of really difficult conversations, whether they be in the workplace or personal, and how to an advocate for myself.” This summer job with AMIGOS will allow Mateo to begin his first year at Tufts with an immense amount of international work experience and with a strong sense of self.

Whether it is working directly through your previous host organization or finding other connections through the people you have met through 1+4, the bridge year has truly given its fellows a head start in securing meaningful and exciting summer opportunities.

– Madeline, Tufts 1+4 Spain Alumna

My Walk Home

by Rebeca, Tufts 1+4 Participant

Every week night I take a ten-minute walk from the Paco de Lucia metro station to my home after work. The air is crisp and cold; it is late at night so there are only a few people coming out of the metro. My walk begins with a stretch of uphill; to my left is a cement wall which ends where an incline with bushes and vines begins. To the right is a road where the occasional car or bus heading to plaza de Castilla passes by. Also to the right, once I am higher up on the incline, I can see the dimly lit apartments against the dark blue sky. Beyond these I can see the lights of the buildings in the distance, and above the metro exit the occasional train passes by with a loud blow of its whistle. After the incline, I continue walking on a straight road past the Mercadona, a large supermarket, followed by a vibrant street with restaurants on one side and apartments on the other. Even though my walk home is usually between 10 and 11 pm, there are always people sitting outside eating and talking. I pass by waiters and people walking their dogs (there are so many dogs where I live). I hear the chatter coming from the people eating and cars passing by; on occasion one of the workers and I exchange a good night. This peaceful residential area I call home is a welcomed respite from the stress and hustle of the day. Once I arrive to the gate to enter my apartment complex, I wave to the doorman who always lets me in.

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