Not really. But I did write this article for the school newspaper:
Since I know most of the people who read this blog don’t know Spanish, here’s a translation for you:
Holy Week and my Band
When I arrived in Spain on January 24, I hadn’t heard much about Semana Santa (Holy Week). I knew that it’s the week before Easter, and that it serves as our Spring Break, but I didn’t realize it’s the most important festival in southern Spain. During the past couple months, we’ve all been learning a lot about the processions, the pasos (huge “floats”–though that’s a super lame term for it–with Christ or the Virgin) and the costaleros (people who dress in outfits that Americans think looks like the KKK, but it’s really really not anything like that). Even though most of us made plans to travel during this week, some of us had the opportunity to see some of the processions and see this festival which brings thousands of tourists to Andalusia each year. And on the Sunday of the Resurrection, I had the unique opportunity to participate in one of these processions.
I’m a trumpet player, and one of my top priorities when I got to Granada was to find a band to play with. Thanks to Alba (the excellent student-affairs worker who knows everything and rocks at her job), I am now a member of the Asociación Musical San Isidro of Armilla, a town right next to Granada. When I went to my first rehearsal, everyone let me know that we were rehearsing marches for Semana Santa, and everyone wanted to know if I was going to march with the band in the processions. I thought I was going to be out of town for the entire week, and I was sad that I was going to miss the opportunity to participate in this cultural phenomenon.
The day before I left for Dublin, I realized I was going to return the day before the band’s final procession of the week. I debated for a few minutes about whether or not I would have enough energy for a 6-hour procession after a week of traveling. But then it hit me: “Why are you even thinking about it?! There’s not any option! You have the opportunity to be a part of Semana Santa in Granada! What an incredible opportunity!! There’s no question at all. You have to do it. Duh.”
And the experience was exactly that. Incredible, unique, and unforgettable. We traveled by bus to Almuñécar for the procession. It was hot and sunny, but I loved the entire day. It was so interesting to see the entire process of the procession, from the door of the parish to the cathedral and back. All the band members are incredible friendly and wanted me to have a good experience. They made sure I used this opportunity to learn a lot about Semana Santa and Spanish culture. Even though I don’t have a single photo of me marching with the band, it was an Easter I will never forget.
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That was a pretty direct translation of what I wrote in Spanish. Que feo.
Anyway. Semana Santa was really cool. I feel so incredibly blessed to have been given such an awesome opportunity. God is Good.
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Today’s my brother’s 24th birthday, so if you talk to him, tell him how awesome he is, and wish him a happy day!
passion, pizzazz, and peculiarities 
My, what long hair you have. You surely did get a hard copy of the newspaper right? Good work.
I have a hard copy of just this page. I have the rest of it as a PDF in my email.