CARNIVAL IN CATALUNYA

Carnival in Catalunya was an experience I had never seen in my entire life, and is certainly an experience I will never forget. Going into the night, I had heard about how this would be an almost surreal experience and that this is the craziest time of the year throughout Spain. However, words could not really express how unbelievable this experience actually was. While I compared it to Halloween in my head because of the notion of everyone dressing up, this was a very different atmosphere with few similarities. While Halloween is predominantly a holiday for little kids to get dressed up and go trick or treating, here everyone is in costume ranging from young children to adults. This provided for a very festive atmosphere, and I appreciated this to the fullest. In my opinion, it was a great time seeing people of all ages embracing the night and really getting into it. One of my favorite costumes was seeing an older couple dressed as two individuals from the movie Avatar. It showed true creative ingenuity, and I loved that even an older group of people would go out of their way to get in the spirit of the event. In the United States, I feel it would be rare for people who were adults to be dressed up in costume and get in the Halloween atmosphere because they would be looked at as immature in some regards. Another aspect I liked was how the event was just such a care free atmosphere. With people everywhere and many drinking, there could have been a potential problem of fights breaking out or crime taking place. In the United States, the streets would be lined with police officers and security. However, at carnival everyone was truly out to just enjoy the spectacular affair, and to have a good time. This was extremely refreshing for me to see, because living in the United States I have seen many different occasions where fights and riots have broken out for thoughtless and stupid reasons. Overall, carnival was an experience that I will hold onto for the rest of my life. It was simply unforgettable, and magnificent to see everyone come together for such a great occasion.