May 11, 2019 - Jahi Mubarak
Horizons students displaying their puppets and cards created for immigrant children. 

Pictured are all 20 Horizons study abroad students. We gathered to create puppets and write cards for immigrant children at a home we visited the previous day. There were many different types of puppets made ranging from: fish, alligators, bedazzled, one eyed, Hawaiian, cactus, penguin, and dragon look alike puppets. The cards made were also very creative and intricate. Some had very nice front covers and others were written and then placed on a felt material. We were given a plethora of materials including: felt, glitter, glue, puffy art balls, googly eyes, markers, crayons, and much more! It took a little under two hours for the groups to complete their magnificent works of art.  Overall, we had a great time and I know we will enjoy giving these to the children and interacting with them on Tuesday. 
Bull-fighting in Plaza de Toros de Valencia
In the photo you see two matadors and the bull that they would soon kill. This has been a part of Spanish culture since 711 AD. There are three stages. First some matadors toy with the bull as the main matador watches and studies it. Next, the bull is weakened by small swords, until the head matador takes over. He will attempt to kill the bull with a single sword between the shoulder blades. The crowd will then applaud him and wave white handkerchiefs. There was a total of 5 bulls, but me and 9 others only stayed for 4. I don’t think we were expecting the full extent of the brutality we were about to witness. The first time we saw the matador stab the bull everyone’s jaw dropped. You could clearly see copious amounts of blood coming from the bull’s mouth and stab wound. Then after a while they made the bull sit down will they stabbed it in the upper portion of the spinal cord. I understand this is very brutal and sad, it was much worse in person. However, we did realize this was a part of Spanish culture and wanted to witness it. We attempted to make light of the situation and kept saying we were on the bull’s side. At one point the bull got ahold of one of the matadors and tossed him into the air. It continued to impale him, primarily in the back. He was soon carried away by others as he screamed out in pain. Lesson to be learnt. You mess with the bull; you get the horns. Overall the experience was unsettling, but it is an important part of Spanish culture, and it is because of this that we wanted to experience the event.  

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