Glimpses of Carnaval

1. It snows all morning. The ground is covered in slush and confetti - it actually looks pretty cool. The colors don't run when wet.

2. The town charges admission this year, but make up for it by offering reusable warming packs for your hands or, in Dani's case, rear.

3. Mr K stands in line at a tent to buy a round of beers. An obviously drunk guy approaches him, and on hearing Mr K talk, starts slurring "Where you are from! Where you are from!" When Mr K answers he is from the US, the drunk guy begins to gleefully shout "OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA" while furiously fist-bumping Mr K. He then hugs Mr K and poses for a picture with a bemused companion who might have been his mom.

4. A trailer is selling MGD and Mr K and Dani immediately join the line to buy some. This is a foreign treat here. A small girl in costume and bright make-up bangs on the metal sides of the trailer with drumsticks. Nonstop. Kids here have some really impressive costumes.

5. A group of meticulously over-made-up teenage girls stand near a wall, giggling. Suddenly, a group of similarly-aged boys appears out of nowhere. Engaging in the age-old technique of displaying-amorous-intentions-through-torture, the boys tackle the girls and throw massive fistfuls of shaving cream directly into their faces. The boys run off as the girls stand in wide-mouthed shock. I contemplate tossing confetti at them to watch it adhere to the shaving cream, but opt to eat some churros instead.

6. Nipun and Dani perform a perfect demonstration of the differences between Americans standing in line and Swiss standing in line. In the 20+ minutes it took Nipun to get churros (caused by his allowing the ever-watchful Swiss to wiggle in front of him because he's polite and thus, in their eyes, weak) Dani made it across the most crowded section of Carnaval ground, walked two blocks, bought a sausage, found beer, walked back to us, finished the sausage and beer, and disposed of the trash. The churros were worth the wait..