Cadiz and the Carnaval

Saturday was the Carnaval in Cadiz.
What do I want to say about the Carnaval? ...I'm not sure.
I'm glad I went, but I wouldn't go again. All I know is, I'm glad the trip was cheap and I had big, strong friends there. We had a good time walking through the streets, checking out people's costumes and talking to the natives.
Oh, btw, I didn't know what the Carnaval was until two days ago, so I'll assume others don't as well:
Carnaval is the biggest Carnival in all of Spain. It started as a way for the Spaniards to get all of the partying out of their systems before lent started. Because, in the days of yore, Lent was a very serious time and there was no drinking, parties, drugs, etc, etc.... I guess it's every Saturday before lent.
There really were SO MANY PEOPLE.
I have never in my life been around that many people at once. I was a little freaked out for part of it, I'm not gonna lie. I was in a group of about seven or eight people yet our tour guides said to be good about sticking with our friends because the cell reception was going to be horrible due to demand. So, we linked our arms together and forced our way through (not a "sea," a sea brings to mind freely moving water) a swamp (ya, stickier and heavier than water) of people. I had complete strangers pushed up against me from head to toe for BLOCKS. That's a lie, I'm taller than all of them... Neck to toe.
Also, this weekend made me develop a little bit of a prejudice against Spanish girls. There were about 3 open bathrooms in all of Cadiz and there were about a bazillion people there that night.
So, naturally, the line to the bathroom was ridiculously long. TWENTY MINUTES of waiting in line for a toilet later, Angela and I are potty-dancing about six people from the door. Each girl that went in took about 5 minutes... That adds up real fast when you are about to burst (because for some reason, in Spain they don't have toilets on Coach buses and I had to go before I had even gotten on the bus.) So, Angela and I really tried hard not to laugh at each others' jokes and kept our legs crossed tight. The girls in front of us were quite bold (a common trait amongst their kind) and kicked on the door several times as a simple reminder to the girls in the bathroom to please leave quickly. Yet, when it's their turns, each of them take about SEVEN minutes despite Angela yelling "Emergencia!!"... I used the men's room WITH Angela to save time and almost had my pants down before she'd securely closed the door.
I talked to a friend about this... He said that Spanish girls WANT to be portrayed as stuck up. Hmm...
Little did I know, the night was just beginning:
One of my friends got a little... "sick" on the way home and my friend Clay and I got to care for him. Fun.
We got back at 5 in the morning and I was WIPED. I assumed my roommate and host mom were asleep so I quickly and quietly got in bed. In the morning, my host mom, with bags under her eyes, tells me of how my roommate had gotten desperately ill last night at 3 and they were at the hospital until 6. All is well, she's ok.
When they finally got back, however, I'd locked the door (as I was told to do) and I'd also slid the chain lock across (because that's what my host mom does, and it was 5 in the morning!). They were locked out. They called my cell (which is a crappy rent-a-phone and doesn't ring or even beep) and sounded the doorbell (but I sleep in the room farthest from the speakers). Luckily, Samara's grown up in apartments and after 25 minutes slid the chain out of the lock position with her hand wrapped around the door.
Poor dears...