Ah Spain!

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[Music]
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Hello. Welcome to Ah, Spain, Poco Poco.
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How are you, Tanya?
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I'm doing very well. How are you?
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I'm feeling spooky.
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Oh, you are. You know, I love the the
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holidays where we can decorate and dress
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up and everything. And Halloween is one
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of our favorites in this house. And I'm
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not a huge fan of bats, which is what
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we're talking about today. But I am now
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much a much much much bigger fan of bats
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now than I was before. I'm going to say
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I agree. And I will say I don't like the
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idea of bats, but I like the I like the
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idea of like bat symbols and that, you
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know, you know, I think
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I love bat Halloween decorations. I
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don't want a bat flying into my head
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when I'm swimming in a pool at night,
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you know? That's that was my childhood
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fear. Don't swim in the pool at night.
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The bats will get stuck in your hair.
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But anyway,
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it's so funny the stories that will
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scare kids, right?
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Well, and for anyone that hasn't been to
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Valencia,
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bats are huge here. I mean, they're on
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everything. And initially, I was when I
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when I first moved, I was like, what is
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going on with this? It's not just one
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thing. I mean, it's on everything,
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right?
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I agree. It took me a few months cuz I'm
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very pretty like that. It took me a few
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months to realize, oh, it's like part of
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the symbol of the city. Like it's it's
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part of the iconography of the city.
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Okay.
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Yeah. Absolutely. So, the reason for
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that is, and we've talked, we talked a
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little bit about this in the October 9th
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episode, Poca Poco, that we did, and we
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kind of glossed over the bats because we
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knew we were going to want to do this
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one, but we did say a little bit about
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that when
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So, now we can gloss over the history
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really quick.
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We can gloss over the history and go to
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the bats. So the the unifying part here
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is that when KingWami I of Aragon was
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laying siege to Valencia in 1238,
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there was an evening I suppose everyone
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had gone to sleep and what was actually
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happening while they were sleeping was
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that the the Moors were about to do a
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surprise attack on them and a bat
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apparently got into like a tent and it
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just started and I mean this is what we
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have our fear about bats, right? They
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get in the house and they just hit
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everything. This is what was happening.
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So, hitting drums, hitting weapons,
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hitting everything. Probably the tent,
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probably just making a whole lot of
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noise and woke everybody up. And and
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then obviously because of that, they
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consider and obviously that then helped
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them not to have the surprise attack and
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and it is now considered a divine omen
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of protection and good fortune,
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right? So, it's not a bad luck thing in
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Valencia. It's it's part of Valencia
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pride. It's it's a it's a protecting
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thing of the people, right? It's
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a very very good thing. Absolutely.
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It's part of your spiritual armor of the
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city, right?
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And it's on the coat of arms. It's the
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local football team. It's on I mean it's
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it's everywhere,
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right?
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It's on the Yes. The Yeah, it's
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everywhere. And there's big hedge
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sculptures in the gardens, too. I mean,
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you can't escape it. Now, mind you, our
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history might be wrong and many scholars
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have different um how would you say
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takes on history takes on the story, but
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we're gonna go with the the woo woo
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crazy stuff because I like that. I like
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Plus, it's Halloween, so we're just
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going to really jump into that with both
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feet, I think.
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Exactly.
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There's always I mean, obviously, this
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was a while ago, so there's going to be
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different ideas of maybe what happened,
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but we we love a good story.
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We do. And speaking of good stories, can
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we mention that a thing I love about
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Valencia people is that there was a time
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and I think it's come up repeatedly that
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Valencia has been sued the city and I
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think the and the football team has been
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sued by like DC comics and stuff because
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they're like that's close to our Batman
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symbol and
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Yeah. No, I think it's funny like 2014 I
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think like a couple of times, right? in
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and obviously we all know Batman.
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But the great thing about this story is
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that Valencia was just like, "We've been
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doing this for hundreds of years. We
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don't own the bat symbol." And I don't
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know what happened, but it all kind of
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went away. So
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it fizzled, right? They're like just
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kind of fizzled.
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There's a big lawsuit and then we'll
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just keep quiet.
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Yeah. And I think what had happened in
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that is that they had sort of started
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redesigning and coming up with different
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bats and designs for things and
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obviously, you know, logo, you know, dis
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disputes and all this type of thing. But
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yep, Valencia's been doing bats for
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longer. So there you have it.
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I mean, and how many ways can you draw a
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bat? You know what I mean? So
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yeah,
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apparently DC Comics would like there to
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be more ways,
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I think.
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to draw a bat.
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But in in all fairness, the the bat that
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you have for the Valencian football team
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and the one that's on on the coat of
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arms and everything is very similar to
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the Batman.
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I guess I'm still going to say ours is
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more original. Sorry, DC Comics.
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Oh, no. Definitely original. I'm just
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saying it already was the same as the
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DC. Maybe maybe somebody from there had
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visited Valencia in the past and was
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like, "That's a cool." Yeah,
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who knows? But what is crazy, so I did
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not know about all this bat stuff until
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I was like, why is there a hedge of a
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bat in Valencia? Then I went to in the
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in the park. I mean, and then I went
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down a rabbit hole and then I found out
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that there are like 24 different species
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of bats in Valencia. So like if you have
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bat fears and if you're like not
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accustomed to them, I mean that's a lot.
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And I'm just going to have to say that I
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used to sleep. I used to blindly sleep
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with my the windows that don't have
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screens open at night for the fresh air.
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Yeah. Those don't those don't stay
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closed because these bats are like
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roosting in the city, too. Like in
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they're not just like Batman in a cave.
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They're roosting in crevices and eaves
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in the city as well as in forests. So,
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I'm just
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Yeah. Well, we have them out here. We
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I've seen them at night when we've like
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been out at the pool at night and you
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suddenly see dark things like flying.
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So, I was like, but I don't mind because
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they're eating a lot of mosquitoes. But
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I will say I will sleep with my windows
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open and I've been fine. And I I don't
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think they want to be inside our house.
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I mean, I think that would be an
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accident if that were to happen, but
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obviously nobody wants to be in the
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middle of that accident. I guess
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I don't want to be in that I'm not
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taking that accidental risk.
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I can see where you're coming from. We
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live out in the mountains and I do see
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them, but I don't see so many that it
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concerns me that they're like, you know,
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going to be doing that. We could name a
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few of the species that are like a few
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of the names that are like most popular
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around here, I guess, out of the 24,
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which would be the pipril bat and the
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serotene bat and the
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doenton bat. Those would be three. And
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then there's a couple that are actually
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considered endangered, which is the long
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fingered bat and the Mahaly horseshoe
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bat, which are
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so those are kind of probably the main
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ones. So probably maybe we have one of
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those flying around our house. I don't
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know. But I'm happy to have them.
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I'm sorry. And plus and what is that
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five and 19 more and you have 19 other
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species flying around your house, too.
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Just
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mind. I need them there because they eat
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a lot of mosquitoes. And I will say I
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will take more bats to get rid of more
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mosquitoes because it says that one bat
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can eat about a thousand like insects
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per night. So I don't know if we have
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more insects that they're kind of like h
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no on the mosquitoes cuz they're too
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small. I'm going to eat the moths. But
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I will go for more bats if they'll eat
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more mosquitoes. That's where I that's
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where I'm at.
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I have read that they will eat up to
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twothirds of the population of
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mosquitoes. I'm just asking um
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Oh my god. What would it be like? What
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would it be like without that? I don't
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know if that twothirds is true, but I
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have seen it on several on several
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websites. But if they've eaten twothirds
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and I'm still being eaten alive, I'd
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hate to think what what what
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bloated,
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bitten mess I would be walking down the
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streets, right?
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Yeah. So, I'm now just loving bats
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basically, and I want more of them
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because I just can't even imagine what
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that would be. And we do have some
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really cool caves. We have friends that
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love to go hiking and find caves out in
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the middle of nowhere. That's kind of
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seems to be a thing that they're looking
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for. And so there's lots of great places
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for bats to live and and breed around
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the area, not just your little your
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little whatever's going on in the city
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that they're living in,
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right? In in like our eaves and nooks
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and crannies and probably like in under
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the bridges in the park, maybe. I mean,
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I don't know. They I mean, is that I
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mean, now when I'm going to walk through
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the park at night, I'm going to be
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looking around for
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so scared now. But we have we we live up
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in the in the forested area and you know
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I I think it's it's obviously it's
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obviously a very nice area for bats to
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live all around here. So we should be
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thankful for them because Valencians
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love them
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and and they and they love them and
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they're also protecting them, right?
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There are I mean there are we said there
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are some endangered species. So, there
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are conservation programs and they're
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trying to protect these caves and
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forests, the the forests that aren't
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protected, trying to protect more
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forests and all of that stuff, you know.
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And since it's Halloween and we're
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talking bats, we should probably mention
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that it is true that bats, some bats do
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drink blood.
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They do.
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And that's what's scaring you at night,
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isn't it? Really?
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It's actually not that. It's not them
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like biting me and drinking my blood and
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then I turn into like, you know,
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it's not.
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No, it's that they have rabies and I'll
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have to clean it up and touch it and
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then I'm foaming at the mouth by noon
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and then I my kids don't have a dad. So,
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yeah, I go there.
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Very dramatic.
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There are three species worldwide that
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are considered vampire bats and they
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live in the Americas, not in Europe. So,
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I think
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Well, then how did that story come
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about? How did Bram Stroker write that
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little story? Did he go to South
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America?
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I don't know. But they would be feeding
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on like cows and pigs and probably in
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wild farming areas where they can do
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that. So I don't know that we really
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have to worry to be honest.
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Okay. Well, I'm still closing my the
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windows without screens get closed at
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night. Sorry.
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Maybe you just need to put something in
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the window because you know they are
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they are they don't want to fly into
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something and they're very smart because
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they have their their eolocation going.
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So they will if you put something in
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your window that isn't a screen but kind
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of blocks the kind of area where they
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would fly, they would probably not come
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in.
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Okay. Okay. We'll worry about that
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later. And um
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but you know what is kind of cool in
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that in the Mediterranean which I had
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touched upon earlier that they are
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symbols of the luck and prosperity and
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us probably I mean in England are they
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do they begget fear like they do in the
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Americas?
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I think so. I think this is for for me
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definitely the only place that I've
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lived where bats are really loved like
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universally as a as a as an animal and
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as a thing. Not just as a I mean
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obviously it's Halloween. We're going to
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have bats hanging all over our house and
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we're going to be dressed and doing all
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these things. But I mean as far as like
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a real thing where they are loved. This
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is the definitely the first place that
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I've lived. I think I've I've met people
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that are that love bats because they
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understand all these things about what
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they eat and all the and all that, but
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most people, you know, I didn't know
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this much about bats before we started
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this pock. So,
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neither did I. And I would say the
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people who I used to know who loved bats
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were goths and now here it's it's just
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the whole population's like, "No,
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they're our saviors. It's why we're not
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completely eaten alive by mosquitoes."
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Yeah. And because of the bat being a
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part of so many symbols of different
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things around the Valencian community,
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it's on t-shirts, it's it's on flags,
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it's on things. So yeah, you're going to
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see it everywhere. So
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everywhere you go.
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So it's so spooky.
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Well, we have to go out and get some
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more Halloween decorations. So I'm going
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to procure some more bats for throwing
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around the house, as it were.
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Me, too.
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Well, on that note, Tanya, I think we've
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covered enough on bats that we know
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about bats.
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I think so. Yep. Time to get into
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Halloween. Maybe dress my dog as a as a
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bat with some bat wings and get on out
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there.
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There you go.
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Happy trick-or-treating.
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You too. Talk to you later.
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Bye.
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Bye.
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[Music]