Hola! Woah, two blog posts in one week? What is happening? Tomorrow I begin my second term as an English teacher here, after a nice long break. If you read my last post (or follow me on social media) I was super lucky to be able to spontaneously go home for Christmas. After a few road bumps in the journey, I was able to surprise my family and stay at home for a little over a week. Although it was a short visit, I was really happy I was able to see them, especially for the holiday. I am so glad I didn’t blow the secret and surprised them. (very surprised I didn’t because I am the worst liar.) It was a bit bitter sweet saying goodbye to them again, but I kept reminding myself how unhappy I would be if for some reason I wasn’t able to return to Spain. These next five months will go by very quickly.
Getting that sentimental stuff out of the way.
When I returned to Spain (after what felt like the longest and most exhausting flight), it was New Years Eve! Even though I was extremely jet lagged, I was determined to participate in a Spanish New years. Back home, I rarely ever do anything on New Year’s Eve (I usually just sleep) but this day if a big deal in Spain. The whole extended family on my host dad’s side went to the grandparent’s house (Abuelo Julio and Abuela Toni!) for a fancy dinner and to count down to midnight. A popular food to eat during the Christmas season is prawns, which are pretty much just very large shrimp. I personally don’t like most fish so I passed on that. But there was plenty to eat such as different types of meat, cheeses and soups. (Jamon all day every day). In America, it is very popular to watch the Ball drop in Times Square on TV. Here, we did gather around the TV for the count down. But instead of a disco ball being anticlimactically lowered down for the countdown, but instead, for the last 12 seconds of the old year, we would eat a grape per second to count down. It felt very silly to do (and a potential choking hazard) but it was a lot of fun. People do that all over the country, even the people on TV hosting the count down. Right after the stroke of midnight, all you could hear were the sounds of illegal fireworks all over the city. What a night. I then slept until almost noon after this, because you know. Jetlag. Very glad I was able to make it for my first Spanish New years! Feliz Año Nuevo!!
In Spain, while Christmas is a big holiday, the Christmas season officially ends on January 6th, on Epiphany. Here, it is called, El Día de los Reyes (Day of the Kings). This day is when the Three Kings came to see the baby Jesus and bring gifts for him. In Spain, this is less of a religious holiday and is more a gift giving one. The three kings/wise men are essentially their Santa Claus. The night before, on January 5th, most cities and communities have some sort of parade where the different wise men come in on floats and throw candy at people. My host family and I spent this holiday in Fuenteheridos (see my first blog) at the grandparent’s villa with the extended family. Since this town is so small, the parade just went around the town square about ten times. In bigger cities, the people on the floats just throw candies to the spectators, but here, they threw candy, toys, snacks (ham, chestnuts, ect) and other things. My host sisters and their cousins were so excited for this and had been hyping this up for weeks. But I had to see it for myself. In the freezing cold (it was like 40 degrees), we gathered around the town center, armed with trash bags to catch the treats. I thought it was going to be just the kids catching things, but the adults were just as into it as they were. When the floats arrived, there was only about six altogether, three of which had a different wise man on it, with his entourage. Other floats had things like a nativity scene, the characters from the movie Coco and a mermaid (of all things). At first, they were warming up the crowd by just throwing cheap candy and bags of chips but after a few rounds, they started throwing the good stuff. Soccer balls, stuffed animals, toys. People were pushing each other to get them. I caught a soccer ball to the face, a pair of scissors (that were wrapped) and a bunch of other stuff, most of which I quickly put in my host sister’s bags. Rumor had it that they were going to throw a few toy jamons (ham) that could be redeemed for a full size real ham at the market. The coveted prize. I, alas, did not get one. An old lady pushed me. But I did catch a packet of salami. So it wasn’t a total loss. After, we had some Roscón de reyes, which is a traditional cake. It is circularly, like a Bundt cake, with a layer of whip cream or custard and is decorated with candied fruit. Inside, there are two things. If your piece of cake has a small toy in it, you are crowned “the king” and get to wear a paper crown that came with the cake. If you get a nut in your piece, you have to “pay” the “king”. I didn’t get either, but its okay.
Me and my salami.
That night, the kids went to bed early, I went to my hotel (full house) and they eagerly awaited to see what the kings brought them in the morning. I arrived the next morning a little late because I was in a hotel, but I was greeted by the excitement of my host family’s kids, who already opened their presents. I was able to give my host family their gifts and was surprised to see that they had got me some gifts as well. I was very touched by that since I wasn’t expecting anything.
Overall, this Christmas break was very good. I got to see my family, celebrate new years Spanish style, see the Three Kings and catch some salami at a parade. I am rested and ready for the next semester!
Adios!
Jordan's ESL Adventure 