Thursday, December 26, 2013

La navidad española

Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad! Although it still doesn't feel like Christmas, I had a great day with Lucia's family and I am thankful that they welcomed me into their family. But, it felt more like a regular party, than Christmas, but it was still a good time, just not the same.

I started out the morning earlier than I thought I would with going to bed so late, but im glad I didn't sleep in because I was able to get up and open presents with Lucia, her sister, and her mom. Like I have said before, January 6th is the big celebration here, meaning that Santa Claus doesn't bring mountain of gifts like he does in the U.S., but to be honest, I got more than I expected. I'm glad Santa got my change of address form. :) Anyway, what I got were all things that I was thinking about buying for myself anyway so it was perfect! I got an apron that looks like a flamenco dress, a red flower for my hair, a traditional red flamenco shawl, and my very own caganer. If you don't know what that last thing is, re-read this blog: http://awinbigler.blogspot.com.es/2013/12/el-caganer.html
Me with my Christmas gifts :)
After opening gifts, I took a shower and relaxed while waiting for the family to come in the afternoon. I write a blog and watched a show called Ahora Caiga, which is a game show where you have to answer questions and if you get it wrong then the trap door beneath you opens and your out of the game. I actually did a pretty good job with answering the questions, but I guess I should point out that todays episode was a kids' edition, but I was still proud. :)

Family members started showing up at around 2 p.m. and we ate at 3 p.m. Once again, the food was delicious. We had the typical shrimp (which I guess are technically prawns--don't know the difference) and ham for appetizers. I felt bad for saying that I didn't like either of those things, but I love the bread, haha. And the meal part was really good. We had what I would consider a pot roast and then there was also another type of meat with a mushroom sauce that was really good. :) Then, we sang some Christmas carols, a which involved singing, dancing, and instruments. I played the maraca.

Then, it was dessert time. There was turrón, which is extremely common during Christmas, but also another thing that I don't like. There was a German tart, which was delicious and mazapán, which I didn't like when I tried it in Toledo, but I loved the homemade one. :) Next on the list of things to do were set off firecrackers. Apparently, it's a pretty common thing to do during the Christmas season. I think I was outside for a total of 5 minutes before going back inside because one, explosives kind of scare me, two, they are too loud, and there, it was cold. So I ventured back inside before I got to see them explode an orange, but it's alright because I went inside and watched some of the family members song and dance more. I also got the chance to Skype my boyfriend and his family, which was fun and the week countdown to see my boyfriend starts tomorrow so I'm excited for that!

After more singing and dessert eating, the family members left and Lucia, her sister, and I cleaned up a little bit and then treated ourselves to playing Xbox Kinect Dance Central. It's kind of hard, but it was fun and it got my heart pumping and it was a good way to warm up my body. After that, I relaxed, wrote this blog and watched T.V. with my adopted family. I started to watch Oliver Twist, but I stopped so that I could skype my family. It was really nice to see all of them and I hope they didn't miss me too much this Christmas! I love you all! Merry Christmas!

After skyping them it was off to bed and now it is the 26th and I leave for Barcelona soon. I doubt I will be able to continue to blog, but check back occasionally, just in case! Have a good week! Happy Holidays! Felices Fiestas!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

La nochebuena

Today is Christmas Eve and it feels nothing like it. It really doesn't feel like the Christmas season at all, which is sad, but maybe it's a good thing because now I won't miss my family as much. It's just a normal day, but it was still fun and even though it doesn't feel like Christmas to me, I helped spread Christmas cheer in Sevilla. We started our day with breakfast and I was forced to try two different types of toast. The first is bread with extra virgen olive oil and sugar and the second is bread with extra virgen olive oil, garlic, tomato, and salt (and ham, but I opted out of the ham, because I am not a fan of the Spanish ham). Both kinds were good, but I liked the one with sugar more and it was sooo filling. Also, Lucia and I ate our last chocolates in our advent calendars.
The end of getting chocolate everyday :(
Also, Lucia and her mom did serenade me with a Christmas Eve song. Here it is...

Then, we played dress up because I plan to return to Sevilla for the fair in April, so I of course will need a dress to wear to the fair. My favorite one was the purple one, but unfortunately I have larger hips than Lucia's sister, Carmen, so it didn't zip up, but the other two kind of fit so I have a dress I can wear if I need to. :) I am so grateful that they not only let me try on their dresses, but that I will be able to wear one to the fair if I go.



Richard, their dog, dressed up too. :)
After playing dress-up, we picked lemons from their lemon tree they have out front and brought them over to their neighbors houses for Christmas and then they took me on a tour of Sevilla by car. We drove by all of the buildings that were built and used for the 1992 Sevilla Expo and are now used for a few other things. We also drove on the bridge that I am sure was designed by Santiago Calatrava (It was, it was made for the '92 Expo). The bridge looks exactly like the bridge in Valencia and there is another one that very similar to the bridge in Bilbao. We also purchased some reindeer antlers to wear around in the spirit of Christmas.
The river with a possible Calatrava bridge
and the tower that everyone hates.
Carmen, Lucia, and I in front of the Calatrava bridge.
It was windy. Ha.
The oldest church in Sevilla.
A very small part of the old wall that used to surround the city
After our drive, we went to the grocery store, reindeer antlers and all, and shopped for some things to make Christmas treats. We made a game out of shopping and I felt like I was in Supermarket Sweep. Side note: I always wanted to be on that show. Lucia's mom would tell us what we needed to get and we would go running to try and find it. :) THen, of course we had to continue the game up until checkout and we all guessed what the overall price would be. Lucia won on all accounts. It was entertaining. And one of the guys in the store said that someone should warn Papá Noel (Santa Claus) that he has four reindeer loose. Haha.

Once back at home, Lucia's mom made/taught me how to make croquetas (essentially cheese curds) and tortilla de patatas. Both were so good and after lunch, we just relaxed and I blogged.
Flipping the tortilla (The hardest part)
Roscón de Reyes
We put out cookies and milk for Santa Claus.
The Spanish put out Roscòn de Reyes and alcohol for the Wise Men.
AND they put out water for the Wise Men's camels. Tehe.
So far, I haven't loved any of the typical desserts eaten here at Christmas time here like Roscón de Reyes and mantecados, however I haven't tried the typical Roscón de Reyes with cream and there are Christmas cookies and truffles that Lucia's mom made that I'm sure will be delicious (They are)!!!! After relaxing for most of the afternoon and evening, Lucia's dad came and picked us up and we ventured over to his house. Right when we got there, we watched King Juan Carlos' annual speech that he gives on Christmas Eve. I didn't understand the majority of the speech because he used eloquent words that I didn't know, but I can tell you he talked about the crisis, he thanked certain people and groups in Spain, he gave his thoughts to those who have been affected by terrorism, and he told all of Spain Merry Christmas. After this, we listened to some Christmas carols and started a puzzle. Then, Lucia's grandma, aunt, and uncle came over and we started dinner at around 10:50 p.m. That's a huge difference from my family in the U.S. I don't know if I will ever get used to eating that late. The food was delicious, we had some apetizers to start with (shrimp, bread, chips, ham, cheese spread), then we had some chicken in broth (which was good, but filling), and my favorite part dessert. :) I chose to eat the macedonia, which was like a fruit soup. It was pineapple, bananas, peaches, pears, and strawberries in orange and pineapple juice. It was so good!

After dinner, I plopped myself down next to the fire and worked on the puzzle some more. THen, we opened presents. Lucia's dad got me a nice LED flashlight and I got the present under the tree that said "Surprise" on the outside. It wasn't even a thought in my mind that it would be my present, but it was. And it was a doll that lights up and plays really pretty lullabies. His name is Pocoyó and he is from a little kids' television program. I really like the gift and there was a really thoughtful note that came with it. Below is an episode of the show.
After opening gifts, we watched T.V. and finished the puzzle.
On T.V., we watched Lo Mejor de Cada Casa, which was a special that showed the top 50 best moments on television in 2013. It was really good, but I feel asleep for part of it, but it was weird to think that I have been here long enough that I had seen some of the moments when they were on T.V. for the first time, because of La hormiguero and another show called Tu cara me sueña. Anyway, that program ended late and we left Lucia's dad's house at about 3 a.m. Haha. I don't think anyone reminded them that if you don't go to sleep Santa Claus doens't come. The good thing about being up so late was that it was the perfect time to Skype my family on Christmas Eve in the U.S. So, I skyped them and my boyfriend's family and I think I finally tucked myself in at about 4:30 a.m. It was a long Christmas Eve, but it was fun. Merry Christmas everyone! Hope all is well!







Tuesday, December 24, 2013

La catedral de Sevilla

Yesterday morning, the 23rd of December, Lucia and I got up and got ready and ate breakfast. Breakfasts here consist of a lot of chocolate, sugar, and bread. I'm not complaining. :) Then, Lucia's friend, Andrea, met us to take a bus to the center of Sevilla. Once there, we met up with Andrea's boyfriend, Luis, and Lucia's other friend, Silvia. Our first stop was the Cathedral of Sevilla. I felt kind of bad because obviously Lucia, Andrea, Luis, and Silvia have been to the cathedral thousands of times; but me, being a tourist, took my time and listened to my audio guide. I feel like we could have been in and out really quickly, but we (I) took my time, so we were there for about two hours. Also, did you know that the remains of Christopher Columbus are there? I didn't know that! And according to my audio guide, they have moved around a lot. Also, the remains of his son, Diego, are at the cathedral as well. The cathedral was really cool and had a lot of different chapels (shrines) and a treasure room and a cool organ and choir area. My favorite part though was probably the tower, La Giralda. I always like seeing the views from the top. :) Also, the tower was a ramp all the way up so it was super cool that it wasn't stairs. Ha. La Giralda has 35 ramps and we walked up 47 meters (154 feet) and the whole Giralda is 104 meters tall (341 ft). It is the tallest building in the city center and there is a law in place that says no other buildings can be taller than it. However, Sevilla does have one skyscraper that is significantly taller than the cathedral, but it is just across the river and technically outside of the historic center. However, I can tell that most of the sevillanos HATE the skyscraper and to be honest, I agree. It is extremely out of place and looks pretty dumb. Anyway, here are some photos...
Part of the organ at the cathedral
Stained glass window featuring La Giralda and
Santa Justa and Santa Rufina, who are the patron saints of Sevilla
I should also point out that the Sevilla cathedral
is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and the third
largest church in the world
after the Vatican and St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
The tomb of Christopher Columbus held by four men
representing the four original kingdoms in Spain:
Castilla, León, Navarra, and Aragón
View from La Giralda
View while climbing to the top
Me in the Patio de los Naranjos (Court of the Orange trees)
 with La Giralda in the background
I guess I should also point out that the cathedral was once a Muslim mosque, so the Court of the Orange trees actually used to be a place where people would wash themselves before entering the mosque.

After visiting the cathedral, we sat down for a little bit and ate a palmera de chocolate, which is a pastry that is typical here in Spain. You can eat a plain one or one covered in chocolate. We had chocolate covered ones. :)
Palmeras
Then, we took a walk through the neighborhood of Santa Cruz, which is the Jewish neighborhood in Sevilla and then we walked to Plaza de España, which is a really cool plaza to walk, take a ride in a horse and carriage, or row a boat. We got some pictures taken and then of course we rowed a boat. It was really fun!
Plaza de España
Plaza de España has a bench for every province in Spain,
so here is Luica and I next to the Madrid bench. :)
Me rowing the boat
We then walked to Parque de María Luisa, where we feed the birds some lentils. I think they enjoyed it. :)
After all of that activity, we walked along the river and took the bus home. We got home around 6 o'clock and that would be when we ate lunch, and what I considered my dinner. Lucia's friend, Isa, came over and we play Ratonera and Cluedo, aka Mouse Trap and Clue. Not to make myself feel good or anything, but I won both games! Woo! It was Señora Blanco in the comedor con la cuerda. (Mrs. White in the dining room with the rope) The names of the characters are different in Cluedo, which was weird, but it was fun. And while we were playing, the T.V. was on and we didn't pay attention until the end of the game and it just happened to be the movie Clue! What a coincidence! CRAZY. Anyway, after all of this, I sat down to write a few blogs, while Lucia watched the movie, The Pianist. Another fun day in Sevilla down, only a few more to go.Hope you are all having fantastic Christmases.

Monday, December 23, 2013

La lotería

On Sunday, Lucia and I woke up at around 9:30 and got ready to leave the house. We had churros con chocolate for breakfast and we had all intentions of leaving at 11 a.m., but we left later because we were watching the lottery on television. I know that sounds a little ridiculous, but the Christmas lottery is a HUGE deal here. Everybody and their dog buys a ticket or two or three for the Christmas lottery. Actually usually people split the cost of tickets with other people. For example, Lucia's mom invested her money into ten different tickets and I could have put money into one with the faculty and staff at my school, but I didn't. Anyway, you get the point. It's a big deal. There are commercials on T.V. about it and long lines at the lottery stands for it and the drawing was yesterday.
Here is the commercial for the lottery

It was really interesting to watch the drawings. Number after number and prize after prize was drawn. They have children from Madrid sing the numbers and the amount of the prize for each number. Lucia told me that the students come from the same school in Madrid, El Colegio de San Ildefonso. The students from this school have sung the numbers for the lottery for three centuries.Crazy! So pretty much, they raise these students to sing at the lottery. It really was interesting. And yesterday, the lottery handed out 2,240 million euros in prizes! That's over 3 billion U.S. dollars! The largest prize that was handed out for one number was 4 million euros ($5,476,000). That lucky number was 62246 and 13 tickets had that number. Most likely more than 13 people won that money because like I said, people split the cost of the tickets, but still--4 million euros! Also, by chance, out of the half hour that Lucia and I watched the lottery, we got to see 62246 get picked! :D Here is what that was like...

I have been trying to look for how many numbers were drawn in total, but I can't seem to find it. All I know is that each board had about 100 numbers and prizes and there were quite a few boards. Plus it went on all morning and part of the afternoon. Anyway, enough about the lottery, but there is an interesting cultural thing that you now know about Spain.

We left to got towards the center of Sevilla. We walked a little bit through Triana, which is a neighborhood of Sevilla. I'm not exactly sure why it is special or important, but it was nice to walk through and it is connected to the center by the Puente de Triana, which crosses the Guadalquivir river and is apparently iconic for Triana.
El puente de Triana
El Torre del Oro
Andalucian, Spanish, and European Union flags
After walking through Triana, we crossed over the river and saw El Torre del Oro, which was a military watchtower and controlled all of the boats coming into the city. We then took a stop at the Alcázar, which was a Moorish fort, turned palace and it is one of those World Heritage Sites that I always talk about. The architecture is mostly Arabic and there are a lot of pretty tiles throughout as well. Also, the gardens are beautiful and we feed the peacocks that were in the garden cookies. :)


After we left the Alcázar, we ate a small lunch and then we walked along the river to get to the bus station. Once home, we did absolutely nothing for quite awhile and it was great. We just sat and chatted and then we finally stopped being lazy and played Xbox Kinect. Lucia kicked my butt, but it was fun! After awhile, Lucia's dad came and picked us up and we ordered Chinese and ate it at his house. I know that I should probably be trying Spanish food, but the Chinese was SO good! I am so happy that is what we had for dinner. Yum. After dinner, we watched The Vow or, in Spanish, Todos los días de mi vida, which I haven't seen since it came out it theaters and I forgot how good/sad it was, but I was really happy to watch it and it was great to see the setting of Chicago. Everytime they should the skyline or something I went "Aww, Chicago." I'm sure it got annoying for Lucia and her sister, but I couldn't help myself. Anyway, then I went back to Lucia's mom's house with her and her sister and we went to bed. Day two was good and I still can't believe it's Christmastime. It doesn't feel like it is and I don't know if it will, but we'll see.


El primer día de invierno

Okay, so I have been in Sevilla for three days now. I arrived on the 21st (Saturday), which was also the first day of winter. Lucia, my roommate, and I took the long bus ride from Madrid to Sevilla. The ride was about six and a half hours long including a 20 minute stop we made around Córdoba. Once arriving in Sevilla, Lucia's mom and sister picked us up at the bus station. There names are María José and Carmen. María José works at IKEA in the administration department and Carmen is 16 years old and still in school. Once arriving to Lucia's house, she showed me around and then we ate lunch outside. The weather is pretty good here (in like the 50s or 60s during the day), but it gets pretty cold at night because the houses are not prepared for the colder weather and don't have heat. Therefore, I really have to bundle up at night and Lucia's family is great and they have provided me with blankets and such to stay warm. :) Also speaking of the weather, there are a lot of orange trees here (can't eat the oranges though) and it doesn't snow, but we saw kids throwing oranges at each other and Lucia joked that that is what the children do instead of having snowball fights. I thought it was really funny and so true, but boy would oranges hurt way more than snowballs. Ha.

After eating lunch, we just hung out for a little bit and then Lucia's friend, also Andrea, joined us to take a bus to the center. The other Andrea's mom is from Boston and her dad is Spanish, so she is bilingual and has been to the east coast in the U.S. almost every year of her life. And the funny thing is, I haven't been to any of the places that she has been to. Ha. The U.S. is so big. Anyway, Lucia lives about 15ish minutes by bus from the center of Sevilla, so we boarded the bus and went to the center. Our first stop was Las Setas (The Mushrooms), which is a structure that serves as a museum, a bar, a market, and a balcony to get a good view of the city. We got there at a good time because the sun was setting so I got some good daytime and night time pictures. :) The general concensus that I got from sevillanos (people from Sevilla) is that the structure is ugly, but I think it's kind of cool and it is supposedly claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world. But I'm thinking, "What about roller coasters?"
Las Setas
Lucia and I on top of Las Setas, the cathedral is to the right.
After we left Las Setas, we walked around for a little bit and looked at all of the Christmas markets. There were a lot of market selling pieces for Nativity scenes. It was pretty cool. All of them were so similar and yet so different.
Belén
We walked in the streets and there were a lot of people out and about. There were bands and singers and Christmas lights. It was all really fun.

Andrea and Andrea
We walked to the city hall and by chance there was a light show going on that was projected onto the building. Light shows are usually pretty cool anyway, but I really liked this one because they used the structure and architecture of the building as a part of the show. It was pretty cool. Also, of course the Three Kings made an appearance in the show. :)
Los Reyes Magos in the light show
Me in front of the city hall
After walking around for a little bit longer we boarded the bus to go home. Once home, we ate pizza for dinner and listened to Christmas carols in Spanish. Lucia insists that I learn some and I agree, but there is one that is just impossible. It's just way TOO fast! However, there are others that I will be able to sing on Christmas day. At night, I also skyped my boyfriend and his family, as well as my family, and then it was off to bed. My first day in Sevilla went well and I'm happy to be here with Lucia and her family. I am so grateful that they are letting me stay here and accepting me as a part of their family for Christmas. Have a great day. :)




Friday, December 20, 2013

Picatostes

So today was the last day of school before break and it was one big dance party. :) To celebrate Christmas, I wore my Peruvian alpaca sweater and some Christmas socks (Thanks, Taylor). We had a big dance party all morning where the students danced to both English and Spanish songs, including the song from the movie Frozen, Baby by Justin Bieber, and Gangnam Style. Boy, let me tell you it is quite entertaining to see a bunch of first graders break out their dance moves for Gangnam Style. The party was also complete with food and games so the students had a lot of fun with that. After two and a half hours of partying, the students went to the gym to sing the carols for their parents and to give a letter and get a gift from the Three Wise Men. The carol went awesome and I wish that I could put a video up, but obviously, I am not going to do to some privacy laws (makes sense, right?). I will however post pictures of the Three Kings and the awesome gym decorations. The Wise Men gave every student a book, which was awesome and really exciting for the students. It's really interesting to see how big the Wise Men are instead of Santa Claus. Santa Claus has only been becoming popular here in recent years because of films and such, but really the Wise Men are where it's at. I have heard that some people celebrate both now, but the majority do not. Also, the main reason that I have heard people are doing Santa Claus, too, is so that their children have more time to play with their toys. Ha. The Wise Men come strolling into town on the night of January 5th, the children get their presents on the 6th, and then the children go back to school on the 8th, so that is barely anytime for them to play. The other reason I have heard people celebrate Santa Claus is to avoid the religion aspect of the Three Kings, but yea, that's that.
Los Reyes Magos (The Wise Men)
Cool paper Christmas tree
After school, I had to wait about 20 minutes for the train to come because there was another strike today and once I finally got home, I made lunch and then started packing for my trip. I took my sweet time packing and now I actually need to go back and unpack a little so I have room for other things like souvenirs. After that, Karin, Stephanie, and I planned to meet with one of our professors from college. He and his wife are both Spanish professors at colleges and his wife is originally from Madrid, so they are here with their daughter celebrating Christmas with her family. I was really happy to be able to see him and we had a nice visit with him and his family. We went to a restaurant and ate hot chocolate with picatostes, which are kind of like french toast sticks. It was their treat, too, which I thought was extremely nice! It was so great to see a familiar face and to be treated to a delicious hot chocolate and picatostes. Also, I should mention that we were about fifteen minutes late meeting them (whoops) because of the metro. The metro came, but then everyone got off of it and we had to wait about five minutes for the next one to come, then we got on that metro, but it didn't start moving until about 10 minutes later. It was kind of ridiculous and I have experienced anything quite that bad on the metro yet and it was a little unfortunate that it was when we were meeting my old professor, but everything turned out alright.

After the bite to eat and good conversation, Karin and Stephanie briefly came over to my house so that Lucia could say goodbye to them before break and then we ventured on over to Karin's house to watch the movie, The Holiday. I had never seen it before and I actually thought it was a pretty good movie. It doesn't beat the Christmas classics, but I'll take it. It was a good way to spend our last night together before Christmas vacation. I also got the chance to skype my sister tonight and I will be skyping my boyfriend soon just to talk to him before I leave on vacation. I can't believe he will be here visiting soon, too. I am so excited!! :D Anyway, that was my day. It was a pretty good last day before break and I am ready to travel around for a few weeks.

Lastly, I want to make a point to tell you that I have no idea how much time I will have to blog while I am away. I will have internet access in all of the cities, but I most likely not take too much time out of each day to write a blog, but I will try to write a brief one whenever I get the chance. Just in case I don't talk to you. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! :D

Thursday, December 19, 2013

El caganer

Today was a pretty uneventful and easy day. I spent a lot of the time singing Christmas carols, decorating the classroom, and playing games. I heard a short story about the Three Wise Men and their camels. It was a pretty cute book about how the camels ate a lot of food and then the Wise Men made them exercise so that they could be healthy and ready to deliver presents with the Wise Men on January 6th.

On another note, it rained most of the day today so the students couldn't go outside for recess today, so they finished watching the movie Monster House. Unfortunately, that is not a Christmas movie. :( I think they've been watching it since Halloween time, because they haven't had too many days that they have had to stay inside. Anyway, while the movie was being watched a student decided to draw all over the tiles in the classroom, so for the next half hour or so, the classroom teacher had a talk with the students. It took that long for the student to fess up to it. Well, actually another student ratted them out and then they were forced to tell the truth, but that was an interesting conversation to have with a bunch of first graders. Never lie, it just gets you in more trouble. Poor kids though. Two of the students that weren't even involved in the incident started to cry just because I think they were overwhelmed. :( Anyway, after that, the rest of the day went okay still. More Christmas fun was had.

At lunch, I finally took pictures of Belén (Bethlehem) which has been up at the school for about two weeks now. All of the students contributed in some way. For example, the 1st graders (my students) made the sky, clouds, stars, mountains, etc. and the rest of the school made the village. It's actually really cool and it looks like the students spent a lot of time on everything. Also, I should note that it is very common in Spanish households to have the whole city of Bethlehem depicted rather than just the typical manger scene, which is common in the U.S.
Belén
The Nativity Scene
Yep, that is a metal man pooping...
I'm sure you're wondering why I have included that last picture and why it is a part of Belén at the school. Well, come to find out, it is a Spanish (specifically Catalonian) tradition to have a figurine pooping in the scene. According to Wikipedia, it is sometimes a game for children to find this figurine in the scene. I will now be looking for one in every Belén scene that I see. Apparently the origin of this figurine is unknown and really the explanations are pretty widespread to, but here are the ones listed on Wikipedia:

  • Tradition.
  • Perceived humour.
  • A fun spectacle, especially for children.
  • The Caganer is fertilizing the Earth and the nativity scene therefore the scene is fertilized for the following year. It also brings good luck and joy.
  • The Caganer represents the equality of all people: regardless of status, race, or gender, everyone defecates.
  • Increased naturalism of an otherwise archetypal story, so that it is more believable, more real and can be taken more seriously.
  • The idea that God will manifest himself when he is ready, without regard for whether we human beings are ready or not.
  • The Caganer reinforces the belief that the infant Jesus is God in human form, with all that being human implies.
  • The character introduces a healthy amount of religious doubt to test one's faith.
  • A humorous allusion to the Spanish proverb (in translation), "Dung is no saint, but where it falls it works miracles."

Well, isn't that just an interesting way to interpret that. I rather like it, but I do find it a little strange. On another note, there are a lot more modern Caganers these days. For example, they have celebrity figurines, cartoons, and even Obama. I guess I know what souvenir to look for when I am in Barcelona next week. Ha.

Anyway, after school, I had one of my private lessons. The other one was cancelled because both brothers had the flu and then for the one I did go to, the father had the flu. Clearly the flu is going around. Luckily, I only have one day left in the school to avoid getting sick before my vacation. That is the last thing I want for my two week trip. Right after the lesson, I went straight to Karin's house so that she could help me with something English stuff for my teacher and then I helped her add Snapchat to her iPad, so we had a little fun with that. Then, I came home, ate dinner, relaxed, and skyped my parents. Now it is time for bed. I have a day filled with Christmas fun tomorrow. Hasta mañana.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

El burrito de Belén

Okay, so I had a pretty good day today! I started my day of course with some good old Miley Cyrus, but also because the students are still learning their Spanish villancico (carol) they got to practice that. So I finally got to hear what they are singing in Spanish. It's a song called Dinguidón, which is the sound a bell makes, like Ding Dong. :)

After that class, I went to the next class where we got to review some Christmas vocabulary, like Father Christmas. :) That is what they call Santa Claus in the U.K., then they were reviewing Christmas tree, presents, reindeer, etc. They did some book work to practice using these words, then it was off to breakfast, where I found out some upsetting news. Well, it really wasn't that upsetting, just ironic and kind of comical. Remember that exciting trip we went on to the mail box yesterday to send Christmas letters to the students' parents? Yea, well apparently the letters were too heavy for the postage that was on them so the majority of the letters came back to the school today..que triste! How unfortunate is that! Ah. I don't know what the school is going to do, but hopefully they can get them out again so they get to the parents by Christmas. Speaking of, Christmas is a week away..CRAZY!

Anyway, after the break, I got to hear the kindergartners practice their two songs, which are adorable. One is sung to the tune of Deck the Halls, but the lyrics are different because the words boughs, don, apparel, troll, yuletide, ye lads and lasses are just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Ha. Their second song is called El burrito de Belén (The donkey from Bethlehem). Have I mentioned yet that the majority of the Spanish Christmas carols are religious and about the birth of Jesus. Anyway, below is that wonderful song and whoever made the video has the English translation just for you!

After lunch, I got to spend most of the afternoon watching and helping the 1st graders prepare for their concert for their parents on Friday. We went to the gym and lined the students up and they sang both their English and Spanish songs a few times through. Then, we went back to the classroom and did some Christmas book work. When tomorrow comes, I was told that the majority of the day will be devoted to preparing for the Christmas party on Friday so that should be fun. I'm looking forward to that! Love Christmas!

After school, I only had one of my private lessons, so I went to that which went really well. The mom is so nice because it was raining when I went to leave and she insisted that I take an umbrella. So I did and I stayed dry the whole way home. Once I got home, I got a few things done that I wanted to before leaving this Saturday. I still have a few more things on my list to do, but at least I am crossing things off my list little by little. Now, I have been watching the finale for La Voz for quite awhile, but I plan to go to bed soon. I hope you all have good nights. Hasta mañana.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Fuimos de excursíon

This is probably going to be a short blog because I am tired and not much happened today. But anyway, today was filled with more Miley Cyrus, but also I got to listen to a few other songs, like Jingle Bells, so that was a nice change of pace. Also, the students are learning some Christmas vocabulary for fun so that is always fun to teach them. I think my favorite is that they mistake reindeer for Rudolph and I have to say, "No, Rudolph is a reindeer, but a reindeer is the animal." Whereas they think that Rudolph is the name of the type of animal. So cute. Also, I got to be in one class while they planned their Christmas party for this Friday and that was cool to see them get all excited about choosing food, music, games, and decorations for the party. At the end of the day, I went with three first grade classes to the mailbox. Yep, that's right. We took a field trip to the mailbox. :) This trip was so that they could put their Christmas letters to their parents in the mailbox. It was pretty exciting for them so I was excited, too. Plus, I got a whole Spanish lesson on the walk there and back. Some students kept saying "What's that?" and pointing at random things: tree, bench, rock, leaves, birds, train, etc. Then, I would answer them and then they would make me learn the word in Spanish. I hope that they at least retained one word of what I said in English. I think out of all of the words, they will remember train, because the word in Spanish is practically the same: tren.

Anyway, after school, I met with Esther to have our language exchange. I started to learn some Spanish idioms, but boy are some of them difficult and I will have to study them to really understand, remember, and know how to use them. The lessons went well and then Esther took me by the Plaza Mayor that is in Leganés, so we saw the pretty lights and there was a small ice rink there, also, which was cool. Then, I took the train home. Once home, I had an unexpected package waiting for me and it was a package from my boyfriend for my birthday. Here is what he got me...
MINION GLOVES!
Such a great present. Anyway, then I got started making dinner and then my night planned with things to do went down the...
First, a woman came to look at the apartment and stayed for over 45 minutes, which is great because she got to know us and I think she was really interested in the place, but normally it takes like 10 minutes to show our place and like I said, I had stuff to do. Plus, my dinner was done cooking right as she arrived, so it sat on the counter top cooling down while we got to know her. Haha. Hopefully, she comes to stay with us though. We will see. Anyway, after she left, I had to finally eat and then I got to talking to Lucia about Sevilla next week, which obviously got us talking about a lot of other things, so next thing I know, it's 11 p.m. and I have yet to get anything done, which isn't a huge deal. I think I will still have time for things later this week, but also I am tired so I need to go to bed asap. Anyway, that's that. I have to go. I hope you all had wonderful Mondays. Be jealous of my new handcrafted minion gloves! :P Goodnight!



Monday, December 16, 2013

Elf y TIE

Okay, so I'm going to put yesterday and today into one blog post because it's easier this way and not much happened during both days combined.

Yesterday, Sunday, I got up and wrote a blog and a half and I organized some of my pictures on my computer, which I know doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was for me. And it was on my long list of things to do before Friday, gah! After getting ready, I met Karin and Stephanie in Principe Pio, which is a metro stop/movie theater/mall and we went shopping. I bought some travel size toiletries for Christmas vacation and I bought a Christmas present for Lucia. Then we headed home on the bus and I relaxed at home for quite awhile. I wrote another blog and checked a few more things off my list, but I also wasted my time on Imgur. If you don't know what that is it is just a collection of (mostly funny) pictures online. I probably spent too much time on it and not enough time getting things done, but that's okay.

After a little while, Karin and Stephanie came over and we, along with Lucia, watched Elf and ate popcorn. We also colored, which was really fun! :) After the girls left, I skyped my parents, which was SO great! :D I definitely miss them and I know that they miss me, so it was good to talk to them for a little while. :) Anyway, that was the end of my day. After I hung up with my parents it was off to bed.
The picture that I colored :)
Today, Monday (my day off), I started my morning a little later than I wanted to, but it all turned out okay. First things first was to go and pick up my TIE (Tarjeta de Identificación Extranjera) with Stephanie, we waited about an hour in line to pick it up, which wasn't ideal, but at least we got our cards. Yay, that saves me a lot of trouble with traveling for Christmas, because now I can just flash that at the airport to get back into the country. :D After finally getting our cards, we went to the library to return some books, then I parted ways with Stephanie because I had a few more errands to run. I went to the bank so that they could get a copy of my pretty new card and then I went to a tobacco shop to get some tabacco stamps. Then, it was to the grocery store so that I have food to get me through the week and then I made my way home. My errands out and about took longer than I wanted to, but at least I got them done. This afternoon, I spent my time catching up on blogging and then I did my weekly chores, but I did more than that because my room was a pigsty and I started to clean out my closet with things that I want my boyfriend to take back to the U.S. when he comes to visit in 17 days, 10 hours, and 37 minutes. :) <-there's a countdown on my phone. :P Anyway, I cleaned and tidied up and then I went to Spanish class.

I learned something new tonight in class, like the fact that I am a cinéfila, which means movie buff. Haha. I think my dad (and mom) are probably in shock right now reading that "I learned something today." They used to always ask, "What did you learn in school today?" and my sister and I would always answer "Nothing." Then, we would get this big long lecture about how we were wasting their money by not learning. Okay, it wasn't really a lecture, but they would tell us that we were wasting their money. Well, I am here to say that I'm sorry for wasting your money in the past, but you should know that I did learn one thing while growing up. What's that, you may ask? Well, it was to not waste my own money! Ha. So sorry for wasting yours, but thanks for teaching me not to waste mine...hence the learning that happened in class tonight. :P

Anyway, after class I went to the Christmas market briefly with Stephanie. It was mostly all closed up by the time we went, but that was okay because there really was nothing that interested me. I would have liked to buy an ornament or something, but most of the ornaments were just balls and a lot of the stuff just looked cheap and was just standard Christmas stuff, not Spanish souvenir Christmas stuff. I should have known. Anyway, once home, I watched El Hormiguero; Ben Stiller was on for his new movie. I ate dinner and I have just been relaxing since then. I will be going to bed soon and I will be up and ready to sing Miley Cyrus all day tomorrow..yayyy....

Goodnight all!

Museo Guggenheim Bilbao

Okay, last, but not least, Karin and I's last day in Bilbao!

In the morning, we got up bright and early, we stopped at a bakery next door to get a croissant for breakfast and then we headed off to the Guggenheim Museum. I really don't have a lot to say about it, besides it was really cool! With our tickets, we were forced to get the audio guides for a little extra money, but I am SO thankful that we did! You could honestly go through the museum in an hour if you just briefly looked at the art, because the museum really isn't that big. However, because we got the audio guides, we spent several hours in the museum. It was great because we learned more about the works too! For example, one artist took famous works of art and eliminated all of the people, so it was just the landscape or the room. I never would have noticed that without the audio guide. Another artist, Erlea Maneros Zabala, who was both Karin and I's favorite, worked a lot with photography and news articles. The majority of her works were centered around mass media and how photos from the news are used to make something seem more beautiful or acceptable. For example, an explosion is a deadly and scary thing, however in a photo it can be seen as something beautiful. It was an interesting exhibit and probably one of my favorites out of the whole museum.
A man looking at the work of Erlea Maneros Zabala
This particular series was a series of photographs taken
of Zabala's computer screen of different museums
around the world. It was pretty cool.
My other favorite exhibit was one that is permanent called The Matter of Time designed by Richard Serra. It is a series of eight huge steel sculptures that are free standing. You can walk through them all. They consist of spirals, ellipses, curvy lines, etc. It was pretty cool and we spent a lot of time walking through them all. I think a cool thing about it (that I learned from the audio guide) is that Richard Serra just designs them, but they are obviously huge sculptures so a steel contractor has to build them.
 
One last thing that I like about the museum is that the rooms were huge! High ceilings, very big, and barely filled. It seemed like so much more art could go into the rooms, but I kind of liked that they were slightly bare. Plus it would take a full day to go through with the audio guide if there were more works of art.


Inside the Guggenheim
After the museum, Karin and I stopped at two places to get pintxos, which are pretty much tapas on bread. Before we went to Bilbao, everyone kept saying, "Try the pintxos." To be honest, I don't really know what was so special about them. It wouldn't be something important that I tell someone to do if they were going to go to Bilbao, but they were still good. After a little while of sitting at Lenny's apartment, we left Bilbao and our weekend was over. We made it back to Madrid a little after 10 p.m. and I just relaxed for the rest of the night. There you have it, three days in the north of Spain. It was fun, I would suggest it. Especially the Guggenheim and San Sebastián. Hasta luego.