5 Down

The 8th of February marked the halfway point of my journey here in Spain. What a ride it has been. It has challenged me more than I ever could have imagined, yet taught me just as much. I am so excited to see what these next five months have in store. 

And again, a blog post that has been extremely delayed. I finally got around to writing about my holidays in Spain.

For Christmas, my host family and I flew up to Bilbao, a city in the north of Spain, to visit family. The weather in the south had been very warm-- almost 70 degrees F, much warmer than I am used to in the middle of December. Walking along the beach in the sun was fantastic, but also meant that it didn't feel like winter at all, so I was looking forward to some chilly weather to maybe force some holiday cheer into my veins via runny nose and numb fingers. However that wish was not granted, as it was a mediocre 60-65 degrees when we arrived to Bilbao, and I was left sweating in my jacket on the 25th of december while my friends and family back home had a wet, frosty day by the fire.

Though one day we did get a little fog.

Naturally I had a very hard time getting into the “Christmas spirit” this year. I consider it one of my favourite feelings, normally provoked by the smell of pine and the constant stream of goodies from my mom’s prolific oven, to the sounds of Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole and the fire bursting to life, to the lights and decorations and spending time with family and friends. I barely realized it was December, and without candy canes and mall Santas, the 25th came and went almost like a normal day.

Nevertheless, I was happy to be experiencing Christmas in Spain. This Christmas was, as to be expected, very different from the one I'm used to. I found it to be a much smaller affair, though I'm not sure if that's due to the culture or specific to my host family. Santa Claus has previously not been a part of Spanish Christmas, but nowadays some parents will give their kinds a few small stocking stuffers. Some people put Christmas trees up, (plastic, of course)  and some people don't-- it was our au pair Janja's first Christmas away from home as well, so we assembled a little artificial green tree to once again try to generate that elusive Christmas feeling.

Christmas tree in Spain

Christmas tree in California

Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena, is celebrated much more than Christmas day, so on the night of the 24th we went to my host aunt's house to eat dinner with my host mom's four sisters and their families. It was a night of totally new experiences. There was an astounding amount of food, including plate after plate of Jamón Iberico and different types of seafood. I tried escargót, baby eels and had my first ever glass of champagne. 

It was an evening of much discussion, laughter, dancing and family, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, although my mind kept drifting off to little Saratoga and my stocking, sitting on the mantel of the fireplace, unhung; the copy of the Polar Express, still tucked away in the closet, unwatched; and my family, sitting together around the tree, without me.  On Christmas morning, I woke up early to open a letter and a care package that had arrived in time, and spent 15 minutes sitting on my futon, crying silently while playing "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Bing Crosby over and over again, eating my aunt's delicious homemade caramels. No shame. After my little meltdown, I had a great rest of the day, with more family and more food. Even though I missed my family and our Christmas together dearly, I was very happy to be experiencing Christmas in Spain.

The family dancing

Angulitas, AKA baby eels

Escargót

I don't even know what they are...

On the 5th of January I got to experience a whole new holiday: Los Rayos Magos, aka Three King's Day. More akin to our Christmas, children put their shoes out on the night of the 4th, along with sweet wine and grass, and the three kings come on camel back to leave children either presents or coal by their shoes. I opened my presents from los Reyes (some really nice gloves for sailing and pajamas) and ate El Roscón de Reyes, a traditional cake which contains a little trinket inside. Whoever gets the trinket in their piece is normally obligated to pay for the next year's Roscón. 

A present from Los Reyes

El Roscón

A funny story-- The Reyes each have names ("Melchor", "Gaspar" and "Baltasar"). Baltasar is normally depicted with darker skin, whether it be tan or black. One day I went to see a parade in downtown Málaga for the three kings, and for the finale each of the kings came out on their own float. The Reyes each have names ("Melchor", "Gaspar" and "Baltasar"). Baltasar is normally depicted with darker skin, whether it be tan or black. Each time the first two kings passed by, the crowd chanted their names: "Melchor! Gaspar!". Then when Baltasar came along as the last king, the crowd started to chant "moreno! moreno!" which is translated as "dark skinned person" or "black person". I was slightly horrified to see that the king was not, in fact, a dark skinned person, but rather a olive skinned spanish man covered in black- not brown, black- face paint. 

Overall, the holidays turned out really well for me. I am so grateful to have gotten to experience new traditions, celebrations and a whole new culture. I'm looking forward to every other experience this year throws at me. For now, I'll leave you-- thanks for reading. Besitos y suerte a todos. All the best.

Fun Facts:

A widely followed tradition here is putting together a Belén (aka nativity scene). Special booths are erected in downtown that sell little handmade figurines, items and sceneries, and families assemble extensive scenes depicting parts of the Christmas story or simply life in the Jesus's time. I saw some stunning and incredibly elaborate Beléns over the course of "las fiestas", such as the one shown below. 

Belén

Another fun tradition is "las uvas de la suerta" ("the grapes of luck"). On New Year's Eve during the last 12 seconds before midnight, everyone eats twelve grapes which are said to bring luck during the next year. By the time the countdown ends, everyone's mouths are stuffed with dripping, half chewed "uvas", and go around to kiss everyone on the cheek and give well wishes as they choke down the rest of their grapes.