día de andalucía

This Monday is the Día de Andalucía, but since Malaga has a vacation next week (I'm headed to Istanbul tomorrow!) my school celebrated Andalusia Day today. Andalusia is Malaga's autonomous community, there are seventeen in Spain overall and I'm guessing that people are just as fiercely proud of their own autonomous community as the Malagueños are of Andalusia. Andalusia is known for its agreeable climate, various terrain and tourism as well as for its fresh seafood, olive oil, wine, sherry, jamón serrano and jamón ibérico (serrano ham and iberian ham, different varities of cured ham). Andalusia was once part of the Islamic Empire, the original name was Al-Andalus, and therefore there are still many Moorish influences and cultural attractions, particularly the Alhambra in Granada and the Great Mosque (Mezquita) in Córdoba. Andalusia is also famous for flamenco, a traditional dance that originated in the region.

Today's celebration included traditional songs, poems and music from Andalusia as well as free traditional Andalusian breakfast, un bocadillo con jamón y aceite (sandwiches with ham and oil), obviously the food was my favorite part! I wanted a second sandwich but my coordinator told me she was too embarrassed to ask for another so I didn't feel the need to either...I'm still regretting it because they were delicious. A lot of the younger students dressed up in costume, mostly traditional flamenco outfits, although one girl was dressed as Frankenstein which none of the Spanish teachers understood so I didn't even bother trying to figure out why. The five year olds (some of whom I teach!) recited a poem and sang a song, and the whole school sang the Hymn of Andalusia...I felt really out of place as the only person not singing. I did clap and take lots of pictures though, so I think that made up for it.

The 5 year olds

The whole school on the patio

CEIP Eduardo Ocón

Maria with the green and white flag of Andalusia

The girls of 2B, my favorite class

Las gitanas

The boys of 2B

the motherland

In complete contrast to the fall when I stayed in Malaga virtually every weekend, February and March are full of travel for me. I started in Seville and then this past weekend made a long overdue visit to Leicester ("Lester"), England to visit my family. We had a seven person Williams family reunion, the only people missing were my mom (mum?) and Char. Even though the circle was incomplete I had a great time catching up with my family, some of whom I hadn't seen since August 2005 (even though everyone made fun of my accent all weekend) and doing a whole lot of nothing. England, as everyone's aware, isn't known for its weather, so the typical cold, rainy Midlands winter was the perfect excuse to stay inside, watch TV, read, talk and eat. While I love the food in Spain, it was nice to get away from the constant incorporation of ham into every meal for a few days. I also got to stock up on my favorite English snacks! Even though Erica thinks they sound like made-up food straight out of Harry Potter, I assure you that Jaffa Cakes, Wine Gums, Liquorice Allsorts and Fruit Pastilles are real and delicious.

The pictures below probably won't amuse anyone who isn't a part of the Williams/McChrystal/Saguez/Thompson clan, but for those select and special few - here you go!

The boy cousins and Ran/Granny

Williams ladies, minus Jood

Family dinner

With the American

Williams clan

sevilla!

This weekend three friends and I went to Sevilla (Seville) for a night, and it was so much fun. I studied abroad in Sevilla in 2007 and had forgotten how much I loved the city. It's very different from Malaga, it has a slightly more "Spanish" feel because there are fewer tourists, and it's the capital of Andalucia so there are a lot of cultural and historical attractions. The big things to see are the Cathedral, which is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, the Giralda, the bell tower next to the Cathedral, the Plaza de España, and the Plaza de Toros among others. Determined to be the best tourists possible, after dropping our bags at the hostel we set off to explore. First stop, the Cathedral.

The Catedral de Sevilla is the third largest church in the world, and it's hard to convey just how big that is without standing inside the structure. Originally the site was home to a mosque constructed in the 1100s, but the cathedral was begun in 1401 and finished roughly 100 years later. The cathedral is absolutely stunning. The Gothic arches are massive, it's highest point is 138 feet, and there are intricate stained glass windows, wood carvings and small chapels all over the building.

Catedral de Sevilla

Catedral

The largest Gothic cathedral in the world

Altar de Plata

Catedral

Determined tourists

Catedral and part of the Giralda

Next to the Cathedral is the Giralda, or bell tower. The Giralda is 343 feet tall, and this weekend was the fourth time I've climbed it. As someone who doesn't like heights, I think that's a pretty good accomplishment considering I'm fairly certain grows each time. The upside is that on a clear day like we got, you can see for miles and the view is pretty spectacular, as long as you don't look down. I made that mistake the first time I climbed it - terrifying.

Bull ring from the Giralda

Sevilla

The views are worth the height

On the way up!

After our cultural excursion we headed down to the Guadalquivir River for some Sevillan food. Amidst our croquetas (mandatory), adobo, chicken and beer, all four of us decided that our weekend trip was a fantastic decision. Then we took a pedalboat out on the river to see the city and play chicken against some Spanish teens. I think we won! We couldn't have asked for a better day to relax on the water and pedal around a Spanish river. My life is not real.

View from our pedalboat

Just a casual Saturday lunch

Our driver for all of 10 minutes...

Rio Guadalquivir

The Plaza de España was built in 1929 for the Ibero-American Exposition World's Fair. Located inside the Parque Maria Luisa, the main building is a semi-circle designed to show Spain's cultural and technological exploits. There are many alcoves representing various Spanish provinces that have been decorated with intricate ceramic designs, as Sevilla is known for its ceramic work. The Plaza is one of my favorite locations in Sevilla, even though I didn't visit this time. I had a very good reason though, I was having lunch at my host parents' (better known as Meli & Nessy) house!

On Saturday after lunch we decided to poke around in the famous Triana ceramic stores. Unfortunately, they don't reopen after siesta but we continued wandering to my host family's house. I hadn't talked to them since we left in December 2007, not for lack of wanting but they're not so good with technology, so I had no idea if they still lived there or whatnot. Anyhow, I buzzed their apartment with no answer but then I heard the front door of the building unlock. I decided I would just run upstairs and knock on their door. Maybe they were siesta-ing or something, but I had to try. However, the people who unlocked the door were in fact, Meli and Nessy! After recovering from their shock at seeing me and exchanging hugs, kisses and a few shouts of Hija!!! (My daughter!!) they invited me back for lunch on Sunday. Not only do I love them, but Ernesto (Nessy) is a chef, so how could I say no? I still can't get over how perfect our timing was, I'm sure people are sick of my talking about it but after that experience, fate (or something like it) is real.

Me, Meli and Nessy

On Saturday night we went to an amazing flamenco show organized by our hostel before going out for all of one hour and then calling it a night. After a long day of climbing, walking, pedaling and sightseeing, we were beat. Sunday was a more relaxed day with my friends heading off to the Plaza de España and me venturing back to Triana to catch up with my Spanish family. A lot has happened in the past few years including a wedding, a baby on the way, new boyfriends, girlfriends, new businesses and thankfully, the faithful bulldog Gordo (yes, that means fat) is still alive. My weekend in Sevilla was undoubtedly one of my favorites of this entire experience, here are some more pictures!

Sevilla

Sevilla

A flamenco show in the street

Plaza Nueva (so excited that I remembered the name!)

Beware of the small blond, she's fiesty

paella on the playa

Sundays in Andalucia are extremely boring. Everything (save for a handful of restaurants) is closed. The European equivalent of Target (Carrefour) is closed, the gym closes at 2. The Spanish take the idea of Sunday being a "day of rest" very seriously. Therefore Sundays are usually spent in a cafe preparing lessons for the week or lying on my couch catching up on American TV. Spanish TV is terrible, even the Spaniards think so. But last Sunday my friends and I took the day into our own hands and walked to a neighborhood of Malaga called Pedregalejo. It's residential and quieter than the center of town, so it was a nice break from the constant noise around my apartment. The beach is lined with restaurants, mostly specializing in seafood (shocking) and paella, a Spanish specialty. Paella is a rice based dish with saffron, vegetables and a selection of meats. Typically paella includes a lot of seafood, but the cook can throw in anything they like to a paella pan. The six of us happily spent most of our Sunday afternoon sitting on the beach indulging in paella, adobo (lemon fish) and cerveza con limon (beer with lemon). Those of you currently experiencing the snowpocalypse may want to avoid the pictures below.

Mixed seafood paella

Gina, Becky and Lucy

En route in Pedregalejo

Also, for any who has been wondering what my beloved croquetas look like, here is a picture. These are delicious mushroom croquetas. Recently I've sampled chicken croquetas and spinach croquetas in addition to the traditional ham ones. Life's tough.

Croquetas!