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

a brief clarification

Those of you who've been reading my travel updates from the start (Hi, Mom) may be wondering why I've changed my blog's name a couple of times. Basically, I didn't like the other ones, and you can't just make brilliance appear whenever you'd like. I actually don't think my current (and hopefully) final title is anything near brilliant but it does encapsulate my life in Spain pretty well. Here, my life is about 50% croquetas and 50% confusion. What are croquetas?, you may ask. Answer: they're heaven. A typical Spanish food, they're fried balls of cream and ham. They're absolutely delicious and a balanced part of my diet. Cream=dairy, ham=protein, olive oil (for frying)=omega-3s. Basically if you grab a couple fruits or veggies every day croquetas can be healthy center of your balanced diet. I'm working on surveying the various croquetas around the city in order to find the perfect plate. So far there is a clear leader, but I've been directed to another location by my friend, another croqueta fiend, and I'm trying them tonight to celebrate the end of law school applications and the start of "the long wait". Fingers crossed, please.

The second half of the name, confusion, is pretty self-explanatory. Although my Spanish is improving every day I still find myself a step or so behind in most conversations. For example, this morning, I finally sucked up the 60 euro membership fee to join the nearby gym because it's too windy and cold to run outside now, and in my attempts to get my "abono" I ended up in a five minute exchange in which I thought I was talking about a social security card but the man behind the desk was actually asking me for my health insurance card. Sadly, I had neither with me, but since it's Spain they let me join anyway as long as I promise to bring it next time I go. Such trusting people, the Spaniards.

In other updates, the kids at my school are still crazy. Last week a ten year old with a fauxhawk winked at me in the middle of my lesson. It was not an accidental "I-have-something-in-my-eye" kind of wink, but a full on, head tilted, come on kind of a wink. I was so floored that had I been talking (we were playing Hangman, a classroom favorite) I probably would have had one of my ever so flattering coughing fits. Tutoring is going well, my students are so nice and eager to learn. It's also a nice opportunity to practice Spanish with their parents and get some snacks! Last week I got a slice of homemade cake and yesterday a Mantecado. Mantecados are traditional Christmas treats; slightly doughy, slightly sugary cookies about 2 inches across and an inch and a half high. My host mother in Sevilla always used to bring them to me and my roommate and we loved them. Last night I had a cinnamon flavored one. The parents tell me that because I'm tall I can eat a lot and therefore they give me lots of food. I don't counter them.

I realized that I never posted anything about Halloween, so here is a brief synopsis. Spaniards, who love any and all excuses to party, take Halloween very seriously. Despite the fact that they just started celebrating about five years ago they've wasted no time creating their own traditions. Our impression that Spaniards dress up as scary creatures was correct; foreigners, however, don't. Therefore, in comparison to our other friends dressed as fairies, doctors and the like, we looked terrifying. Credit to my friend Gina for the amazing makeup, but wow, we looked insane.

Heartbreaking.