For those of you that didn't know, I am going to be leaving Spain soon! Tuesday, May 31st is my last day at the school...next Tuesday! So you all have one whole week to wish me off. I won't be leaving for the USA right away so you may see me around town even. I will be leaving June 8th and headed back to Seattle.
I have decided to try some other opportunites for next year so I won't be back here in Lucena. Instead I'm going to find a job in Latin America for a few months. I'm still looking for a job that I'd really like so that's why I'm not sure what country I will be in yet. Do you have any favorite places in Latin America?
I've have really enjoyed my time here in Lucena so thank you EVERYONE for making it so enjoyable. I have learned SO much about Spanish culture, food, language and much more. From all my traveling I have also been able to see so many places different than Lucena...in fact I just got back from Llanes (Asturias) this morning, I went for the weekend and LOVED IT! I can't wait to be able to spend the rest of my time here seeing a little bit more of Spain and then planning trips for the next time I come to visit Spain. Thanks again to everyone! I will miss ALL of you!
Side note: For those of you who do not know, I also have another blog where I post my trips. If you'd like to see where I've been and see some pictures you can check out my personal blog at:
alexisgoestospain.blogspot.com
(it's a bit more complicated because I use a lot of colloquial writing but you can always ask me questions if you don't understand)
May 23, 2011
May 17, 2011
Aquarium in Valencia (video)
As I mentioned before my boyfriend, Mike, and I went to Valencia during the long weekend of May. We visited many places and one of them was the Oceanografic (aquarium)! I have made a video of our trip there. I hope you enjoy it...
What kind of animals do you seen in the video? Which is your favorite one?
If you want to learn the names of the animals in English check out these websites:
http://www.languageguide.org/ingl%C3%A9s/vocabulario/animales-del-mar/
http://www.theyellowpencil.com/losacuaticos.html#
http://www.theenglishvocabulary.com/vocabulary.php?lang=3&topic=109
Do you want to test your knowledge? Take the quiz on the website below:
http://iteslj.org/v/s/ab-animals-sea.html (English-Spanish)
http://iteslj.org/v/s/ab-animals-sea.html (Spanish-English)
I thought the aquarium was amazing and my favorite sea animals there were the beluga whale and turtles. Mike really liked the sharks and penguins. We would love to come back and see it again sometime! Have you been to an aquarium before? Have you been to the one in Valencia? Tell me what you thought about it.
What kind of animals do you seen in the video? Which is your favorite one?
If you want to learn the names of the animals in English check out these websites:
http://www.languageguide.org/ingl%C3%A9s/vocabulario/animales-del-mar/
http://www.theyellowpencil.com/losacuaticos.html#
http://www.theenglishvocabulary.com/vocabulary.php?lang=3&topic=109
Do you want to test your knowledge? Take the quiz on the website below:
http://iteslj.org/v/s/ab-animals-sea.html (English-Spanish)
http://iteslj.org/v/s/ab-animals-sea.html (Spanish-English)
I thought the aquarium was amazing and my favorite sea animals there were the beluga whale and turtles. Mike really liked the sharks and penguins. We would love to come back and see it again sometime! Have you been to an aquarium before? Have you been to the one in Valencia? Tell me what you thought about it.
May 16, 2011
Summertime
Summer is coming!!! Although it's still Spring time it's beginning to get warm and feel like summer...well at least for me. In fact it's probably warmer here now than most of the days in summer in Seattle. Anyways, I wanted to tell you all a little bit about how we spend our summers in Seattle...i'm sure you will notice some similarities and differences between what you do here in Spain and what we do in the US (specifically Seattle).
First of all, its usually not very warm during the summer but that means it's also not TOO hot! The average temperature in Seattle during the summer ranges from 20º C to 24º C (69-75ºF). The hottest temperature it got last year (for one day...) was 35ºC (95ºF) but that's not normal and on those days everyone feels like they're going to die because it's so hot for them. So obviously it's much colder in Seattle than in Lucena during the summer.
Now that you know the weather I can tell you a little bit about what activites we do. There are many different activities to do during summer but some that I do include canoeing on the lake; having BBQ's (barbecues) where we grill food like corn, hamburgers, chicken in BBQ sauce and much more; going to the park; swimming at the lake (not very often though); and sometimes sunbathing. I also always work during the summer so I get busy with that. There are many other things to do too like ride your bike, go to a baseball game, go to summer camp (which I did as a kid) or go to the pool.
What do you do during your summer here in Lucena?
Since it's a big city, there are always things to do and there are many events to see, like concerts and sporting events. My favorite event during the summer is called Bumbershoot. It happens every year in Seattle during Labor Day weekend (the beginning of September). The festival is filled with LOTS of music, food and tons of people. To learn more about the festival you can look at their website:
http://bumbershoot.org/
Do you go to any festivals or concerts during the summer?
First of all, its usually not very warm during the summer but that means it's also not TOO hot! The average temperature in Seattle during the summer ranges from 20º C to 24º C (69-75ºF). The hottest temperature it got last year (for one day...) was 35ºC (95ºF) but that's not normal and on those days everyone feels like they're going to die because it's so hot for them. So obviously it's much colder in Seattle than in Lucena during the summer.
Now that you know the weather I can tell you a little bit about what activites we do. There are many different activities to do during summer but some that I do include canoeing on the lake; having BBQ's (barbecues) where we grill food like corn, hamburgers, chicken in BBQ sauce and much more; going to the park; swimming at the lake (not very often though); and sometimes sunbathing. I also always work during the summer so I get busy with that. There are many other things to do too like ride your bike, go to a baseball game, go to summer camp (which I did as a kid) or go to the pool.
What do you do during your summer here in Lucena?
Since it's a big city, there are always things to do and there are many events to see, like concerts and sporting events. My favorite event during the summer is called Bumbershoot. It happens every year in Seattle during Labor Day weekend (the beginning of September). The festival is filled with LOTS of music, food and tons of people. To learn more about the festival you can look at their website:
http://bumbershoot.org/
Do you go to any festivals or concerts during the summer?
May 10, 2011
Have you seen Mike?
Last week some of you may have seen my boyfriend, Mike. I brought him into the school last Wednesday because he was visiting from the USA! Unfortunately he just left on Monday so I won't be able to bring him in again, but i thought I could tell you about some of the trips we took.
Mike was here for 20 days! So we had a lot of time to travel around different cities in Spain. He arrived to Madrid the Monday of Holy Week (Semana Santa) and I met him there. First we visited Toledo (it was beautiful!) and then we came back down to Lucena. During Holy Week we stayed mostly in Lucena and saw the big procession on Thursday. It was very fun and Mike really liked seeing it since they don't have processions in the US. We also visited Baena on Friday of Holy week but all of the processions were canceled so we didn't get to see the Colinegros and Coliblancos :(
The next week was a holiday weekend so we went to Barcelona and then DROVE down to Valencia! We got to visit the Oceanografic and Bioparc! Both were VERY fun. On our way back up to Barcelona we also stopped in Sagunto and then stayed one night in Peñíscola. The whole trip was very fun and we got to see so many things and places!
This past weekend was Mike's last weekend in Spain so we went to Granada and visited my friends. We walked around many places in the city and the old neighborhoods. We also spent a lot of time with my friends and even we to have tea and crepes in a Moroccan tea place.
Mike had to leave on Sunday night to Madrid but him and I both had a great time here in Spain together. He told me he can't wait to come back and visit!
Mike was here for 20 days! So we had a lot of time to travel around different cities in Spain. He arrived to Madrid the Monday of Holy Week (Semana Santa) and I met him there. First we visited Toledo (it was beautiful!) and then we came back down to Lucena. During Holy Week we stayed mostly in Lucena and saw the big procession on Thursday. It was very fun and Mike really liked seeing it since they don't have processions in the US. We also visited Baena on Friday of Holy week but all of the processions were canceled so we didn't get to see the Colinegros and Coliblancos :(
The next week was a holiday weekend so we went to Barcelona and then DROVE down to Valencia! We got to visit the Oceanografic and Bioparc! Both were VERY fun. On our way back up to Barcelona we also stopped in Sagunto and then stayed one night in Peñíscola. The whole trip was very fun and we got to see so many things and places!
This past weekend was Mike's last weekend in Spain so we went to Granada and visited my friends. We walked around many places in the city and the old neighborhoods. We also spent a lot of time with my friends and even we to have tea and crepes in a Moroccan tea place.
Mike had to leave on Sunday night to Madrid but him and I both had a great time here in Spain together. He told me he can't wait to come back and visit!
Apr 25, 2011
Semana Santa vs. Easter
I hope everyone had a wonderful Holy Week (Semana Santa)! Since I didn't have a chance to talk about Easter in the U.S., I thought I could share some info with you all now...how does that sound?
Well, this last Sunday (April 24th) was Easter and in the states it's celebrated very different than here in Spain. First of all, "Holy Week," which is Semana Santa, doesn't exist in the states. So this year was the first time I had ever celebrated Holy Week and seen processions from it (and they were beautiful!). We do have a week of vacations (only for students) but it's not to celebrate any holiday, only to have a break for the schools- it's called Spring Break. Second, Easter is only one day, Sunday. It's not really celebrated at all other than that day. Let me go ahead and explain how exactly we celebrate Easter Sunday...
Each family celebrates differently but there are some similarities between many families. The most important thing that everyone does is go to church. Many people don't go to church the rest of the year but EVERYONE goes on Easter Sunday. Church only last about an hour or two and then the rest of the day is usually spent with the family. Many families have a special dinner together and do other activities with the family. Some fun activites include dying hard-boiled eggs, decorating cookies with a "Easter theme," and doing Easter egg hunts. Almost all families with children ALWAYS do an Easter egg hunt and even sometimes adults do it for fun- I just did one 2 years ago with a friend! In case you don't know what an easter egg hunt is, it's where one person (or more) hides eggs all over the house (inside or out) or park area. Then all the children (or adults) go and search for the eggs. Usually the eggs are plastic with candy or toys inside but sometimes people use decorated hard-boiled eggs too. The person that collects the most eggs wins a prize (there are also usually second place and third place prizes as well). This is a very fun activity for everyone!
One other very important thing about Easter are "Easter baskets." These are colorful baskets that children receive and they're filled with chocolate bunnies, hard-boiled eggs, toys, jelly beans and other goodies. This is another very important part of Easter but is mostly for kids.
Those are the most important parts of Easter in the U.S. and obviously VERY different from the celebrations in Spain (and the rest of the world for that matter). Let me know if you have any questions. I have had a lot of fun being able to see how Easter week is celebrated here and learn about all the traditions that I didn't know about! Even with all the rain, it has been very fun. Happy Easter everyone!
Well, this last Sunday (April 24th) was Easter and in the states it's celebrated very different than here in Spain. First of all, "Holy Week," which is Semana Santa, doesn't exist in the states. So this year was the first time I had ever celebrated Holy Week and seen processions from it (and they were beautiful!). We do have a week of vacations (only for students) but it's not to celebrate any holiday, only to have a break for the schools- it's called Spring Break. Second, Easter is only one day, Sunday. It's not really celebrated at all other than that day. Let me go ahead and explain how exactly we celebrate Easter Sunday...
Each family celebrates differently but there are some similarities between many families. The most important thing that everyone does is go to church. Many people don't go to church the rest of the year but EVERYONE goes on Easter Sunday. Church only last about an hour or two and then the rest of the day is usually spent with the family. Many families have a special dinner together and do other activities with the family. Some fun activites include dying hard-boiled eggs, decorating cookies with a "Easter theme," and doing Easter egg hunts. Almost all families with children ALWAYS do an Easter egg hunt and even sometimes adults do it for fun- I just did one 2 years ago with a friend! In case you don't know what an easter egg hunt is, it's where one person (or more) hides eggs all over the house (inside or out) or park area. Then all the children (or adults) go and search for the eggs. Usually the eggs are plastic with candy or toys inside but sometimes people use decorated hard-boiled eggs too. The person that collects the most eggs wins a prize (there are also usually second place and third place prizes as well). This is a very fun activity for everyone!
One other very important thing about Easter are "Easter baskets." These are colorful baskets that children receive and they're filled with chocolate bunnies, hard-boiled eggs, toys, jelly beans and other goodies. This is another very important part of Easter but is mostly for kids.
Those are the most important parts of Easter in the U.S. and obviously VERY different from the celebrations in Spain (and the rest of the world for that matter). Let me know if you have any questions. I have had a lot of fun being able to see how Easter week is celebrated here and learn about all the traditions that I didn't know about! Even with all the rain, it has been very fun. Happy Easter everyone!
Apr 12, 2011
Bounjour
I have returned from a weekend in Paris! I thought it was amazing. Have you ever been to Paris? If you haven't been there yet I recommend that you visit sometime. The city is very big and everything is very different than in Spain, and especially different than Lucena. The people there are very diverse, meaning that there are people from all over the world and everyone dresses very different. You can see all types of people there- it reminds me of Seattle even!
I was only in Paris for a weekend but I was able to see many attractions there. I saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur and MUCH more! My friend and I even went into Louis Vuitton and looked around- it's beatiful inside. Feel free to ask me about where else I went and I will be sure to tell you. I also got a chance to eat crepes, croissants, frech cheese, and the famous macarons. The entire trip was great and I can't wait until I can go back again!
Au revoir!
I was only in Paris for a weekend but I was able to see many attractions there. I saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur and MUCH more! My friend and I even went into Louis Vuitton and looked around- it's beatiful inside. Feel free to ask me about where else I went and I will be sure to tell you. I also got a chance to eat crepes, croissants, frech cheese, and the famous macarons. The entire trip was great and I can't wait until I can go back again!
Au revoir!
Apr 6, 2011
France anyone?
I thought I would let you know that this weekend I am going to PARIS! Have you ever visited Paris? If you have please tell me what you liked the most. I have never been before and am very excited to see what it is like. I will be visiting a friend and hopefully she will be able to show me many fun and exciting places. Since I've never been before I've decided to do some searching on the Internet to see what I must see in Paris. This is what I've found:
Must sees-
Eiffel Tower
The Louvre
Notre Dame Cathedral
Musée d'Orsay
Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées
The Sorbornne (university) and the Latin Quarter
Centre Georges Pompidou
Sacre Coeur
Père Lachaise Cemetary
Seine River
I will be very busy! Do you have any suggestions on what I should see? I will only have a few days there but it should be a wonderful time! I also hope to learn a few words in french...let's start with this one- A bientôt!
Must sees-
Eiffel Tower
The Louvre
Notre Dame Cathedral
Musée d'Orsay
Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées
The Sorbornne (university) and the Latin Quarter
Centre Georges Pompidou
Sacre Coeur
Père Lachaise Cemetary
Seine River
I will be very busy! Do you have any suggestions on what I should see? I will only have a few days there but it should be a wonderful time! I also hope to learn a few words in french...let's start with this one- A bientôt!
Mar 30, 2011
Responding to some questions…
I had a few comments to my last post and wanted to answer them here. First of all, I’ve never known the history of April Fools day so I decided to do some research. I found a website (April Fool's Day History) that tells about the possible history. They say that no one is completely sure about why we celebrate the day on April 1st. One possible reason is because the Gregorian Calendar (also known as the Western or Christian calendar) was introduced around 1582 and changed New Year´s Day from March 25-April 1 (a week) to January 1. Back then communication was very slow to travel so it took years for this change to happen. Some people decided to be rebellious and refused to celebrate the “new” New Years Day and continued to celebrate it on April 1. Those people were called “fools” and people played practical jokes on them that day.
Other places also celebrate the day (many times on different dates) such as in Rome (on March 25 they celebrate Hilaria), India (on March 31 they celebrate the Huli Festival) and Portugal (the celebration is the Sunday or Monday before lent and they celebrate by throwing flour at their friends). France also celebrates the day on April 1 and they call it Poisson d'Avril (meaning “April fish”). Here’s another website that talks about when and how people celebrate this day in other countries: Fools Around the World
ENJOY!
Other places also celebrate the day (many times on different dates) such as in Rome (on March 25 they celebrate Hilaria), India (on March 31 they celebrate the Huli Festival) and Portugal (the celebration is the Sunday or Monday before lent and they celebrate by throwing flour at their friends). France also celebrates the day on April 1 and they call it Poisson d'Avril (meaning “April fish”). Here’s another website that talks about when and how people celebrate this day in other countries: Fools Around the World
ENJOY!
Mar 28, 2011
April Fools Day
This Friday is the 1st of April and in the U.S. it's also a "holiday" called April Fools Day. What is that? Well, on this day people play tricks and jokes on other people. People play tricks like: exchanging the sugar for salt so that when you add it to your coffee, it's sour; placing a whoopy cushion on chairs; and much more! Every year people play different jokes and even some companies participate in this day. Check out this website for more examples: http://www.aprilfools.com/
So what day is similar to this in Spain? December 28th, el Día de los Santos Inocentes! Now you can celebrate this day TWICE a year!
So what day is similar to this in Spain? December 28th, el Día de los Santos Inocentes! Now you can celebrate this day TWICE a year!
Mar 21, 2011
Baena, Baena, Baena...
This weekend was another busy one for me. I originally wanted to go see Las Fallas but couldn´t find anyone to go with me so instead I visited a friend in Baena. I´m not sure if you knew but this last weekend there was the San Jose festival (Saturday). So I headed out Friday afternoon and met up with my friend. That night was the big celebration and LOTS of people were out...playing their drums! The entire night was crazy with people playing their drums from the afternoon into early morning hours. I even heard people still playing at 9am! We had a lot of fun and the next day slept in from all of the craziness the night before. Since people were out so late on Friday everything was very quiet on Saturday. We didn´t do much either but that night we saw a play. The play was Baena´s view of what happened during Easter and it was very interesting to watch.
My whole weekend in the small town of Baena was very fun and I´m excited to go back with my boyfriend during Holy Week to see the drums again!
My whole weekend in the small town of Baena was very fun and I´m excited to go back with my boyfriend during Holy Week to see the drums again!
Mar 14, 2011
A rainy weekend
This past weekend was the last weekend that my mom was in Spain with me. We did more traveling but this time we headed over to Seville and Cadiz! This was also my first time to both the cities as well and I loved them. On Friday we were in Seville and we went to the cathedral, Plaza España and a few other tourist attractions there. Unfortunately it was raining all weekend in Seville so we tried to stay inside as much as possible. The next day, on Saturday, we headed over to Cadiz! Since it was raining in Seville I expected rain in Cadiz also but much to my surprise it was sunny! We spent all day wandering around Cadiz and watching people walk by in their costumes for carnaval. We had a lot of fun and saw some GREAT costumes! That night we came back to Seville and spent part of the next day, Sunday, at the Royal Alcázares. It was beautiful! We had to leave early because our train to Malaga left in the afternoon. My mom had a flight that night so I went to the airport with her and then headed back to Lucena. We had a great weekend and I can´t wait to go visit Seville and Cadiz again!
Mar 8, 2011
Traveling!
My parents arrived in Lucena about 2 weeks ago and we have been traveling all over. We have been to Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Cordoba, Granada, Ronda and even Toledo! It has been a very busy past 2 weeks and I´m exhausted! My parents will be leaving soon so hopefully I will be able to catch up on some sleep but I have had a lot of fun with them though. I´m going to tell you a little bit about our trips around Spain.
When my parents got here we just hit the ground running, meaning they got here and pretty much the next day we started with our traveling without giving them much time to rest. However they have adapted well to the schedule including the meal times and naps haha. They have love so much about Spain and wish they could stay longer. Anyways, talking about the trips, the first place we went to was Barcelona. I absolutely LOVED Barcelona and so did my parents. We saw the Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, the big statue of Christopher Columbus, the market, Picasso´s museum, Park Guell and other random parts of the city...all of this in 3 days! We just stayed busy and it didn´t stop there. After the 3 days in Barcelona we headed to Madrid for another 2 days. There we visited some museums (Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofia), ate some churros and chocolate, visited the botanical gardens and explored some random parts of the city. We had so much fun and I know my parents would love to come back and see more since we only had a few days in each place.
This last weekend we had even MORE adventures in Granda, Ronda and Cordoba. We saw all the main attactions such as the Alhambra, Albaicin, Plaza de Toros (Ronda), El Tajo, Mezquita and oh so much more! I made sure that when we were in Granda we went to tapas bars all over and we had so much fun doing that.
Overall all of our travels were a ton of fun and we are all now pretty sleep deprived...but we can always sleep later! I will be traveling even more over my last few months here so I will make sure to keep you updated on those travels as I do them. Now to go get some rest!
When my parents got here we just hit the ground running, meaning they got here and pretty much the next day we started with our traveling without giving them much time to rest. However they have adapted well to the schedule including the meal times and naps haha. They have love so much about Spain and wish they could stay longer. Anyways, talking about the trips, the first place we went to was Barcelona. I absolutely LOVED Barcelona and so did my parents. We saw the Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, the big statue of Christopher Columbus, the market, Picasso´s museum, Park Guell and other random parts of the city...all of this in 3 days! We just stayed busy and it didn´t stop there. After the 3 days in Barcelona we headed to Madrid for another 2 days. There we visited some museums (Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofia), ate some churros and chocolate, visited the botanical gardens and explored some random parts of the city. We had so much fun and I know my parents would love to come back and see more since we only had a few days in each place.
This last weekend we had even MORE adventures in Granda, Ronda and Cordoba. We saw all the main attactions such as the Alhambra, Albaicin, Plaza de Toros (Ronda), El Tajo, Mezquita and oh so much more! I made sure that when we were in Granda we went to tapas bars all over and we had so much fun doing that.
Overall all of our travels were a ton of fun and we are all now pretty sleep deprived...but we can always sleep later! I will be traveling even more over my last few months here so I will make sure to keep you updated on those travels as I do them. Now to go get some rest!
Feb 14, 2011
Happy Valentine´s Day!
Today, February 14th, is Valentine´s Day and it is celebrated world-wide. In the United States every celebrates this day with things like red roses, hearts, chocolates and items of love. In the elementary schools it is common for children to bring little cards with candy attached to their classes. Then they exchange the cards and candy with their friends. If you like someone you can make and give them something special too.
Many people also go out for dinner with their girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife to celebrate the day. It is very common to give your friends and loved ones a small gift of chocolate or something "of love" since Valentine´s Day is a day of love. If someone doesn´t receive anything special on this day many times they get sad because they may feel unloved. Some people also don´t like to celebrate the day because it is considered a "commercial holiday," meaning it doesn´t have much meaning but companies created it just to make money. Overall most people DO celebrate Valentine´s Day in some way but it varies how it is celebrated.
Happy Valentine´s day to everyone!!!
Many people also go out for dinner with their girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife to celebrate the day. It is very common to give your friends and loved ones a small gift of chocolate or something "of love" since Valentine´s Day is a day of love. If someone doesn´t receive anything special on this day many times they get sad because they may feel unloved. Some people also don´t like to celebrate the day because it is considered a "commercial holiday," meaning it doesn´t have much meaning but companies created it just to make money. Overall most people DO celebrate Valentine´s Day in some way but it varies how it is celebrated.
Happy Valentine´s day to everyone!!!
Jan 31, 2011
Cordoba Medieval Market
The Saturday I went to the medieval market with one of my friends. The market was very fun and I had never been to anything like it before! There were many people dressed up in medieval costumes playing music, dancing and selling goods. We even saw a small parade with people heavily dressed in costumes and even on stilts so they seemed very tall. There was also a man walking around with a bird that he would let fly away onto the roofs of the stalls, for instance, and then it would fly back to him.
I thought the festival was very fun. I ate a ton of food and a took a lot of pictures! I even bought some gifts for my friends that I think they´ll like. I can´t wait to show my friends the pictures of the festival!
I thought the festival was very fun. I ate a ton of food and a took a lot of pictures! I even bought some gifts for my friends that I think they´ll like. I can´t wait to show my friends the pictures of the festival!
Jan 19, 2011
Granada
This last weekend I went to Granada. I visited some friends that are studying at the University there. I have only been to Granada one time before, but each time I go I have a lot of fun. This time I met up with a friend from the United States. She is just in Granada for the next 2 months getting a teaching certificate and I wanted to introduce her to my other friends living there. Together, just my 1 friend and I, went to the big sales and bought some new clothes. We also went out for tapas- of course! Other than that we mostly just walked around the city and enjoyed the scenery. The last day I was there, a group of us went to a tea shop and had tea and crepes. I had a lot of fun this weekend and can´t wait to go back and visit again!
Jan 12, 2011
3 Kings Day
The celebration of the magical kings is not celebrated in the U.S. so this was a new tradition for me. I celebrated this day (the 5th) with my friends. Before the parade started I met with my friends and we ate some Roscon. This type of cake also doesn´t exist in the states but I thought it tasted very good. I found a little toy in mine piece but it wasn´t the king or the bean...it was a little fish.
After we ate the roscon we walked to the parade. We watched all the floats go by and they all looked amazing! I liked all of the floats and some of my favorites included Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well as Avatar. I took a lot of pictures and collected a lot of candy. At the end of the night we went to Plaza Nueva to watch the Kings bring presents to baby Jesus. After the event I was exhausted so I said bye to my friends and went home to sleep.
In all, I thought this holiday was very fun and would love to celebrate it again!
After we ate the roscon we walked to the parade. We watched all the floats go by and they all looked amazing! I liked all of the floats and some of my favorites included Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well as Avatar. I took a lot of pictures and collected a lot of candy. At the end of the night we went to Plaza Nueva to watch the Kings bring presents to baby Jesus. After the event I was exhausted so I said bye to my friends and went home to sleep.
In all, I thought this holiday was very fun and would love to celebrate it again!
Jan 11, 2011
...and Happy New Year!
On the last post I spoke about Christmas in the U.S. vs. in Spain. On this post I will talk about New Years eve in both countries.
This year I stayed in Spain for New Years and had a great time. I went to my friend´s house for dinner around 20:00 and we started dinner around 22:00. We ate a lot of food this night, I think it was more than on Christmas! We ate more typical food like shrimp (prawns), almonds, bread, ham rolls with something sweet inside, soup, small bird, carmalized onions, tenderloin/sirloin steak, mashed potatoes and later we had dessert. After we a ALL of that food we had to get ready to eat the grapes. We waited until the bells started and then began to eat the grapes. I didn´t finish all mine because they had seeds inside and it was difficult to chew but I tried! We also had some champagne after it turned midnight and watched some tv.
At around 1:00 in the morning I went to my friend´s house and then we went to a big new years party. We danced until 8:00 and then went to eat churros. After I got home I slept all day!
In Seattle we celebrate new years and it is similar but also different. First, we eat dinner with my family around 18:00. We usually eat honey-baked ham, mashed potatoes, bread, salad and some other vegetable. After we eat dinner I start to get ready because I go out with my friends around 20:00. Sometimes we go to a house to celebrate and other times we go to a club. We don´t have the tradition of eating grapes at midnight...instead we find someone to kiss! People who don´t have someone to kiss are usually sad about it. We also drink some champagne to celebrate new years. We stay out until about 2:00 (when the clubs close) or 3:00 if we go to someones house. The next day we also rest and everyone stays at home.
I think New Years eve is a big party all over the world! I hope you had a wonderful New Years celebration!
This year I stayed in Spain for New Years and had a great time. I went to my friend´s house for dinner around 20:00 and we started dinner around 22:00. We ate a lot of food this night, I think it was more than on Christmas! We ate more typical food like shrimp (prawns), almonds, bread, ham rolls with something sweet inside, soup, small bird, carmalized onions, tenderloin/sirloin steak, mashed potatoes and later we had dessert. After we a ALL of that food we had to get ready to eat the grapes. We waited until the bells started and then began to eat the grapes. I didn´t finish all mine because they had seeds inside and it was difficult to chew but I tried! We also had some champagne after it turned midnight and watched some tv.
At around 1:00 in the morning I went to my friend´s house and then we went to a big new years party. We danced until 8:00 and then went to eat churros. After I got home I slept all day!
In Seattle we celebrate new years and it is similar but also different. First, we eat dinner with my family around 18:00. We usually eat honey-baked ham, mashed potatoes, bread, salad and some other vegetable. After we eat dinner I start to get ready because I go out with my friends around 20:00. Sometimes we go to a house to celebrate and other times we go to a club. We don´t have the tradition of eating grapes at midnight...instead we find someone to kiss! People who don´t have someone to kiss are usually sad about it. We also drink some champagne to celebrate new years. We stay out until about 2:00 (when the clubs close) or 3:00 if we go to someones house. The next day we also rest and everyone stays at home.
I think New Years eve is a big party all over the world! I hope you had a wonderful New Years celebration!
Merry Christmas!
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and happy new year. I stayed here during the entire break (holiday) and learned about how the holidays are celebrated in Spain. On this post I will talk about Christmas. This year, since I didn´t go home, I celebrated Christmas eve with a family here in Lucena. I went to their house around 18:00 and we played games until about 21:00. We began dinner around 22:00 and had many typical foods from Andalucia, such as shrimp (prawns), cheese, almonds, bread, soup/broth, and a meat dish. The food was all very good and ate a lot! After we all ate dinner I went to meet up with friends and go out. The next day (Christmas) I stayed in my house and didn´t do much.
This Christmas was very different than my Christmas at home. Every family in the U.S. celebrates Christmas very different so everyone you ask normally says something different. In Seattle I usually have 3 different Christmas celebrations. First, on Christmas eve I eat dinner with my parents around 17:00. In my family we usually have ham or meatballs (or both), mashed potatoes, green peas (or some type of vegetable) and bread. After we eat we go to church but sometime years we go before we eat.
After I spend time with my parents I go over to my best friends house to celebrate with her family. I go to her house around 19:00 and stay until about 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. She has a large family so we all sit together when some people sing, read the Bible, and say Christmas poems. After we are done with that (after midnight) we open 1 gift. After I am vey tired so I go home and sleep.
Christmas day I wake up and my family and I eat a good breakfast with bacon, eggs, and pancakes or waffles. Then we open up all our gifts that are under the tree and we take pictures. Later, around 15:00, we go to our family friend´s house for dinner. There are usually about 12 of us at the dinner. We start dinner at about 17:00 or 18:00 and eat A LOT of food. The family is English so we eat an English dinner that includes ham, turkey, bread pudding, brusslesprouts, bread and many other types of food. We spend the rest of the night at the house with our friends. After my family goes home and SLEEPS!
We don´t celebrate the 3 kings day in the U.S. so we only celebrate Christmas eve and day. The most important part of Christmas is to be with your family and that is the same in the U.S. and Spain. I thought Christmas was very fun here and enjoyed being around a nice family during the holidays.
This Christmas was very different than my Christmas at home. Every family in the U.S. celebrates Christmas very different so everyone you ask normally says something different. In Seattle I usually have 3 different Christmas celebrations. First, on Christmas eve I eat dinner with my parents around 17:00. In my family we usually have ham or meatballs (or both), mashed potatoes, green peas (or some type of vegetable) and bread. After we eat we go to church but sometime years we go before we eat.
After I spend time with my parents I go over to my best friends house to celebrate with her family. I go to her house around 19:00 and stay until about 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. She has a large family so we all sit together when some people sing, read the Bible, and say Christmas poems. After we are done with that (after midnight) we open 1 gift. After I am vey tired so I go home and sleep.
Christmas day I wake up and my family and I eat a good breakfast with bacon, eggs, and pancakes or waffles. Then we open up all our gifts that are under the tree and we take pictures. Later, around 15:00, we go to our family friend´s house for dinner. There are usually about 12 of us at the dinner. We start dinner at about 17:00 or 18:00 and eat A LOT of food. The family is English so we eat an English dinner that includes ham, turkey, bread pudding, brusslesprouts, bread and many other types of food. We spend the rest of the night at the house with our friends. After my family goes home and SLEEPS!
We don´t celebrate the 3 kings day in the U.S. so we only celebrate Christmas eve and day. The most important part of Christmas is to be with your family and that is the same in the U.S. and Spain. I thought Christmas was very fun here and enjoyed being around a nice family during the holidays.
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