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Published: January 14th 2010
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Hey Everyone!
I had a great Christmas and New Year's (Spanish style) over here and I had the opportunity to meet the families of some of my friends. Spain has some interesting traditions for New Year's, but I'll try to explain it to you how it was explained to me. I have to say that the holidays were not the same without all of you, but I was thinking of you and appreciate everyone who sent me Christmas and New Year cards. You guys are the best!
My Christmas vacation started on Dec. 22nd and I started it with a dinner for all the teachers at the institute at a nice restaurant. We dined on some traditional Spanish appetizers (pulpo, esalada, patatas envueltas, jamón con tomate). The dinner was great and we all went out to a club afterward to do some dancing. I am used to going to the clubs with Encarni and a few others from the institute, but having all the teachers there dancing was a little strange at first. There were people dancing that I would have never expected to dance before. It was a great way to start the vacation season. For Christmas Eve
(la nochebuena) I was with Encarni and her family to have dinner at her aunt's house. They live in the same town, so it was a short drive there and it didn't take very long to get ready. There were 12 of us all together. We had jamón con tomate, sopa de mariscos, pollo con patatas and a few appetizers to munch on. Christmas Day was just as relaxing and we did more of the same. We all got together during the afternoon to have a big lunch and then we went Salsa dancing that Friday night (as usual). Salsa is every Friday and Sunday for us, and we love to go and learn a few new steps to try out. We've met a lot of great people in the process and everyday we're there it's a blast. We have a few drinks, dance a little bit, take some pictures, laugh, and do it all again the next day.
For New Year's Eve (la nochevieja) we had a big dinner at Encarni's house and prepared our grapes for midnight. In Spain, at 12:00 midnight on New Year's Eve, the tradition is to eat 12 grapes at each chime of
the clock. ¨You have about one second to put a grape in your mouth, chew and swallow before the next one comes around. It is a tradition that started in 1904 because there was an abundance of grapes produced by the wineries. So to lower their grape crop a little bit, they started the tradition of eating grapes on New Years. People here say that the year for them does not begin until they eat their grapes, and it just doesn't feel right until it's done. So I had my grapes all prepared and ready to eat so when the clock chimmed I could start to eat. After we all had our grapes, we started to get dressed to go out to a Salsa party in Almería. We arrived at 1:30 to join the party at a bar called Galeón, and they had all types of music that night. From Salsa, bachata, marengue, pop, and some Spanish classics. Everyone had a great time and I've put a few photos of that night in the blog for you to see. We finally wrapped up the evening at 7:00 that morning and I hopped into bed at 8:00.
The rest of
my vacation was very relaxing and the last weekend I went to Granada to enjoy the night life a little and stay with Vicky. We tried out some new sites there and took a few pictures. On Sunday it snowed in the capital (which I heard does not happen very often) and it started to stick to the ground. I was exciting to finally see some snow! Now it feels like winter! Even though it has been cold here lately, it was hard to get into the Christmas spirit because I did not have the usual snow or cold that I'm used to. However, Spain has had some unusually cold weather lately just like the U.S. of A.
Thank you again to everyone who sent me a card. I will try to keep in touch with all of you much better in the future. Enjoy the photos!
Love,
Jimmy
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Uncle T
non-member comment
Siena
Hey Jim, Happy New Year! Are you getting my emails @ Siena? They are undefeated in the MAAC. Sean lives your "hood" now. Keep in touch and be safe. Go Colts! Uncle T-Bone