Christmas Time in Mérida

After being away from Mérida for the weekend I was very happy to have this entire week off from work. Not only did I completely pick up my room, but even had some time for fun activities.

Tuesday night myself, Kristina, Christina and Sara got together to have a little cooking party. We

decided to make Fried Eggplant with Honey.

We'd had it as a tapa at couple of places outside of Mérida and knew we could make it just as well. After breading the eggplant (berenjena) we sauted / fried it in Spain's favorite product, olive oil. Then we drizzled some honey (miel) on top. I also made some honey mustard to go with it, delish! The main course was a carbonara pasta..equally delicious-thanks Kristina!!

Every Wednesday myself and the other auxilliares go to a place called Cerveceria 100 Montaditos (translation = little bites) a bar / cafe that sells little bocadillos / sandwiches. Imagine a little baguette (about the size of the palm of your hand) with jamón o queso o pate o anchovies on it DELISH. On Wed it's even more amazing because they sell all the montaditos for 1 euro (as well as cañas and vino too). So we had a bite there, then moved to anther cafe near the Plaza España because we were waiting to watch fire works that were being sent off for the Santa Eulalia Holiday (the patron saint of Mérida).

There are lots of Christmas lights up on the main streets in Mérida adding to the Christmas Vibe. Wed night was especially Christmas feeling as there were many people out and about to watch the Procession of the a statue of Santa Eulalia. They do a Parade through the city and when it arrives at a cetain part, the fire works being. They set the fire works off near the Roman Bridge, and the fire works were actually really quite good! Then we decided to take advantage of the fact that we didn't have to work the next day because of the Santa Eulalia holiday enjoyed some yummy chupitos made carmel liquer and topped with whipped cream, After having a couple of those it was time to call it a night.

The next morning, British Kristina treated us to a Full English Fry Up breakfast- eggs, sausage bacon, tomato, mushrooms. We also had some Mimosas... a very fun Brunch. Later that night we showed our friend Blanca how to make chocolate chip cookies. It was really fun to see the reaction to us measuring butter and things by sight- rather than weighing/ measuring it out. The cookies were really good, even though Spain doesn't really have chocolate chips, a crushed up candy bar does the trick!

Friday was the big day of our Christmas Party, I even woke up early to make sure I had time enough for everything. I was in charge of picking up decorations for the day and the best place to go for that sort of shopping is the local Chino Store - Imagine a super market / dollar store where you can find anything. I ended up buying a tree, some lights and ornaments as well as gold garland and green wrapping paper to wrap around picture frames and then hang on the wall. The decorations were pretty fantastic. For the "party" we had a spread of typical Spanish snacks (jamón, cheese, bread chips/crisps etc) we also ordered tapas from a local place and enjoyed Mulled Wine.

We had a pretty good turn out considering our pool of friends in Spain is still on the small side! Overall the party was def a success and I even enjoyed the fact that we listened to Christmas Carols (villancicos...which I normally hate!).

I've learned to expect the unexpected and thus the fact that on Saturday we went out for some tapas and a couple of drinks turned into an awesome all day/night excursion, did not surprise me. We ate at a place called Lizarran and from there went to watch our friend Cody, another auxillar, play Basketball. His teammates are super nice and some had even come to our Christmas party the night before. After the game we went back to the same restaurant and enjoy a few more pinchos before heading out to one last place. I was in bed by 3, a early night by spanish standards, but I was ready for sleep for sure.

Going back to work tomorrow is certainly going to be a bit rough but I am excited to teach about Christmas. Craazzzy to think this time next week, I'll be on a plane home...HASTA PRONTO!!

Catching up on mi Vida!

So I have been terribly busy with really living it up in Spain the past month or so, that I CANNOT believe its almost the end of 2009!

Let me catch up with what I've been up to. During the week I've continued to teach during 12 hours of classes and from 3 to 4 individual classes a week. Weekends have been filled with interesting and fun trips to near by cities and campos... let me digress!

So in November I made a trip to Badajoz on a Friday night for some shopping and sight seeing. They had a great Alcazaba that was fun to see at night.

Didn't buy much in terms of shopping but it was still good to be in another city for a bit. It was fun to take pictures with new statues, even though truthfully I am not sure who they were!

The next day, we took the train back and a couple of my buddies here, Sara and Kristina were off traveling so I met up with my friend Ben and his neighbors at a local tapas joint. We enjoyed numerous rounds of beer and a delish tapa of deep fried pig parts, I think the face. Not sure what the name of it was but it was DELISH! That night Ben's neighbors, Oscar and Blanca invited myself and some others over for dinner. It was fun as we dressed up and started the night with appetizers and continued to well into the late night early morning talking, laughing and finishing an entire box of Truffles! Oscar and Blanca invited me to stay the night as Sara my roommate was out of town so I slept in the extra bed, it was amazing! The next morning Oscar made migas - which are bread crumbs fried with olive oil, garlic, pancetta and red peppers for breakfast, again another delish meal! It was another lazy sunday spent relaxing and catching up on sleep.

The following weekend started again on Thursday, Thanksgiving! IT was truly international with Spanish, French, Americans, Canadians and even an Argentinian celebrating together.

We had a turkey, potatoes, multple stuffings, tortilla espanola y frances. We also had some mince pies from england and I contributed an apple crisp for dessert. It again was another late night of just enjoying the company of others!

On that Friday, Christina (the one from america!) went and saw Luna Nueva (New Moon, part of the twilight series!) IT WAS AWESOME!!! FRiday night we stayed in and relaxed as we were all quite tired from Turkey day.

That Saturday, the 31st I think, I went to the Campo with Oscar Blanca and Ben. The equivalent of the Campo (country i suppose) is like a cottage or ski house here in the States. People get together and buy enough drinks and food to last an entire weekend, as many campo gatherings last that long.

This campo trip was about 20 mins away and was a great way to spend a Saturday. We ate migas, and another dish typical of Extremadura, the name alludes me right now! We stayed all afternoon and until midnight just enjoying the company of some great people who are as nice as they are fun. Upon returning home that night, we played Kareoke in Spanish and English...def a funny night I will not soon forget.

This past weekend Spain had two holidays thus we had a long weekend, or a Puente a they say. I FINALLY made it to Sevilla and Córdoba. The Alcázar en Sevilla is spectacular and deserves a visit. We stayed in a pretty nice hostal and enjoyed meeting fellow travelers. I also did some amazing shopping at the HM including a dress for our upcoming Christmas party!

For me the highlight of the weekend was my trip to Córdoba. I stayed with a girl named Carmen who is a student at the University of Córdoba. There is a network where people who have an open place to sleep, bed or couch, can connect and also play host/tour guide for the weekend. Without a doubt Carmen was the best guide someone could ask for.

She lived in the old part of the city in a great apartment with her parents and brother Alvaro, with her grandmother living next door. She was super nice as was her brother and friends. It was great to practice my spanish and go around Córdoba with someone who knew it well. We visited most of the important things as she hadn't seen them since her years in highschool. We missed out on the free visit to the Mezquita (on of the highlights of Córdoba) but I am positive I am going to return again next year when its warmer weather. It was a great couple of days as we hung out, ate some great meals.

On the last night, Monday we chilled out and enjoyed a cerveza sitting on the walls outside the Mezquita, and a nice walk through the city with the street lights and christmas lights adding to the ambiance.

Needless to say, I've been enjoying myself and am very happy that everything is going so well. I have no work this week so will just be working on cleaning my room, the apartment and getting ready for our Christmas party this friday...and then I'll be home on the 22nd which of course I am excited for but I know already, I am going to miss Mérida un montón!