2008.

Well well well. Look what we have here.....it is 2009, sneaking up on us like a lion stalking its prey.

For my family, two thousand and eight was an emotional and life-changing year. We lost two members of our family, I got my license, Gideon was Bar-Mitzvahed, Ruby has been on this earth for a decade, and of course, I moved to Spain.

My New Year celebration here was not very interesting. I ate the 12 grapes in 12 seconds and then kissed about 50 people on the cheek in less than 2 minutes. I was then invited to a "party" thrown by Mila´s 14 year old niece. The party consisted of 7 people at her parent´s house in a shed/bedroom that was not attacted to the house. When the Nintendo didn´t work, the 7 guests began to question me about California. It was a flashback to Hannah Feldman´s middle school parties. No illegal substances, a half-assed game of spin the bottle that ends on the first spin, but mostly just feeling like an adult.

Christmas was more fun. After everyone ate large amounts of turkey and I had eaten my salad, the music began. The whole family sitting in a circle playing guitars, singing, and dancing. That lasted until 6:00 am.

One would think that the holidays here are done, but that is not true. There is still the 6th of January, which is more like American Christmas. The three kings bring presents in the morning and the festivities last for two days. One of Mila´s nieces (age 7) asked me which king was my favorite. I had NO idea what she was talking about, and answered "King Felipe V of Spain". She looked at me blankly.


What else? Oh yea! I went to Granada for 3 days. It was awesome. The Alhambra is amazing and I had enought luck to be able see everything. I remember two years ago, in a Spanish class at Tam, my Spanish teacher showed pictures of Granada and we spent about a week learning about it. Little did I know that in two short years, I would be over looking the whole city as cold rain made the castle steps slippery.

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2009!

Violetaaaa

p.s. check out photos below

Pictorials

Posing in Granada


Mila, Mary Ma y yo at the Alhambra.

Pepa with some yummy fried things covered in honey

The infamous ham leg.

Baking yummies.

Action shot.

¡¡Look Reba, another blog post!!

I didn´t have school Monday because of something relating to Christ and instead, spent the day at the "campo", with my host grandparents. Mila and I got there around 11 am and studied until lunch time, at around 2. Lunch was filled with potatoes, more potatoes, and a fried egg. After lunch, people just started to drift in, one after another, and after about an hour or so, I got up from sitting next to the fire and the house was FULL of people. 6 of Mila´s 12 siblings were there, and then throw in some nieces, nephews, and in-laws, and there you go. People were playing dominoes and every few minuets shushing the people around them.
Suddenly, all of the women (95% of the people there), went into the kitchen to make something sweet relating to Christmas. I, as usual, had no idea what we were going to make, and even though 5 people told me at the same time, I was still in for a surprise. Well, it wasn´t really a surprise. We ended up making little doughnut type things.
Let me paint a picture for you. About 10 Spanish women surrounding a table, rolling dough, with a large ham leg in the center of the table, propped up on this special metal contraption made especially for this ham product, and the smell of the frying dough and sugar covering everything. But first, this ham leg. Oh man. Where to begin? Well, for starters, it is not an uncommon sight here in Cadiz. They are sold in every bar and grocery store, and look like someone cut off the leg of a pig, dipped it in wax, and hung it up to dry. They all have hoof and this particular one had some hair still attached. Imagine my surprise walking into the equivalent to Safeway for the first time to buy bread and coming face to face with what used to be a whole farm of pigs. So, one of these legs was sitting in the middle of table, the hoof sticking up, greeting me in the face, and the rest covered with a cloth.
Everyone is rolling little circles of dough, all talking and laughing at once, breaking into various songs about silly things, and one time, no joke, someone started singing flamenco while everyone else clapped along. But, if there is one thing that Joaquin (host grandpa) won't miss out on is a bunch of women, singing and making fried food. He came into the kitchen, leaned against the table, and watched us all with such contentment in his eyes. Because he has blood sugar problems, he couldn't have the doughnuts covered in sugar, so he got plan ones right out of the fryer. They were at first to hot, and I kid you not, he put the hot doughnut around the hoof of the pig leg to cool. I honestly had to stop what I was going and take a moment so I wouldn't laugh. He looked at me across the table, and with a HUGE toothless smile, pointed to the circular doughnut that was resting, glistening with grease, on top of the hoof. It was too much. At that very moment, I felt oh so very happy to be in a small house, in the countryside, in Cadiz, in Andalucia, in Spain, in Europe, on this Earth.

More to come later!

Violeta

December

I can't believe that it is already December!

Last night, I was watching a video diary I made the first week I got here and it goes a lot like this (now remember, I alone in my room, talking to my computer) "All-sob-I-sob-want-sob-is for it to be December." and more tears. I can't believe how unhappy I was for those first three weeks. I cried more than 3 times every single day. I am not saying that now everyday is amazing and I never get homesick or lonely. I am saying that I have come so far from September that it is a bit scary. I just wish my Spanish was better. Maybe I will post the video when I feel ready to have my puffy, red, and tear-filled face and sobs up on the world wide web. 

Life in Chiclana is crazy. Chiclana is crazy. It is SO unlike any place I have ever been and I think the exact polar opposite than Marin. For example, I was explaining to class-mate that I was vegan back in California, and naturally she asked what I ate if I didn't consume animal products and I said a lot of soy products. And she asked me what soy was. I was a bit shocked, considering all of the girls at Tam High School sip Starbucks Soy Chai Lattes during lunch. This classmate had no idea why a person would want to drink milk that comes from bean instead of the perfectly normal milk that comes from a cows teet. Speaking of not being dairy products, I actually really miss being vegan. I had a week or so when I couldn't get enough cheese (which ended badly) but now, honestly, I would rather be vegan. I DID feel healthier and overall, the vegan lifestyle is something I miss. Oh well. 

Let me just describe Chiclana in a little more detail. I live exactly in the center (called El Pajaro), which is really handy, considering I know a lot people who live in the countryside and it is a huge hassle to get to the city. Chiclana is divided by a man-made river which often reeks of shit and never really has any water. There are many bridges decorating the muddy banks. The streets are small, cobble-stoned, lined with trash and stray animals, and a lot of homemade motor scooters, which are the worst things in the world. They are loud and smelly, and often driven by teenager boys in tracksuits, face-piercings, rings, and mullets.  I think one of the strangest things about living in the middle of a city, is the noise. Now, let me clarify that Chiclana is not that noisy. But the apartment right next to my room is home a newborn baby, which is AWESOME. I hear every cry that little Spaniard makes. It is not that bad.  Worse for the parents. 

What else is there to say? I still don't really have any friends my age. I sometimes go out with a mix of Spanish kids and International kids, but honestly it is not that fun. I actually spend a lot of time with Mila and her friends. Yep. I feel bad that I keep tagging along, but I have fun and they don't seem to mind me. I think it is a good sign that Mila still invites me out with her. Mila's family is so cool. Every Friday, her nieces come over for English class. Manuela is 7 and her twin sisters are 4. They are SO CUTE. I can't even begin to explain how funny they are. Lucia and Carlota often announce their bathroom habits to everyone, so I taught them to say "I'm POOOOOOPING!" whenever in the bathroom. It is really funny. 

Oh! Here is something that gave me a bit of a shock In school, we had a speaker come in and talk about Domestic Violence (which is a big issue here) and at the end, invited kids to share experiences if they felt comfortable.  One girl said that her dad used to hit her mom, and but now he has a job. But, to say that he was truly sorry, he got a tattoo of his wife's face on his forearm. When the class heard that, people started clapping and nodding their heads. I guess things like that are not so uncommon. 

Well that is about it. I am going to try to post more often and actually function better. 

Today is World AIDS Day. A moment of silence for those who have been affected by AIDS or HIV.