Puente: Deciembre

December 2 - 11, I was suppose to be gallivanting across the United Kingdom with three other auxiliares - Maegan, Melissa, and Lyndsy - but due to massive amounts of snow and bad weather in England/Scotland/Ireland, I didn't make it out of Spain. It's kind of a (not) funny story.

Thursday, December 2, I met up with the girls to take the train to Madrid. Upon arrival in Madrid, we coger-ed a taxi and went to Madrid Barajas Aeropuerto.  We took our sweet time checking in, getting snacks, looking around the duty-free shops, and trying on perfume.  We were just about the last ones to board the plane...well, the girls were. This is were it gets (not) funny.  Stupid me, I didn't look at my boarding pass before handing it to the man at the gate - and all I hear is: "Este no es su vuelo!" (This is not your plane!) He proceeded to tell me that I had the same flight, same airline, same time...different airport. The girls' tickets were for Luton and mine for Gatwick.  London had received massive amounts of snow and yucky cold weather in days previous and Gatwick and Heathrow Airports were both shut down until an undisclosed time.  So, basically, I wasn't going anywhere for Puente.  My big UK trip was shattered at the gate.  I had to wave goodbye to Maegan, Melissa, and Lyndsy and wish them a good trip! (They had a fun time, the pictures are great! I lived the trip through them!)

Anyway, in continuation.  I headed back to the EasyJet counter to figure out what I was suppose to do.  Since it was closing time, EasyJet didn't want to argue with me (in Spanish!) so they just gave me the name of a hotel and told me I could stay for free and eat dinner and breakfast on them.  So, the next trip was to The Auditorium Hotel - Europe's Largest Hotel with 780 rooms. :) It was a wonderful free place with free internet, free food, heat, and hot water you didn't have to light with a lighter. I was in heaven: I guess I had my own Puente after all...

Largest hotel in Europe: Thanks Easyjet!

Let Them Eat Cake. (endless amounts of cake)

I spent Friday at the airport amongst the massive crowds of people who were waiting for flights, changing flights, or trying to get their money back from a cancelled flight.  Friday also happened to be the beginning day of La Huelga Controladores "Air Controllers Strike" - so NO ONE was leaving Spain. (Rafa, a fellow teacher, told me that the controllers went on strike; due to laws, there is a minimum number of controllers that must continue working even during a strike - but even these minimal people took medical leave so there was absolutely no one left!) During Puente, this is the worst thing that could happen as millions of Spaniards travel out of the country or to the other side of the country for holiday December 4 - 8. I was right in the middle of this mess - which I guess is kind of cool considering what happened next. For the first time in about 30 years, Spain declared a National State of Emergency - since millions of people were stranded, trains were overbooked, tons of traffic on the highways... and no one could travel during Puente.

I was told there were no flights to London until Monday afternoon, so I just gave up trying to get to the UK. I decided to stay in Madrid for one more night in the (free) hotel because I was given food and heat! It just so happened that the Spanish Air Controllers were staying at Auditorium as well, and they were confronted by disgruntled passengers.  The Spanish government found out and sent military officers and personnel to the hotel to bring the controllers directly to work to stop the fighting.  For 15 days, the air traffic controllers have been forced to follow government law since so many people were affected by their strike, on top of bad weather that had come just days before. Saturday morning I left bright and early - just before the fights broke out in the lobby between the air traffic controllers and unhappy passengers.  

The next few days were very boring and cold in Navalmoral - as I watched a total of 8 movies, saw 4 episodes of One Tree Hill, and made 2 collages for my room. I washed all my clothes... which was successful - until it took 3.5 days to dry! My room stunk like dirty wet clothes and it was just a very depressing lonely few days.

part of my new "Roots and Wings" collage.

A new addition to my night stand.
"Sometimes I like to just pick up and go...

Tuesday was a different story. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday morning in Jarandilla with Divina and Toni to celebrate Los Escobazos. This ancient regional festival is something that I had never seen in my life, nor will I ever experience anything like it in the future (that is, until I attend the festival where they throw watermelon sized onions/fruits at a man dressed in a ribbon costume who runs through the streets!) Basically, the whole town of Jarandilla and neighboring towns in La Vera came out in the (pouring!) rain to see the procession and fires! Fire: that is quite an understatement. These "fires" were more like every street, every plaza, and every other person ON fire. The whole town was dressed in overalls and face masks - except me - however, I did make good choices on fireproof clothing since I didn't burn/catch on fire. :) People walk through the streets with "escobazos" (branches of this bush) lit on fire. They hit people's legs and people don't seem to care. I was scared at times because some of these bushes were HUGE!!!!! And, jeggings just don't protect you from the heat too well. haha

Los Escobazos 2010

The pole looking thing is a large "escobazo"!

Children are taught to play with fire at a young age...

We at migas in the street, drank a few beers, and had a fun time as we viewed the procession of the Virgin Mary - which took 3 hours to go through the streets. Men and women hold huge branches and lead the way through the town. As it arrives to a plaza, a huge bonfire is lit. (no roasting marshmallows in these fires!) 

A burning chair in one of the plaza fires.

The largest fire of the night at the end of the procession.

After the procession is over, people go home to shower and eat dinner with their families - as they prepare to go out to the discos and bars (yes! there are discos and bars in Jarandilla - who knew!) where they dance the night away. ...And I did just that. Since you only have to be 16 to get into a bar and 18 to drink, I saw some of my students while we were out. While it was weird for me - I think they got a total kick out of it as they waved and said "Hello!!!". One student even grabbed his face and all he could get out (in English) was "Oh my gosh....oh my gosh...oh. my gosh!!!" (When I went to the high school after puente, Antonio told me that I was the top story of the day as the students were saying "Antonio - we saw Whitney in the bar!!! Whitney was there. We saw her!" - his response - "Yes, she goes out.")

A night out - in Jarandilla!

The next day, Divina and I met up with three other auxiliares who were in town to experience Los Escobazos as well: Matthew, Jeff, and Hunter. We went to see the garganta of Jarandilla and the old Roman bridge - which have a fantastic view of the mountains and a natural pool for swimming in the summer.  We had a nice lunch at Casa Leti and then we all dispersed, going back to our houses - the boys to Plasencia and Hervas, me to Navalmoral, and Divina to Jarandilla!

Garganta de Jarandilla

Old Roman Bridge

Hunter, Jeff, Me, Matthew

Arriving back to the house, I found Mamen had returned from Lisbon and Maria from Barcelona so it was nice to share our stories over late night tapas. I had the privilege of meeting "Eric" - the superstar auxiliar who lived in Navalmoral for two years prior to me. I'd seen pictures and been told stories of his time in Navalmoral and it was fun getting to meet him.

Mamen, Maria, Me, Ismael, Oscar, Eric and Diana

Thursday night was the night of all nights in Navalmoral. We celebrated three birthdays: Jose Miguel, Diana, and Mamen - in top fashion with a night dinner in Josemi's house and a night out on the town to follow. Eric had brought toys for everyone to enjoy: potato guns.  Safe to say, no one was safe that night - drinks and mouths included. They were taken to the bars and discos later and enjoyed ALL night. :) The bars played all Maman's favorite songs and even a special round of Happy Birthday! We all danced and sang - the video is priceless. 

Feliz Cumpleanos! :)

Thursday dinner in Josemi's house!

Dancing in the streets!

Levantando la mano.

I went home (quite late - against my will) to pack my bag to head to Madrid early Friday morning. I went to visit Jessica, who I met in Salamanca in 2008, and Michelle, who I met in Salamanca in 2009. Jessica had been studying in Madrid and Michelle was just passing through after her 2 week Spanish traveling adventure/aka spend the first paycheck on something really great! We had a wonderful time together. It was so nice reuniting with Jess in Spain - since we've only been able to reunite twice since 2008 - and we both are Missourians. I won't say we "live in Missouri" because that couldn't be farther from the truth. It's nice to have Spain to bring us back together! :) We spent the weekend touring Madrid - Retiro Park, Plaza Mayor, The Palace, Sol, Gran Via - eating sweets and wonderful tapas in El Tigre in Chueca - seeing Avenue Q - the Broadway Musical in Spanish! and just catching up. It was a weekend fantastico! :) 

Jessica and I rowing in Retiro Park - Madrid's Central Park.

Girl's night out on the town - just in front of Sol.

Christmas in Madrid - Sol.

Enjoying the Christmas market in the Plaza Mayor with Michelle.

Plaza Mayor by night with Jessica!

Avenue Q!

In the end, I have to say it was probably best that I missed the flight to London - while my hopes were really let down as I waved bye to the girls - I was able to see Los Escobazos, celebrate birthdays, and visit two old friends in Madrid. 

There is always Puente 2011 to go to the UK! (Yes! I've decided to stay for a second year!) 

Puente.

This past weekend was Puente.  What is “Puente”? Puente is what the Spanish call an extended weekend.  When there is a holiday that falls on a Friday or Monday, they call the weekend Puente.  Well, since I am a language assistant, my Puente began on Wednesday evening, as I only work every third Thursday – and they gave me my first Thursday of Puente weekend OFF!  So, I had Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to do absolutely nothing! Where did I go? Salamanca!

Thursday evening, Maria and I went out with Mamen’s friends in Navalmoral.  For dinner, we met with Diana and Jose Miguel, two of our new friends in Navalmoral.  We had a wonderful dinner of bacalao dorado (cod cooked with chips and eggs) and a sartén (pan) of huevos rotos (broken eggs) fixed with pimientos, fries, and chorizo.  Both were extremely tasty, as we shared them Spanish style – all eating from the same plate!  After dinner, we went to bar El Abuelito (The little grandma) where Mamen says they start drinking every Thursday night.  We then went bar hopping to Canterville, Boulevard, and MundoPop.  The night was spent with new friends (Mamen, Diana, Jose Miguel, Oscar, Ismael, Dioni, and Maria of course) sharing drinks and overcoming the language barrier, which of course got easier as the night went on! It was such a fun night out! Today is Thursday and I couldn’t be happier to see where the night goes.

Oscar, Maria, Jose Miguel, Dioni, Mamen, Ismael, Me in Canterville

Friday morning, we took a 7:15 bus to Caceres to do NIE paperwork again, step 2 of 3.  Having gone out Thursday night until 5:30am, it only gave us about an hour to “nap”.  It was such a long morning spent in the international immigration office, but we accomplished what we needed to do.  Now, I must wait until Novemeber 22, when my international identity card will officially be complete!  For lunch, Maria and I met up with another auxiliar, Kristen, who lives and teaches in Caceres.  We picked up some food at the supermarket and cooked at Kristen’s flat.  We finished with just enough time to run to the bus at 14:00/2:00pm and start our journey to Salamanca!

After the four hour journey from Cáceres to Salamanca, we were exhausted.  But, we were in Salamanca, and nothing was stopping me from going out.  We stayed with a friend whom I met in 2008, Tasos, who offered to let us stay with him for the weekend.  After tapas on Calle Van Dyke and getting ready, we set out for our first Salamantina night.  Friday night, the Spanish national team “La Roja” was actually playing IN Salamanca against Lithuania!  How weird to think that the team who won the EuroCup and World Cup were in the same town as us!  We watched the game on a big screen in the Plaza Mayor as we waited in line to take a picture with the “La Copa del Mundo” – The World Cup trophy!! We were also fortunate to see different memorabilia from years past, including the EuroCup trophy from 2008! It was such a cool experience! The rest of the night was spent in Irish Rover, Paniagua, Chupiteria, and Khandavia.  It was surreal being back in Salamanca – such a good feeling seeing old friends!

Plaza Mayor packed with people watching La Roja vs Lithuania.

Watching the game as we wait in line for our picture with the World Cup trophy!

EuroCup 2008 Trophy

Spain's 2010 FIFA World Cup Trophy

Jorge, Me, Nacho, Maria outside Chupiteria.

Having a drink with Whitney in Paniagua! Viva Las Whitneys!

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Saturday, we walked around the cuidad dorada, looking at the famous Rana/frog, The Astronaut, Casa de las Conchas and Calixto y Melibea garden.  We had a nice meal Tasos had prepared for us, complete with pumpkin soup, barbequed chicken with rice, and ice cream!  We met with two other auxiliaries later in the evening and had churros con chocolate in Valor! I enjoyed showing everyone Salamanca as I know it.  We saw a religious festival/ceremony happening in the street as we walked from Valor to the Plaza Mayor - I can't wait to see Easter celebrations as they do similar things in the streets, but 10x bigger and better! Saturday night, 12 auxiliares from Extremadura all met together in the plaza for a much needed night out!  We started at Paniagua, Chupiteria, Gatsby, Camelot, Irish, Cubic, and Khandavia.  It was a typical night out – with group photos in the Plaza Mayor and at “the statue”!  I danced on the speaker at Camelot for the first time – something I had only seen my 2008 house mates Annie and Emily do multiple times!  I am now part of the club. J

Casa de las Conchas - House of Shells

View fromCalixto y Melibea garden - looking toward San Esteban Monastary on far left

Maria and I in Plaza Mayor by day

Religious Ceremony in street in Salamanca

Plaza Mayor by night!!!

Extremadura Auxiliares in Plaza Mayor

Proof that I danced on the Camelot speaker!

Maria(Scotland), Kim(Scotland), Laura(England), Me

Sunday.  After a long night out, we awoke the next morning to a steak dinner with potatoes and peas, mushroom soup, and ice cream!  What a nice wakeup call, right?!  We got ready and went to the Salamanca soccer game with some other auxiliaries.  What we thought was a “short walk” turned into a 45 minute brisk walk, along the Camino de Santiago (a pilgrimage that takes you on a hike across all of Spain-taking about 40 days!).  Maria and I bought soccer scarves: mine of Salamanca, hers of España.  Our seats were in fondo Sur – on the south side behind one of the goals.  The only other time I had been in the Salamanca soccer stadium was in 2008 when a group of us study abroad girls were invited to attend their practice!  There were only 6 of us in the entire stadium – this time was much different! I think there were 7,000 or 8,000 fans in attendance for the Salamanca/Granada game, which they say is a small crowd.  But, the atmosphere was incredible! People were constantly singing, beating drums, blowing whistles, waving flags, and throwing their hands up and shouting/cursing at the players.  I’ve never been a fan of soccer, but if I could attend more live Spanish games, I could totally be a fan! Sunday evening, we went out again – it is Salamanca – the town that never sleeps!

Soccer game poster - Salamanca vs. Granada

Granada 2 / Salamanca 1 - still a fun match!

GOOOOO SALAMANCA!

Paniagua - everyone writes on the walls!

Khandavia with Helen and Javi

Monday afternoon Tasos made spaghetti bolognaise – some of the best I’ve ever had!  Maria and I walked into the plaza to find several other auxiliaries who had just arrived from Plasencia.  We spent the afternoon walking to el Rio Tormes and the streets of Salamanca. I found Carmen, my ISA director from Fall 2009, in the street near ISA and we caught up about all of the ISA-ers from Fall 2009. We had a drink at Don Quixote Café with Seodhna, an Irish girl who’s Salamanca life parallels mine – with an obsession with Irish Rover and its bartenders! She is also teaching English and we were able to share stories about Salamanca, students, and Irish Rover.  It was so nice actually sitting down with Seodhna and not just chitchatting at the bar like the past. After meeting with Seodhna, Maria and I ran across town to see Lourdes, my host mom from last fall, at her place of work.  She was peering out the window waiting for me, as we spotted each other while I was in the crosswalk!  It was like no time had passed.  It was so nice catching up with her.  Hopefully next time I am in Salamanca I can have a famous Lourdes meal!  I failed to remember they had a restaurant, so next time I’m in Salamanca, I will be eating at El Fogón and visiting Lorena, my old host sister. 

View of Cathedrals and Old Roman Bridge

Everyone searching for the Frog. (it's on the far right column about half way up!)

visiting with Carmen!

Don Quixote Cafe

I had been looking forward to Monday night for quite some time – as Monday means BP in Irish! However, this past Monday there was no beer pong as David and Oscar were in Barcelona for the Puente weekend.  After some tasty tapas, with a wonderful garlic sauce in Calle Van Dyke, we headed out for the night with the other auxiliaries. We spent most of the night at Medivo’s barre libre GRATIS para las chicas – free bottomless ladies night!  As you could imagine, we had a few sangrias too many!  Since most of other auxiliares were leaving Tuesday morning rather early, it was an early night – for everyone but me!  I headed to Irish Rover to see a few friends – and ended up seeing a few more friends I didn’t think I would see: Mary Angeles, AIFS student director from 2008 and Yussef, a friend Gina and I met in 2008. (Yes, Gina and Rachel – I saw YUSSEF! When I asked him for Hamza’s new number… he said “As you know I do not speak to my brother” – I’m sure you can hear him say it now! Rach – I also saw los jemelos!!!  Ow ow) I then went to Paniagua to meet with Nacho, which was the end of my night.

Megan, Melissa and I in Medivo

Two things I love: Yussef and Irish!!!

Two Irish Rover Girls - Mary and Whitney :)

Tuesday morning around 9:30am, Maria and I boarded a bus to Caceres which would then take us to Navalmoral.  We need to look for a better schedule between avanzabus, alsa, and renfe – as it took us way too long to get home when Salamanca is only 2 hours from Navalmoral!  After arriving home, Maria and I watched the Spain/Scotland soccer game that was taking place in Maria’s hometown of Glasglow, Scotland, just around the corner from her house!  However, at half time I called it a night as the weekend’s festivities had worn me out!

As you can imagine, Wednesday morning was horrible – as I had barely slept the entire weekend and found it almost impossible to sleep at times on the bus.  But, I only had 1 class with 3^rd and 4^th graders so it wasn’t too horrible.  I’m teaching these kids a play called “Pretty Ritty” that they will perform when the group of English speakers from surrounding eco-friendly European schools comes to visit. I had to speak in Spanish at times to explain what was going on – I think they found it quite entertaining as translating a play can be really difficult! But, I think it made them more comfortable with me as they could see I am still learning too.  After school, I came home to take a longgg siesta!  Wednesday night was spent skyping with family and friends back home, viewing pictures from my cousin Abby’s wedding through skype with my mom, and talking to Kortney in Colorado about our obsession with Salamanca.  It was a nice afternoon! (As you can see, afternoons, evenings, and nights all run together and are all intertwined.  The Spanish life style is definitely more night friendly and 19:00/7:00pm or 20:00/9:00pm are still “por la tarde” or afternoon… not night!) On the walk home, I saw two friends, Oscar and Ismael, who I decided to go to a bar with and have a drink! We went to a place called La Bodega de Jamon- yes, their ham was very good!  It was a nice hour or so with friends, which we mainly spent organizing our Welcome Dinner “La cena de bienvenida” which is happening tonight, Thursday! We are all bringing different things for the dinner – I’m in charge of cerveza as I told them about beer pong and they want to learn to play!! I think the dinner menu is wine, beer, bacalao dorado, crunchy meatballs, and dessert.  I’m very excited to learn to cook bacalao as it has been one of the best comidas I’ve had in Extremadura so far!  It will be an interesting night, to say the least!  I will let you know how it goes!

I could not have planned a better Puente than the one I spent in Salamanca: the Copa del mundo, el partido de futbol, mis amigos salamantinos, and the feeling of being “home”.  I cannot wait to spend another weekend in Salamanca.