London

A few weeks ago, I went to London. I traveled with my boyfriend and we stayed at my cousin’s flat. The following Saturday, we wandered down Portobello Road, where there is a bohemian open-air flea market lining the whole street. It was basically the British version of The Rastro in Madrid. Portobella Road is a good place to buy clothes, jewelry, and bicycles. On our way there, we saw the house where George Orwell lived.





There are also a lot of interesting antique stores near Portobello Road.





We also did a lot of touristy stuff. We went to Soho, the Camden Markets, and Piccadilly Circus, which is basically the Times Square of London.



Then we rode on a huge ferris wheel overlooking the city, called the London Eye. In addition, we went to Westminster Abbey, which was amazing! You can buy an audio guide for a few pounds, and if you are in London, admission is kind of expensive, but I still think it´s worth the trip. Westminster Abbey is a historical landmark that houses the remains of several British kings and queens. It also contains several plaques to commemorate people like Charles Darwin, Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens. It’s open to tourists but is also a place of worship. I couldn’t take pictures inside, but here is a photo of the outside of the building:



In this picture, you can see Big Ben and the London Eye:



London was fun, though it was strange being in a country where people spoke English again. It was so easy to understand everyone!

Winter Holidays

Spaniards like to enjoy themselves and so they take their holidays very seriously... especially Christmas! In November, nativity scenes begin to appear in the windows of stores, bakeries, and hair salons. Many of the first and second graders at my school came to school in costume on the last day before vacation. They dressed up like Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Three Wise Men, Christmas trees, and shepards. We sang Christmas songs with them and had an early-release day.






I work at a private school and teach mostly Science classes in English. There is actually a chapter in the Science book on Christmas, so I taught some lessons on it. Once in a while, I am reminded of Spain’s Roman Catholic roots. (There are religion classes at my school, too. However we teach evolution, not creationism.)

Even though many people in Spain would say they are Catholic if you asked them, few regularly attend church. It’s as though Catholicism is something they always considered an inherent part of their identity. It’s something they were born with, like an ethnicity. In addition to being very Catholic, this country is also very liberal. It’s strange how religion and liberality coexist here. Spain was ruled by the Catholic church for ages, and then was under Franco’s reign from 1936 until the 1975. Franco was a fascist who rubbed elbows with Hitler and Mussolini. Millions of people were executed under his dictatorship. But since his death in 1975, Spain has shrugged off its oppressive cloak of tyranny and embraced democracy. One of my favorite things about modern España is everyone’s live-and-let-live attitude on life. You can do whatever you want, within reason, and no one cares, as long as it’s not affecting them.

This brings me back to my last day of work before vacation. After the kids left, there was a party with a banquet and an open bar, sans bartender. The principal made a two-minute speech. Everyone ate and drank, and then shoved aside all the tables and chairs to make room for a dance floor. The food included ham (jamón), salmon (salmón), and salad (ensalada). The music was a sort of mix of salsa and rock and some American songs, like Abba’s “Dancing Queen”. Some people got really drunk; No one cared. When I left a few hours later, the party was still in full swing.


Paris

I knew if I stayed in Spain for the holidays, I might end up feeling lonely and wanting to go home to the US, so I traveled to Paris for a few days. It didn’t cost much for a ticket and my father’s cousin lives there. I don’t speak any French, but I learned a few words and phrases before visiting her family. The day after Christmas I went to the Louve and saw the Mona Lisa. The painting was behind glass and roped off from the public. Behind the rope were two guards. In front of the rope was a huge crowd of people.





While in Paris, I also saw Notre Dame and tried some escargot. It was flavored with butter and parsley, and kind of weird and chewy, like seafood.



P.S. -- I still have no internet. Fortunately, there are computers in the teachers´lounge at work.