Whoops... I'm a little behind

Hola!
Pues, lo siento que tardo tanto!! (Translates to, well, I'm sorry I'm so behind) These last three weeks have been non-stop, and I've been putting off updating my blog because there is simply too much to include. Everyday has been FULL to the brim with people, dance, music, and food. So much food. And so much cigarette smoke in so many cafés and bars. The culture here is entirely "por la calle" -- the people live in the streets and public spaces. Rather than gather at friends houses, they get together with friends every afternoon at cafés, bars, and pubs. Our landlords have adopted entirely into their group of friends, and everyday about eight of them get together in the early afternoon, or afternoon and night on the weekends, to socialize. It's pretty wonderful. My Spanish is improving un montón (a ton) everyday, and I am grateful for the fact that we have such young, fun landlords!

Ok, since I'm so behind, I'll have to publish multiple posts to try to cover everything. As I mentioned before, in Galicia, they celebrate Samhain instead of Halloween. So, the weekend of Samhain I went with Macamen, the woman I assistant teach with, to a pueblo called Cedeira. it's about an hour north of Ferrol, and is well known for the local Samhain parade, and the carved pumpkins that all the kids in the town light up with candles (pretty familiar, yes?). Unfortunately, this year due to the rain the streets weren't lined with the pumpkins we were expecting, but instead there was a tent near the river in which there was a WIDE variety of carved pumpkins that had been entered in a competition. Some of them were quite impressive. We wondered around the display and ate some traditional regional dessert. I can't remember the name either of them, but one was basically a sweet bread with a dulce de leche ish topping and the bowl is full of clotted cream and honey. It was incredible, because I was expecting something sweet, and instead was surprised to find a more savory, somewhat yogurty tasting cream with a consistency I lack the words to describe. It was delicious, though, and I got to keep the clay bowl, which is glazed in a typical galician style.


Here are some of the highlights from the pumpkin competition (yes, they're all pumpkins or other fall squashes. The most impressive was definitely the ferrari, though the giant spider thing was pretty terrifying):





Now, this one needs a little explanation, because in context of the current political/ educational climate in Galicia, it's hysterically ironic, but out of context, not quite as good. This fall, the government passed a new set of legislation that emphasized "plurilingual education." It means that the coursework for students (beginning in primary school) is taught in Galego, Castellano (Spanish) and English (get it? pluri - lingual more than one language... woot). In an effort to improve Galicia's global potential, the Xunta has upped the amount of English and Spanish in the classroom, and therefore decreased the amount of Galego present. The subject is rather controversial, and it has ignited quite a strong debate. So, here is the jolly plurilingual pumpkin (reading one of the BEST books ever).

After the delicious dessert and pumpkin competition, Macamen and I took a walk through Cedeira, which of course had a breathtaking coast, and a castle (as all good Galician towns tend to have).







Samhain also serves as a day of remembrance, so all the cemetaries around were filled with flowers (which a taxi driver in Coruña told me were insanely marked up for the holiday.... apparently nothing is sacred anymore!). This is the cemetery of Cedeira-- cool, no?


And here's the town square. It looks rather somber because of the lighting, and its juxtoposition with the previous photo of the cemetery, but I promise, Cedeira is a very cheerful little town. From where I took this picture, I could smell the rich scent of incense coming from the town's small central cathedral, and could hear the kids running around down below amidst the Samhain celebrations. Quite wonderful all of it.

Well, that at least brings us one step close to being up to date, though I have much, much more to add, and will do so this weekend, poco a poco (bit by bit).

Ciao for now!