Madrid for a Day

So my trip to Madrid was mostly a failure. Not that I didn't end up enjoying it, but it didn't really serve the purpose I wanted it to. I got up bright and early, about 6, to catch a bus to Madrid. I had already purchased my ticket to the Doctor Who 3D movie, and it started at 1:15. I planned on going to the movie, spending a couple of hours wandering downtown, and then going back to Aranda at about 8:00. Perfect, right?

Let's skip to the moral of the story. Spain is on a 24 hour clock. Which, I knew. I even have it changed on my phone and iPod. So you would think I wouldn't get it confused. I'm outside of the theater waiting for the movie to start, and it's closed. Completely closed. Luckily, there were a few fellow Whovians waiting with me; two Spaniards, three Americans, and a Mexican. We had a nice chat, and waited. And waited. 1:00 passed. And 1:15. And we were starting to get anxious. Finally, at 1:20, a woman on the street stopped to talk to us. "There are no movies right now," she said. "There's a special showing at one," the Spanish guy said. "Yes," she said, "one. Not 13.00." Unfortunately, she was right. The showing was at 1, or as we Americans would say, 1 am. It seemed too late to even consider when I booked the ticket, and I didn't, so I ended up losing the 10 Euro I paid for the movie. Bummer.

Luckily, if you're going to be stuck wandering around Madrid for 8 hours, there's no better place than Calle Fuencarral. It's an excellent place for shopping, even if all you do is window shop. I managed to get some Christmas presents, and actually had a pretty good time. I finally got to go into the Corte Ingles, a Spanish department store (the largest store I've been in, but with incredibly low ceilings, which I didn't even know would bother me until I experienced it. They had some decorations hanging down, and I know that my little brother would have wacked his head on them.)The city is getting ready for Christmas, and the street was partially decorated (I don't think they official turn things on until advent). My favorite part of the evening was coming across a sextet playing on the street. There were two violins, a cello, a bass, a keyboard, and a soprano opera singer. Lovely.

Up until this point, I hadn't really thought much of Madrid. It's starting to grow on me. It might be partially due to the fact that I got some awesome Christmas gifts, and found some actually comfortable, cute boots. I don't know how women in Spain do it. Most boots have no insoles whatsoever, and the ones you buy have hardly no arch support. Fortunately, this particular brand advertises itself as one you can walk around in for a full day, which is usually something I just expect from my shoes. They're also blue! And, when it gets hot out, I can zip off the top half and make short botines. Que chula, no?

Not only that, but I've managed to get around on the metro pretty well. I'm always worried about public transportation (and if I can will always walk or bike somewhere. My fear keeps me fit I suppose). But I've ridden the metro a few times now, and have not gotten lost or mugged or spat on or stabbed or transported to an alternate dimension, so I'm feeling pretty confident about the whole thing.

I'm finally off to Fatima this weekend! Hooray! If you have any prayer requests, leave a message on Facebook or on the blog. And soon I'll be in Rome! Lots of pictures to come soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Mozarabic Rite Mass

(This is going to be one of those Catholic writing to Catholics post, because I figure mostly Catholics would be interested in the post. If you'd like to know more or don't know what the heck I'm talking about, message me)

Today I had the pleasure of attending a Hispanic-Mozarabic rite of the Catholic mass, held every day in the Toledo cathedral. It was really neat, and I was amazed both by how different and how similar it was to the Roman Rite. First, a little history. This rite was formalized in the 600s, when the Visigoths ruled Spain (and when I say Spain, it wasn't even close to what it is today), but similar forms were used for the first ten centuries in Spain. The rite was continued under Arabic rule. That's what Mozarabic means, those under Arabic rule that were not Arabic, but remained Christian. Pope Gregory XII eventually united the Christian kingdoms under the Roman rite (I believe this is the same Pope that united Gregorian chant, though I can't confirm without internet), and most of the areas in Spain converted to the new rite, save for those that were still under Arabic rule. Hence the name came into being. Even after the reconquest, the people wanted to keep their rite. A deal was struck, and within six parishes in Toledo, the people (and subsequent generations) of those who participated in the Mozarabic mass before the reconquest were allowed to continue celebrating in that fashion. The mass underwent several updates, and with Vatican II was restored to a purer form. It's also allowed to be celebrated anywhere it is appropriate, though I believe it is still only celebrated in Leon and Toledo. That is at least, what I gathered from the mass packet they gave me after I translated it from Spanish. Someone may want to read through it and double check my work.

The mass opened with a three member choir (probably priests or deacons) filing in behind us. They sat behind what almost looked like a cloister gate, though not a gate per say. It began with a chanted prayer, which I wish I had known wasn't in the booklet, because it was very nice and I would have liked to listen to it better. They were all wearing red and black capes- very Spanish looking. The chant went on for about ten minutes, and then the mass began.

I was surprised to see that it was ad populum. That could have been a later change I suppose, but the chapel we were in was about 500 years old (dedicated after the conquest of Toledo) and the altar was clearly designed for someone to be standing behind it, though I can't say for sure. I also noticed that both the priest's vestments and the altar were covered in a pink/purple color, and couldn't figure out why. (You might be able to guess. It turned out to be really obvious)

What was amazing about the structure of the mass was how similar everything was. Liturgy of the word- A reading from the prophets, a reading from the letters, and a reading from the Gospels. It was in a combination of Latin and Spanish, most of the spoken prayers in Latin, with the exception the response to the readings, which was "demos gracias a Dios" in Spanish. There was no psalm, but instead a Benediction. When we got to the homily, I realized why the colors were pink/purple-today was the first Sunday of Advent in the Mozarabic rite. Neat! (this means I can start playing holiday music, right?)

After the readings began the preparation of the offerings. (Again, all of this is chanted, and the congregation also chants in response. That took a while to get a hang of, since it wasn't the same note structure I've come to expect in Gregorian chant or during a Latin rite mass.) This section was definitely the most different. The offertory prayers were distinct from what we use now, although they still mentioned things like the Pope and his intentions, and the dead. What was really cool was the series of small litany-like prayers. One to a number of apostles and martyrs and one to confessors. All of them were ancient Saints, almost all either in the Bible or with super roman names. Ambrose, Fulgencio, Fructuoso, Eulalia, etc. This section ended with a prayer for the dead.

The sign of peace was very similar overall, though it began with a series of unique prayers, ended with a canticle, and in the middle we shook hands (la paz de Dios sea contigo, in Spanish).

The coolest part of the whole mass was the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It begins with similar prayers (justo y necesario, lo tenemos levantado hacia el Señor) but with a few added prayers. My favorite was the response "All our attention towards the Lord" before the aforementioned part.

The Santo came next, all the same except for the ending "hágios, hágios,, hágios, Kyrie o Theós" written in Greek on both the Latin and Spanish side of the booklet, so I don't have an exact translation of that one. The institution was much the same, which didn't surprise me, since most of it's a direct quote anyway. We didn't kneel but stood. In fact, we stood most of the time, with some sitting during the liturgy and a bit later on. No kneeling at all.

The Nicene Creed followed, the same we use today (makes sense, it was created before the rite was established). The coolest and most unique thing of the whole mass was the breaking of the Eucharist. It started with the priest chanting. Then, he broke the Eucharist into different pieces, forming a cross with them on the altar. All the pieces signified a different part of Christ's life; the incarnation, the birth, the circumcision, the transfiguration, the passion, the death, the resurrection, the gloria (if I had to translate that one I'd say ascension), and the reign of Christ in heaven, which he announced out loud. Nine points, seven of them in a cross, two to the right side of the cross. Before the mass, the priest asked how many people would be receiving Communion (which I only just barely understood and raised my hand in time). I think we were about nine, so we probably just made the cross. I assume they break it into nine pieces no matter what, and then the rest as needed.

Afterwards came the Our Father. While the text is the same, the whole congregation doesn't participate. Instead, the priest intones the lines of the Our Father, followed by 'amén' from the congregation. A similar prayer follows the Our Father, but without the traditional 'for yours is the kingdom, etc." (would you believe I can only remember the words to that in Spanish right now?) If I'm remembering correctly, this would have been a time when that was not said in the mass, though later became part of the mass again. I'm just guessing on that one, I really can't remember for sure. This is followed by a benediction, similar but longer than the one we currently use.

Finally, we get to Communion. There's a short canticle, the priest praying first and the congregation responding with "alleluia, alleluia, alleluia." This goes on during Communion. Communion is taken on the tongue, and both species are presented together. The priest dips the Body into the precious Blood, and then holds out a cloth as he gives you the Eucharist, to make sure none of the precious blood drips onto the ground. I really appreciated the care and reverence given to the Eucharist. There are a few closing prayers, then the mass ends.

While it was so different, with the mass being 98% chanted, the additional offertory prayers, the breaking of the Eucharist into the cross, and the different wording, it was definitely the mass. Most everything we said I recognized. The format was basically the same. And with the celebration of the Eucharist, the prayers for the dead, the recognition of the Saints and the blessed Virgin throughout the mass, it was 100% Catholic. One, holy, apostolic, and universal Catholic church. It was really neat to be able to participate in something 1400 years old and unique to Spain, but it was still part of that Holy Mass, instituted by Christ, and celebrated from then until now and into the future and for all eternity as a heavenly banquet. Qué guay, ¿no?

Tilting at windmills (they might be giants)

What a day! I can honestly say that a long term goal has been achieved. But I'm getting to that... So I got up this morning with one task that I knew I must complete. I had to get to see the windmills. You know, the Don Quijote windmills. Or should I say the giants? (yes I will make that reference more than once, no it's probably not that funny, but how often will I get to do that?) I had some information from the guy running the hostel (hostels are good like that) on which bus to take to get there, so I wandered off at about the time I thought the bus was leaving. I say I thought, because as it turned out, I had switched the departure and return times, so the time I thought the bus was leaving Toledo, it was actually leaving the small windmill town, from now on known as Consuegra. Whoops. What was previously a panicked sort of run to the bus station (I left in plenty of time but got a bit turned around) became a slow amble. I arrived at the station to buy a ticket for later, but to my dismay the bus that arrived there didn't seem to have any Saturday buses. It had Lunes a Viernes, and Dias Loborales. Okay, weekdays and workdays, right? So I sat and stared and tried to work out a way the Saturday bus times could get me there and back without getting stranded in Consuegra. There was no possible way. Defeated, I went and sat down and pulled out the schedule he gave me, thinking, well, this must be an old schedule. Bummer. But as I'm about to leave I think, I should ask him anyway, what could it hurt? And why would you say Mon-Fri and then work days if they meant the same thing? That makes no sense. Perhaps Saturday is included in work days? Low and behold, that was exactly it. So I managed to get a bus to Consuegra for the late morning (also known as early afternoon in the States). I wandered over to the castle on the hill, which you may have seen in my pictures from yesterday. When I say wandered, I mean hiked. It was quite a jaunt. When I got up there I found, to my dismay, that the castle is now a youth hostel, and they don't allow tourists. First, coolest youth hostel ever. Second, stupid youth hostel, ruining my castle adventure. I did get some pretty neat pictures of the outside, so that was alright. I had a couple hours to kill, and on my way to the Mosque found a free sacred art museum (boy do I love free). They even had some incredibly old pillars and grave markers from the Roman era, Arabic columns, and of course a fantastic collection of religious art dating back to the 13th century. Old baptismal founts and statuary, right up my alley. I never did make it to the mosque (maybe it's open tomorrow?) but it was still a nice morning. Okay, on to the meat of my journey. I hopped onto the bus bound for a town past Consuegra. The thing about Spanish buses is that they assume you know the town you're going to, or at least how long it will take to get there. They won't announce the name, and you won't pass a sign saying 'welcome to' anything. Luckily, the first thing you see when you hit Consuegra is windmills. Gorgeous, circular, windmills. The actual Don Quijote windmills. And a ton of them, 12 at my count. I got off the bus with three other people, all around my age. Two were Japanese men, and one was a Peruvian woman. We all spoke enough Spanish to communicate. Turns out we were headed to the same place (not that there's a lot of other stuff in Consuegra). If you're interested in going, the tourist info is in bus station, so it was pretty easy to get a map. It turns out you pretty much head straight up. It's not an easy trip. Yes, they added stairs, but the stairs are quite slanted. It takes about fifteen minutes, and I would recommend going on a weekday. We were a bit pressed for time, as the only bus back to Toledo was coming in fifty five minutes. But the four of us did get some great pictures (some together as well, though I never learned the Japanese guys' names). Not only that, but I made some friends! As I mentioned, there are about twelve windmills. All of them have names, and they're all pretty spread apart. What you should do is climb up this short path to a wall with a hole in it. If you climb through the hole (it's quite large) you have access not only to the windmills, but to a castle. Like I said, we didn't have time to check it out (thwarted again) but the view was beautiful. Though slightly marred by the presence of a crane, it was completely worth it just to see them. Adela (the Peruvian woman) recommended that I take a tour train around Toledo, which I did. I highly recommend it. It's cheap, and you get to see the town from the summit of the castle hill without hiking up there. The accompanying audio tour is available in 18 languages, and is really very interesting. Also, they take American dollars. Weird. I head back to Aranda tomorrow, which I'm ready for. Vacation is great, but it'll be nice to get back to my routine. Also, it'll be nice not to spend so much money on souvenirs. Also, I forgot both soap and shampoo so... yeah. It'll be good to get back home. But before I do that, I'll be going to a Mozarabique rite mass tomorrow, only celebrated in Toledo and Leon, and established before the Roman rite mass. More information on that tomorrow (or Monday, when I can use the library's internet connection). Time to see if I can get some sleep. The hostel is quite cold tonight, and I've got Man of la Mancha running through my head non stop.

Maria Auxiliadora

Just in case you were wondering why she's the patron of my blog... So a couple years ago, I went to Costa Rica. On the first day there I went to mass (and got horribly lost after following a rosary procession, but that's another story). It was the feast day of Maria Auxiliadora, an important one in Costa Rica. During the mass after the collection, they went around handing out holy cards, and small statuettes. With some slick maneuvering (holding out my hand at just the right time), I got a small statuette of Maria Auxiliadora. She sat on my bed table, and came back with me to the States. Unfortunately, I left her at home this trip. I already had to glue baby Jeusus' head back on once, and didn't want to risk a second journey. So when I came over here, I had basically nothing religious. Not even my holy medals, which I left at my parent's house. They were, as I mentioned, celebrating festivals in Aranda when I arrived. So I purchased a local bandana, blue and white in Aranda's particular colors. I then noticed that everyone had these pins hanging off them, some collected from years before. I thought, hey, I'll get one of those. Low and behold, one stall had saint pins. I glanced through them, unsure, but when my eyes fell on Maria Auxiliadora, I knew. I purchased her, and after festivals, I put her on my purse, so she comes with me where ever I go. I think she's the patron of my travels, and I feel better having her around.

Toledo, Day 1

If I ever live in Spain again, please let it be in Toledo. This place is beautiful. In fact, it's exactly like I imagined Spain would be. Toledo was the capital of Spain for a while, and it shows. It was also a center of culture, so the architecture reflects Christian, Arabic and Jewish cultural influences. And although the Jews and Arabs were expelled from the country in the 1400s, you can still see many of their footprints here. Arabic archways, a Jewish quarter, Mosques, Churches, and Synagogues are everywhere. I've so far only managed to get to see the Cathedral, but that's only because I got into my hostel at 3, and everything closed at six. Speaking of the cathedral... It is not as impressive as the one in Burgos, nor is it as large. That being said, it was beautiful. It's got this AMAZING retablo. Biggest I've seen yet. There's also this one particular wall honoring the both Eucharist and bringing in light in the most unusual way. It's hard to describe, but I'm going to post all the pictures. The stained glass, which doesn't really show up on my phone camera, was probably the most beautiful stained glass I've ever seen. And the chapels are all quite lovely. I also so the original Greco piece of St. Dominic. You know, this one I had the opportunity to climb the bell tower! I highly recommend paying the extra few Euro and visiting the top. Unless of course you are afraid of heights, giant bells, tight spaces, or tiny, winding stair cases. FYI, I'm afraid of that last one. And these windy stairs were ridiculously small. I was terrified on the way down. But the view from the tower was fantastic. And the bells were enormous. Apparently they use the different bells to signify different things. The large bell in the center is no longer used, but was used when war ended, or when a king was crowned, things like that. Some of the older people can apparently tell by the sound of the bells when someone has died, and whether or not that person is a woman or a man. Crazy. I spent quite a lot of time wandering around the city. The city is on a hill, so my legs are exhausted. I think if they some statistics on the healthiest city in Spain, it would be Toledo. There's no way to not be fit walking here every day. Toledo is famous for a couple different things. Mostly swords. There are swords everywhere. And I want one. But I will refrain. They are also well known for marzipan, which I haven't tried yet, but will tomorrow. Don Quijote is everywhere, and the famous wind mills are nearby. I will be traveling to see them tomorrow (which makes me wish I had a sword...) Finally, they're famous for a certain type of gold inlay, called damasquinado, which is Arabic in origin. You have to be careful though, I'm pretty sure most of them are 'gold' and 'silver'. I found a couple good shops, but I think as a general rule, if it also sells Toledo t-shirts and bongs, it's probably fake (you might think I exaggerate. I don't. The town is also filled with bong shops.) I managed to figure out my way around the city in a couple hours. Not everywhere, but from the square to my hostel, hostel to the cathedral, and a few other places. I don't know, there's something about the crazy streets of an old Spanish city that make sense to my brain, whereas the well ordered grid of an American city completely go over my head. I also had a map. That may have had something to do with it. There are, again, a lot of American and English speaking tourists here. I stopped a group that was clearly on a pilgrimage (they had a priest with them). None of them spoke Spanish, and they all ate dinner at six, while I was having a merienda (churros and chocolate, yum). I teased them about it, and they actually laughed! I told a successful joke that didn't center around something nerdy! This is a banner day for me. More adventures tomorrow!

Plans

Well, due to extenuating circumstances (not my circumstances, but my friend's) I won't be going to Fatima this weekend. I'll keep you posted. However, this does leave my weekend rather open, and since I have four days off, I'm trying to go somewhere interesting. So expect something new on Tuesday, pictures or blogs or something. This is of course all based on whether or not I get paid, which is frustrating. I feel for the sake of being honest about the program for any future auxiliaries, let me just say thank goodness for my side jobs. I haven't yet gotten paid for November, and I've almost been working two months. This wouldn't be quite so frustrating in no one had gotten paid, but about half the people in my province have. Apparently, if you got in your NIE and bank account info after a certain deadline, you're not processed for another few weeks. In fact, the deadline mentioned by my coordinator (un par de semanas) has passed, a couple of weeks being Monday. And someone already got paid for October. All around frustrating. So I'm getting paid for lessons and my teacher classes, but not for the program which is my main source of income. As I don't get paid for my teacher classes until the end of November, I'm stuck in town until the program pays me. Which better be this week. Well, I'll have more to report after the weekend is over. Good luck to all of my friends who are starting finals soon, especially those that are graduating!

Random Differences, redux

Another post of random differences! Sorry if I repeat. 1. Teaching British. I've got some new words in my vocabulary. First of all, teaching the 'have got' way, which of course we use in English, but learn as children that we shouldn't (at least I know I did). Other words that are different; rubber for eraser (try saying, do you have your rubber, to a nine year old student without feeling weird), mum, finish instead of break up (have you ever finished with a girl?), brilliant, fancy, trousers... that's just a small sampling. So many British terms. Also, we've got several terms that we use that mean something quite different in British English. For example, pants. Pants is underwear. 2. Clothes lines in winter. Ugh... Oh, it rained last night? Oh, there was fog last night? Now my clothes are more wet than when they came out of the washing machine. And drying inside? I hope you have three days of clothing still left in your closet, because your pants will not be dry tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I think they're great in the summer, but fall/winter is a whole other story. 3. Chocolate. It's better here. So. Much. Better. 4. Bread. See above. 5. Speech. This one will only make sense if you speak a bit of Spanish. I've been listening as much as possible to try and learn a Spanish accent, and here's what I've learned. If you have a j or ge/i make sure you get a really gutteral 'h' sound, like you might hear in Arabic. Got a c or a z? Say th. I spelled my name M C C O Y the other day, with a very soft sounding, s-like C, and the guy wrote, MSSOY. I don't know how you would pronounce that. Basically, every time C doesn't make a K sound, use a th. Use the word vale all the time. ALL THE TIME. Want to get a bite to eat? Vale. Do you understand? Vale. Do you like cats? Sí, vale! Vale, vale, vale, vale. Other phrases; tío, tía (dude, chick) vaya (wow) hombre (an interjection, doesn't really mean man) genial or guay (cool) chul@ (which can mean something good about an object and negative about a person) cole (school, i.e. colegio) a ver (something for the beginning of sentences, like well) pavos (bucks, dollars) pasa, pasa (always say it twice when you're telling someone to go in front of you, especially when holding open the door)maj@ (used to indicate a good person, or as a sort of nickname) 6. People are friendly, but don't smile as much, and stare even more. A woman passed out at church the other day. Several people ran to help her, but after she had all the help she needed everyone else stared at her. I think in the States would consider that a little rude. This probably also goes along with the nonexistent personal bubbles here. 7. Apartment doors. They have no outside handles. So even if the door is unlocked, you need a key to open the door. I think it's an extra safety feature, and I think it's a good one. Well, that's all for now. I'm trying my best to connect to the internet, but I at least now know that I'm not the only one unable to connect. Some of my students came by and asked if I could. I said no, and they asked the computer desk librarian. She basically said, too bad so sad. She's kind of a strict lady. Very... lecturey. Ah well. Maybe it'll kick back on in a couple hours. Wait, she's going to fix it! It's like a miracle! It's working! Must... post... blogs...

Totally friki

Not much of an update on my end. It's been pretty normal here. Normal is great! I've been enjoying my classes, and I'm starting to get into the swing of teaching (with the help of my friends who actually know how to teach. Thanks!) I have noticed an interesting cultural difference. Nerd, or friki, is actually quite a negative term here. While I'm sure the frikis themselves don't think of it that way, as far as everyone else is concerned, it's a not a great thing to be. I think in the United States, in the last ten years or so, nerd has become synonymous with smart or unusual, but is not usually negative. Especially in the way movies like Thor, Superman, Batman, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, etc., have mainstreamed the culture. Here, that has not happened, and so when I tell people that I like Doctor Who and Portal, I get a lot of blank stares. I polled all my classes after telling them I like scifi, and I got no positive responses. I also asked if anyone likes Star Trek, Star Wars, anything like that, and the response I got was "They're too young to like that stuff". What? You're never too young to be introduced to Star Wars. Crazy talk. But I finally found my nerd students. There are four, all boys. They were the only ones to recognize my companion cube (from the video game Portal) Halloween costume. And we had a conversation today about Portal, Zelda, and video games in general, after class today. I forgot how nice it is to talk nerdy! The other interesting thing about the 'frikis' is that they're better students. I kid you not, their English is leaps and bounds ahead of my other students. Not only that, but they participate more in class than most of my students. Sometimes all I get from other students (especially in this class) is a wall of silent stares. Now, I know nerd has usually been associated with smart, but I think it's more than that. These kids play video games in English. I know this, because one of my students quoted Portal 2 to me, specifically "Space. Space, space. Space!" (if you've played it you know what I mean.) So they are listening to English, and not just listening but interacting through the video game, and they're learning! Qué guay! That's not to say that all video games are in English, most of the popular Playstation and Xbox games are translated (CoD and GTA most especially), but those that aren't seem to make a great learning tool. Maybe that's something English teachers should look in to? Especially with games like Portal. I don't think there are any real objections to playing a game like that. It's clever, fun, and not violent or full of curse words. Not only that, but now I'm cool to these four students. In a culture that's a little hard for me to connect to (especially some women. maybe I'll write a post about that later) I think I've found the sub culture I would most likely belong to. Also, these kids would for sure be band kids if they lived in the States. A couple other things, as long as I'm writing. Next weekend I will, God willing (and if they pay me for September... ridiculous that they haven't) I will be going to Fatima! If not, I'll go in a couple weeks, but I should be going on Friday with a friend. If you would like me to bring your intentions to Fatima, at the same place our lady appeared, let me know on Facebook or here or in email. Here's a link explaining what Fatima is and why it's so freaking awesome. I'll have plenty of pictures and videos to post when I get back.

Happy Halloween

Obviously, I'm a few days ahead of this now, but hey, the internet in the library is working! Happy day! Happy Halloween, all! I've been presenting Halloween to my classes for the last two weeks, so honestly I'm a glad it's here and almost gone. Give the same presentation fifteen different times, and you're ready to move on. Halloween isn't a huge deal here. Obviously, it's not a Spanish holiday. But, like America, Spain is quick to take advantage of commercial successes like Halloween. So the stores are selling costumes (the Chino stores, mostly) and the bakeries have Halloween candies and what not. I'm pleased to say that none of them had candy corn, so the two bags I brought were a unique experience for the kids. Also, I ate like half a bag. I don't even like candy corn. I suppose I was nostalgic. Or I suppose that if it's candy, I will eat it regardless. Talk about nostalgic- I carved a pumpkin. What was no big deal back home suddenly became an important indicator of my American-ness. And the kids thought it was pretty cool. The pumpkin was small and cheese colored, and all I managed to do with my one knife was cut a vampire face into it, but my younger kids still thought it was fake. I also used the explanation of where one puts a pumpkin to show the kids a picture of my parent's house. They were shocked. Gardens? Houses? Back yards? Everything here is small and mostly apartments, and even though they're small they're super expensive. (which is one of the reasons people marry so late, but I digress). Anyway, I think now they think I'm rich, which I tried to explain wasn't the case, that we just value space in the States. But I still got quite a few "joder"s (that expression is pretty benign in Spain). During the evening there were a ton of trick-or-treaters (truco-o-tratoistos?). Playing up the commercialism of Halloween again. But hey, they were having fun. I saw some of my students trick or treating, too. I taught them that. *sniff* So proud. Happy Halloween, everyone!