New Year, New Country!

After one, far too short, week at home for Christmas I made my way back to Spain for the New Year. Let me tell you it was quite a journey. After many delays, missed planes, re-routes through London, sprinting through airports, and losing luggage I finally arrived in Seville (luggage-less) after roughly 48 hours. Although it was a nightmare, at least I would be able to spend the 31st with my boyfriend in his hometown.

I was quite nervous to be honest. It was the first time meeting his family and many of his friends and also the first time experiencing New Year's in a different country with different traditions! Also, I had had everything planned... my "meet the parents" outfit, my New Year's Eve "clubbing" outfit, a small gift for the family...etc. Yet with the unfortunate fact that my luggage was still in the US while I was in Spain, I had to rethink things. Luckily, after secretly raiding my roommates closet (shhh) and taking the few options I had in mine I was able to scrap together a semi-decent wardrobe. So the morning of the 31st, after 5 hours of sleep and quite jet-lagged, I took the train to El Puerto de Santa María, my boyfriend's hometown which is a small city right on the ocean in the province of Cadiz, Andalucía.

The train was very nice and quite comfortable. I love that there is good public transportation in this country! A 1.5 hour trip cost about 10€ ($15). I arrived early and spent the day with my bf and his family. The weather was rainy, but we were able to take a walk to the beach (which is only 5 minutes from their house!) I also took a short nap to try to get some energy for the night!

The Beach in December

Dinner began around 10:30. I was too shy to take pictures! (Next time I promise). Spanish holidays serve mostly seafood and we had delicious prawns, seafood stew, mussels, salads, etc. Everything was fresh and delicious! At midnight the Spaniards have a very silly, but very fun tradition. You get a bowl of 12 grapes (not seedless!) Some people go through the trouble of peeling them... but I think it cheating! For the last 12 seconds of the year, as the clock strikes 12 times, you must eat one grape per second. Most Spaniards have a lot of trouble with this and can't eat or swallow them all.

Strangely enough... I had no problem. I was actually embarrassed to realize I was the only one who had eaten all 12. Was I trying too hard? I don't know, maybe its just because I love to eat! Well, anyway, embarrassment aside, we then drank champagne and wished each other a Happy New Year.

After midnight I changed clothes to go out. The nice thing about the Spanish culture (especially on New Year's Eve) is that clubs don't even start until 3:00-4:00 in the morning. So Spanish people can spend the evening eating and enjoying with their families, and then go out with their friends around 1:00 or 2:00. Usually they stay out until 8:00 in the morning and get something for breakfast.

We had already paid for a private room and open bar in one discoteca in the city center with about 40 of the bf's friends. It wasn't the best club in the world, but the people were nice and the music was decent. I had fun, although not knowing anyone is always a bit awkward... add in the language barrier, and its just not the same as going out with my American friends! But I still had fun, and we actually left quite early (6:00 am) because I was so tired!

On New Year's Day I visited more with the family and we ate many leftovers from Christmas and New Year's, which is the traditional way to eat on New Year's Day. At night, we headed back to Seville.

I had been planning to spend the rest of the week (which I had off) in Seville, but the bf invited me to come with him again to Puerto for El Día de los Reyes Magos (3 Wise Men's Day/Epiphany) This is the day that Spanish children typically receive their gifts (left by the 3 Wise Men, NOT Santa Claus) and that family members also exchange gifts. I was uncertain about going, but decided to in the end as my suitcase had arrived and I wanted to give everyone their gifts too.

Once again the holiday was filled with eating, drinking, and conversation. We all exchanged gifts and I felt really welcomed to receive something too! We exchanged gifts after eating on January 5th (actually the 6th because it was past midnight) despite the bf's protests that everyone should wait for morning.

The next day more family came over and all of the nieces and nephews received their gifts. We ate a lot more, including a special dessert made only for this celebration. It's called a Roscón de Reyes (King's Ring) and it didn't look too appealing to me but I ended up loving it. Its like a sweet bread ring cut in half and filled with a delicious cream of your choice (we chose chocolate). Be careful because it has small toys and figures inside too! Traditionally, if you get a small baby figure you will have good luck for the year to come, but if you get the dried bean... you must pay for the cake! My piece was figurine free...

Mmm... King's Cake

Overall, I really enjoyed spending New Year's in Spain. Since its a holiday I usually associate with friends in the US it wasn't too sad to be without my family. I think its really nice that here you can spend time with both your family and your friends. What I can't believe is that a quarter of the year has already gone by since I was in Puerto for New Year's! Time is flying! More to come... Besos!