Let the holidays begin!
As the city has getting ready for Christmas, so has my school. We had a little belén and a Christma tree set up by the main entrance.
This December, the school also had a small Christmas card making contest. The cards could either be in Spanish, English or French (which is the other language taught in the school). There were a lot of really nice ones and several extra creative ones. Strangely, there was also one Valentine's day card and one Grandmother's day card.
This was one of the cards that won a prize. It was made by a student in 2º; simple, but beautiful, and in English!
Some of the students also organized a toy drive which ran for about two weeks. I'm not entirely sure where/who the toys are going to, but it's such a nice idea.
Another popular Christmas tradition here in Spain are the Christmas treats, some of which we had at the teachers' lounge this past week: mantecado and polvorón. Both are a sort of shortbread made of lard (manteca in Spanish, hence the name), and are from the Andalucía region. A bit confusing the difference between the two -- polvorones are a kind of mantecado, but I'm not entirely sure what makes them special. Both are delicious though; they are somewhat similar to the polvoron we have back home in the Philippines, though ours are sweeter and more powdery. I didn't want to seem like I was eating them all, so I had one a day, trying a new flavor each day. (Popular flavors include lemon, cinnamon, and almond).
I actually didn't have maybe more than half of my classes this week and last because the teachers and students were busy with final exams and projects. The public schools here in Spain operate on three terms, and the first one ends this December. So I was in school this week for only a few hours, and I didn't have much to do, but nevertheless it's nice to be officially on holidays!
So far, I've been mostly sleeping in and then going out in the afternoons (and also marathoning the Harry Potter movies with Lyle). Other than that, I'm excited for the holidays -- my sister Angela comes to spend Christmas with me here in Granada on the 23rd, and we leave on the 26th to visit a friend in Logroño, La Rioja. We're spending New Year's Eve in Madrid, and then I'm off to Catalunya to visit friends and family in Roses, Girona, and Barcelona.
Wishing you all a Happy Christmas, Feliz Navidad and Maligayang Pasko! :)
This December, the school also had a small Christmas card making contest. The cards could either be in Spanish, English or French (which is the other language taught in the school). There were a lot of really nice ones and several extra creative ones. Strangely, there was also one Valentine's day card and one Grandmother's day card.
This was one of the cards that won a prize. It was made by a student in 2º; simple, but beautiful, and in English!
Some of the students also organized a toy drive which ran for about two weeks. I'm not entirely sure where/who the toys are going to, but it's such a nice idea.
Another popular Christmas tradition here in Spain are the Christmas treats, some of which we had at the teachers' lounge this past week: mantecado and polvorón. Both are a sort of shortbread made of lard (manteca in Spanish, hence the name), and are from the Andalucía region. A bit confusing the difference between the two -- polvorones are a kind of mantecado, but I'm not entirely sure what makes them special. Both are delicious though; they are somewhat similar to the polvoron we have back home in the Philippines, though ours are sweeter and more powdery. I didn't want to seem like I was eating them all, so I had one a day, trying a new flavor each day. (Popular flavors include lemon, cinnamon, and almond).
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| Mantecados and Polvoron |
So far, I've been mostly sleeping in and then going out in the afternoons (and also marathoning the Harry Potter movies with Lyle). Other than that, I'm excited for the holidays -- my sister Angela comes to spend Christmas with me here in Granada on the 23rd, and we leave on the 26th to visit a friend in Logroño, La Rioja. We're spending New Year's Eve in Madrid, and then I'm off to Catalunya to visit friends and family in Roses, Girona, and Barcelona.
Wishing you all a Happy Christmas, Feliz Navidad and Maligayang Pasko! :)
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