Wow, I am a terrible blogger.

And the longer I wait to update it, the more daunting it becomes! I do apologize.
I have had a few fun excursions since my last post, before Christmas. The day after Christmas I took off for Fes, Morocco for a few days and it was amazing! A friend of a friend was up here with us for Christmas and she is currently living in Morocco. I traveled back down with her on the 26th. It was a full day of travel, involving a bus, ferry, taxi, train, and another taxi. (I flew back on a plane, so I pretty much covered all modes of transportation on this trip!)
I had a great time seeing Fes, spending time in the Medina (the old city). It was just incredible to look around at this city that has been there since like 700 or 800 AD. The city was a combination of old and new, traditional and modern. Men and women in traditional dress walking next to youth in jeans, talking on a cell phone. Old structures that have been there for hundreds of years, scattered with satellite dishes. The contrast was fascinating to see!
The Medina is a maze of tiny alleyways, where no cars can go and the main way to transport things is by donkey. Many times I had to flatten myself against a building to let a donkey carrying bags of sand to pass through! We did a tour one day, with a guide who was clearly very proud to be from Fes. He informed us all about how his uncle was a great craftsman, and because he grew up in this city he knew it very well...which very well may be true, but I can't say I learned too much from him. (He was the one who informed us that to be a good woman, you need to be able to make good bread :)
One of my favorite parts of the trip was spending time at the home of the woman who is my friend's Arabic tutor. This woman, Fatima, had such a bubbly personality that it didn't matter that I had no idea what she was saying while we were there! (My friend did translate for me, so that did help.) Fatima had us over 2 nights, once to have tea and snacks and the next night for have dinner. Moroccan tea is a very sweet mint tea...I mean, really sugary! But sooo good! I had it many times while I was there. The next night she made a harira soup, which is like a national dish, according to my friend. It was very tasty...a tomato based soup, with chickpeas, little noodles and vegetables. She brought out spoons for us to use, probably because I was there, but my friend shooed them away so we could drink it traditionally, right out of the bowl. So yummy!
We went back to the market(s) in the Medina the last day so I could so some shopping. There were so many beautiful hand crafted goods, being made right there in front of you. Beautiful scarves, rugs, pottery, leather, just about anything. I was glad to be with someone who was learning to speak the local Arabic dialect, because she did most of the talking in the shops! Well, stalls, really. I think we maybe got a slightly better price because she lives there and knows the language! All in all, it was a great trip. I'll put a few pictures below, but I took a good amount so if you'd like to see more, send me an email and I'll send a link!

My favorite picture of shoes in the market!

A main entrance to go into the Medina (old city) of Fes

A view from above, with the Medina spread out below

The tanneries, where they clean, dye and dry leather

Dressed up in a traditional dress for a formal occasion (We had fun playing dress up!)

I feel so blessed that I was able to go see another corner of the world, one I never thought I'd see. Another stamp in my passport...and, now I've been to Africa! Check one more continent off my list :)
I will update again soon, with pictures from my weekend in Sevilla, I promise. 2/3 of my students are going to be gone for the next 2 weeks, so I will have a bit more free time to upload pictures and whatnot. Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas Eve!

My first Christmas spent anywhere other than my parents' home in PA...it's a strange feeling, of not being there to do all the usual traditions. Since it's Christmas Eve, I should be helping my dad make the kipfel (the favorite Stremme cookie) in the kitchen, and finishing wrapping up my gifts. To help sort of follow this tradition, I'm going to go bake another kind of cookie that involves jelly and is German (I think), a linzer cookie. Plus, I do still have some wrapping to do! It's nice to know I can procrastinate in any country :)

One of things I'm most sad about missing is a Christmas Eve church service. The church I'm attending doesn't have one, nor do any of the other churches that we've found. Maybe some of the cathedrals have mass? Anyway, I'll sing Silent Night on my own if I have to!
Christmas is most definitely celebrated here, but the bigger holiday happens on Jan. 6th, el dia de los Reyes Magos (or something to that effect). King's Day. I've been told on the 5th in the evening, there is a parade where the kids dress up in costumes and throw candy into the crowds...I don't know, I'll blog more when it gets closer and I can see for myself!

One thing I have enjoyed is seeing a few different nativities around Alhaurín and in Málaga. There's one outdoors, in front of the main cathedral in town. It has full size figures, and since the floor is filled with hay all the homeless kitties around town have taken up residence beside the baby Jesus. It's really cute, actually! I got a picture of them...

You can see the two curled up together in front of Mary. There were more along the sides of the creche, probably 5 or 6 in all. This was the only life size belén (nativity) I saw.

The others were all in miniature, but were entire villages...the stable was just one part of it! We went to one that was inside a...not a church, I'm not sure what to call it. A place where they store the floats and saints for Santa Semana (Holy week, the week before Easter when they have tons of parades with their favorite saints/icons) Anyway, inside this building they had a little village set up, but when we looked closely we saw that there were little scenes from Jesus' life in different parts. One of him as a boy, while Joseph was working as a carpenter, one of Mary while she was riding on the camel, pregnant, with Joseph leading...it was neat, actually. You could always pick the 3 of them our because their figurines had the gold circle/halo around their heads. I didn't get any pictures, because I wasn't sure if it was allowed, but it was fun to look at. And the nice church ladies inside were playing tambourines and singing. Not so much in a performance way, more like they decided to stand in a little circle and sing together, And they offered us drinks. Like, shots of the anise flavored liquor...I don't know what it's called. But these Spanish ladies knew how to party!
The last belén I saw was yesterday, at the main cathedral in Málaga. It was...confusing? It was in miniature, like the other one, but the scene was more like 18th century. The figurines were dressed more 17th or 18th century, I'm not really sure. One guy had a white wig like he should have been in parliament in the 1700s...then we did see the creche at the end of the scene, but it wasn't really a stable. There were animals, and a decorative fountain in the wall behind them..umm..okay. An interpretation of Bethlehem perhaps? lol...it was interesting!

Well, the cookies won't make themselves so I better get to work. I hope to blog tomorrow at some point, but if not, then please pray for me as I prepare for my trip to Fez, Morocco! I leave on Sunday the 26th, and I'll be back in Málaga on the 30th. Just a few days, but I excited to see Morocco! Who would have thought I'd ever go to Fez??
¡Feliz Navidad!

Christmas in Malaga

Last Friday I had the chance to go downtown with 2 friends, Lily and Theresa, to see the Christmas lights. Let me tell you, they know how to do lights here! It was beautiful! Around the main plaza, la Plaza de la Constitucion, there is a big pedestrian outdoor shopping area, and they went all out with Christmas lights and more Christmas lights, hung from building to building. Plus, as we were standing in the plaza, a marching band came through, just sort of pushing their way through the crowds. And further down there was an excellent string quartet playing off to one side. It was loud, crowded, bright, and alive...as much as I like living in a smaller town, I equally enjoy getting out into the city! After walking around and taking many pictures we found a good sushi restaurant and really, when have I ever refused sushi??
Pictures of the lights...

Ole!

Last night I had the chance to go to a flamenco show at the local cultural center. It was so much fun to watch! It was put on by a local dancing school, and it seemed like a recital of sorts. Which made it all the more fun, because there were dancers of all ages and skill levels- from a 4 year old that stood completely still and just played with  her dress and smiled, to the adults who danced  and moved their hands beautifully. Flamenco is fascinating to watch...so much of it is in the hands and how they twist and turn them in the air. There were several different styles of flamenco, which I never realized there was more than one style. Some involved castanets and soft shoes, and others were more about the stomping and clapping rhythms. And the costumes! Some were wildly inappropriate for little girls to be wearing on stage (gold bikini-like tops? really?) but most were what you would picture for flamenco dancers. Mermaid style gowns with big ruffles that trailed behind on the floor, hair in tight buns and big flowers pinned in. I didn't get any pictures of the adults, but I couldn't resist these little ones in their orange ruffle dresses...they were so cute!

We all had a really good time watching the recital...and at the end they all gathered on stage and had what I refer to as a jam session. Dancing improv, as they clapped to the beat and called to each other to come forward and dance in the semi circle. Oh, it looked like so much fun, it's tempting to find some flamenco lessons! And, at the end of each performance people from the audience shouted "Ole!" Ah, what a Spanish experience.

Tonight I'm headed into downtown Malaga to see the Christmas lights in the shopping/pedestrian area. I saw them up last time I was in town, unlit, so I'm excited to see them all lit up. Pictures will come of that! I did take a pic of my mini-tree. I like it! And it was only 6.49 Euro. Not bad for a little tree :)

Hello, December!

Felices Fiestas!
I've seen that expression in lights around town, and the closest I can gather is that it is the equivalent of our generic, secular Happy Holidays. (Literal translation is Happy Parties...) I prefer Feliz Navidad!

I decided not to go home for Christmas this year. I was going back and forth about it, which meant I waited until flights got to be rather pricey. I finally decided to take advantage of being on this side of the Atlantic and fully experience Spain during Christmastime. It'll be weird to not be home for making cookies with my dad, Christmas Eve dinner and church service, and all the traditions that Christmas brings with it. But I have a wonderful group of people here who are more than welcoming and will gladly draw me in to join in the Christmas festivities. And, I even bought a little tree about 2 ft. tall, and little inexpensive ornaments to decorate it with. Can't have Christmas without a tree :) I would post a picture but I haven't take it out of it's little box yet. Soon, though.

One thing that made it feel like Christmas was going shopping this weekend. There was Christmas music, mostly in English...the mall was all decorated inside with lights and a big tree, and there were huge crowds- just like back home. A mall is a mall, no matter where you are. They had an H&M, Sephora, Claire's, and a few other common stores. The main difference I would say is the food court. Well, I wouldn't call it a food court, because the only fast food option was McD's (of course), then the rest were all little cafes/restaurants where you need to sit down and order. It's just much more common to take time to sit down and eat, especially for the main 2:30ish meal. It's a good thing, to slow down and enjoy each other's company.

That's it for now...I will try and blog more frequently this month!

Water, water everywhere

Things are getting a bit soggy here in southern Spain. The rains have come, which means Winter is upon us! It doesn't get cold enough to snow where I am living, but it does get to be quite chilly. And rainy. It has rained 3 of the past 4 days. I like rain, but not in my bedroom...
I think my family water curse has followed me here. Water is trying to seep in through the bottom of my door that leads out to the patio. Then I started hearing a drip-drip-dripping sound over the weekend, and saw my roof was dripping in 2 spots. (luckily, not over my bed or anything!) I only mention the water curse because these water incidents are on top of my toilet not flushing properly at the moment, the lack of hot water for a week until we had the hot water heater replaced, and the kitchen sink upstairs that is leaking in the cabinet below. I'm not complaining, just realizing that perhaps my family does have a water curse! At any rate, I'm still feeling thankful and blessed to have hot showers after a few days of trickling, cool water showers in the chilly mornings!
On Sunday it did not rain. In fact, it was gorgeous and clear, and I took the opportunity to walk around my neighborhood. Below is a photo of the view from the top of my street. I am living in one of the pinkish houses you can see in the near distance, to the right a bit. So blessed to be here!!

The Mediterranean in the distance. I can't get enough of these views!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Living outside of the US doesn't stop us Americans from taking time off from work/school and stuffing ourselves full of turkey and mashed potatoes! Sure, there were a few elements missing (the Macy's parade, football, the snow that apparently fell in Philly...??) but those aren't what really makes Thanksgiving a great holiday. As much as I love eating all the food, one of my favorite parts of the day is the time spent cooking with others in the kitchen. I like the chit chat and time spent together as you do even the most mundane tasks, such as peeling potatoes or chopping vegetables. At least this year I didn't have to fight off 4 cats who know how to jump up on the counters :)
Our little community of 11 came together yesterday to have Thanksgiving, and it was a really great time of fellowship and laughter, with a few small cooking missteps (ovens in Spain are weird. Though from what I hear, it can be normal for a house/apartment to not even have an oven.) But the turkeys came out great, as did all the side dishes. I was in charge of mashed potatoes and broccoli salad, naturally. The kids had all made little Pilgrim and Indian dolls from toilet paper rolls, and created a little village! I love the creativity these kids have.
There is just so much to be thankful for right now...thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and supporting me. I'm truly thankful for God's provisions for me here and everything he has done in the past few months. Amazing! 

Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Black Friday shopping to you all!!
And now I can start listening to Christmas music ;)

Our village people!

Ready for dinner