Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Three Kings Day

I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, but I managed to get two weeks off of work for Christmas, which was nice because my parents came over to visit.

Here are some pictures of all the festivities and trips we've taken over the past three weeks.

Over the years Jose and I have created our own Christmas and New Years traditions and every year we add some new ones. This year I made gingerbread cookies from scratch for the first time. It was fun. Now I have a new Tojo Edwards family tradition :)



We spent Christmas Eve with Jose's parents and Christmas day with the whole gang. There were 14 of us total. Christmas with the Tojo Ramallo family is very different than with the Edwards family. There's lots of noise, lots of arguing and shouting, and lots of food and partying. For someone who doesn't understand Spanish, one might think everyone was angry with each other from all the yelling and strange facial expressions, but no, just the opposite. That's just the way everyone is...no one's angry or upset, it's just a typical, boisterous spanish conversation! But maybe the most shocking are the various 6 course meals we eat on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day. We all need to go on diets now.

Between Christmas and New Years we took my parents on a 3-day tour of Portugal. The four of us drove down in a small 1989 Volkswagen Golf to Lisbon and then worked our way back up stopping along the way at Fatima, Aveiro and Porto.

Lisbon is a giant city like Madrid that's pretty much in ruins. But like I told Jose, it's falling down, yes, but it does it so gracefully. We took a trolly ride through the old city and got a glimpse of life in Lisbon.

Fatima is where the virgen supposedly Mary appeared to three kids in the woods. Now it's a tourist attraction like Myrtle beach full of glow in the dark virgen Mary's.



Aveiro is Portugal's "Little Venice". A small beach town with canals and typical portuguese fishing boats.

We stayed the second night in Porto, which is most famous for it's Vinho do Porto wineries. We took a tour of two of the most famous ones, Ferreira and Sandeman.

After our Portuguese tour we came back to Santiago and rested up for our big New Years Eve bash. Prawns, lobster, fish, beef, mousse, wine, champagne, liquour, music, dancing, 12 grapes, party masks, hats, confetti and noise makers.

After all that partying we needed a little peace and quiet so we headed off on a day trip to the Ribeira Sacra (my favorite place in Galicia by far).

And last, but not least, the "Reyes Magos" (Three Kings or Three Wisemen). On the night of January 5th the 3 Wisemen come on camel and leave toys for the children. The kids write them letters telling the wisemen what they want and they give the letters to the Royal Postman who delivers them. Just like with Santa, the kids leave cookies and milk (or brandy :))for the wisemen and water for the camels. Then on the morning of the 6th all the kids run to the Christmas tree to find what the wisemen left them. The wisemen were in Santiago last night :)

(pictures taken from the newspaper, El Correo Gallego)

Tunisia: Sights, Sounds, Smells, Tastes (Part 4)

TASTES:

· sweet, sticky dates
· spicy cus cus and lamb
· mild palm tree juice
· salt from the Great Salt Lake
· "Boga" lemon/lime drink

Tunisia: Sights, Sounds, Smells, Tastes (Part 3)

SMELLS:

· the strong, earthly scent of freshly tatooed henna on my hand

· incence in the air
· sweet, fruity smoke floating out of the cachimbas/shishas/hookahs

· curry, saffron, cumin, ginseng, and cinnamon in the spice market
· vendors crushing mint and jasmine tea leaves in their hands for me to smell

· sweaty street vendors

(best when read with a "Scratch N' Sniff" screen)

Tunisia: Sights, Sounds, Smells, Tastes (Part 2)

SOUNDS:


In the desert there was only silence but walking through the medinas and zocos in Tunisia was like something out of movie. There were so many sounds and languages so unfamiliar to me.

First, the haggling. Everytime we walked by a vendor we were bombarded with a constant "Españolo? Españolo? Entra, Entra!! Solo mirar, solo mirar. Mira, mira!!! Un Dinar, un Dinar!!" Jose and I talked about how easy it is in our culture to find something you like, look at the price, decide if you want to pay that for it, and if so, buy it, and if not, walk away. Not so in Tunisia. Everything is priced triple what's it's really worth. Here's a typical conversation I had everyday with the vendors (translated into English, of course):

Me: (looking at silver bracelet) How much?
Vendor: 35 Dinars each.
Me: Ooo, no. That's too much.
Vendor: Ok, you tell me a price.
Me: I'll give you 30 Dinars for THREE of them.
Vendor: You're crazy! You want me to go bankrupt??
Me: I'm not paying 105 Dinars.
Vendor: Ok, ok. 105 not fair price, but 30 not fair either. Give me good price.
Me: No, you give me one.
Vendor: Take all three for 90.
Me: No, no, no.
(I start to walk out of the store, leaving the bracelets behind. Vendor grabs my arm to pull me back into the store)
Vendor: Ok lady, give me 80.
Me: No, I'll give you 35.
Vendor: Ok, ok. Just give me 70. I'll go bankrupt for this.
(I start to walk out again. He grabs me once again, patting my shoulder)
Vendor: Ok, ok. Give me 60.
Me: No, 40.
(Still holding my arm and pulling me in, and me struggling to walk away)
Vendor: No, no, no. Just give me 55.
Me: 40 is my final offer.
Vendor: Come on, just give me 55.
(This time I really leave the store and start walking away...knowing all the while that he'd come running after me with the bracelets)
Vendor: Lady, lady!! Ok, ok, ok. 40.

So I give him the 40 Dinars (about 25 Euros)for 3 beautifully detailed, silver bracelets knowing that I'd gotten ripped off, because he wouldn't have sold them to me if he wasn't going to make a profit.

We get back to the bus and one of the other tourists showed me the 6 silver bracelets that she had gotten for 30 Dinars!! And the guy made a profit off of it!! Everytime you buy something you feel like you've been ripped off...and you have. You even have to bargain to buy a bottle of water! The first 3 or 4 times was fun, but it gets old quick.

After my purchase, we continue to walk through the streets wiping the sweat off our foreheads. All of a sudden we hear something...something enchanting. Chants, and singing and prayers began echoing throughout the town from the high towers. The sound is beautiful and captivating.

The singing from the towers is only vocal, no instruments, but the music on the streets and on the radio is full of drums, flutes and ethnic rhythms.

Arabic or French is being spoken around every corner. Whether it be bickering or friendly conversation. Cars and motorcycles constantly honking as they weave in and out. The clip clop of horse hooves. An occasion bray from a donkey or grunt from a camel.

It's a different world.