Letters from Abroad

Dear Patch,

I reached a milestone in language learning last night: I dreamt in Spanish! I have been feeling more and more confident in my skills, and I don’t usually have to think about what I want to say, but I have been waiting to see if I am fluent enough that I would subconsciously think in Spanish. I already knew that I think in Spanish when I’m awake (mixed of course with English and Japanese thinking), but I never can remember my dreams, so I never knew if it also happens when I am sleeping. I don’t remember where I was or what I was doing in my dream, but when I woke up, I realized that I had remembered at least part of my dream: a family friend (that I’ve known for the last 4 months) had been talking to me. And most importantly, that she had been talking to me in Spanish.

Anyways, moving on to what I did this month. One of my best friends here took me ice skating [picture 1], which was really fun, and I also got to try a new food called txapela [2]. It’s comparable to a hamburger, but much bigger and flatter (also better in my opinion). When I took the picture, I added a fork for comparison purposes. And just so you know: yes, that is a full-sized dinner fork. The txapela was amazing, and I’m definitely going back to order it again.

One question I got asked a lot the last few months is if I was going back home for Christmas (Spoiler alert: the answer is no). Yes, the holidays are a time to spend with family, but I have a family here as well, and it’s a really great time to learn about and experience a new culture.

For example, in addition to Christmas, Spain also has a holiday on January 6th called “Día de Los Reyes Magos” (“Day of the Three Wisemen”). A very shortened version of the story behind it is that the three kings, Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthasar, traveled on camelback to bring gifts to Jesus after his birth, guided by the star Bethlehem. Nowadays, it is celebrated by kids writing them letters asking for gifts and leaving out shoes for the kings to leave presents in. The night before is usually celebrated by a big parade reenacting the arrival of the Three Kings.

In addition to having another holiday, Christmas is also celebrated a little bit differently. Papa Noel is the Spanish equivalent of Santa, but in many regions, there is another prominent figure that brings gifts. In Catalonia (eastern region, where Barcelona is located), they have a log that poops presents when hit with a stick [3-5]. And yes, that sounds weird to me too. Here in Basque Country, we have the Olentzero [6], which is pretty similar to Santa Claus, in that he is a jolly old man that brings gifts on Christmas Eve, except he is dressed in Basque clothing and lives on Gorbea, the tallest mountain in Basque Country (which I’ve gotten to hike twice).

On Christmas Eve, the city has a parade that features the Olentzero and ends in the Plaza. Since this is the only Christmas I get to spend here, my host dad and I went to the plaza to see him greet everyone from the balcony. It turns out he only speaks Basque though, so the only thing I understood was all the little kids answering “Bai!” (which means yes) to his questions. My host dad later explained to me that he was asking them if they had been good this year and if they had listened to their parents.

Although some families give gifts on both occasions, it’s common to celebrate one more than the other, since they are so similar and close together. My host parents told me that they give gifts for Los Reyes Magos, so even though we did have a Christmas tree and lights set up, I was not expecting for there to be any presents when I woke up. Because we were out late the night before, I didn’t get out of bed until 11am, which I think is the latest I’ve ever gotten up on Christmas morning. When I walked into the living room, there was a humongous box wrapped in pink paper. My host sister and I ripped off the paper to find a brand new TV! I helped set it up, reading the instruction manual in English (oops) while my host mom read them in Spanish. Especially because I wasn’t expecting it, it was a really nice way to start the day. Later, we had lunch with my host grandparents and then I went to Vitoria to watch the new Star Wars film in 3D.

The day after Christmas we drove about two and a half hours to a cabin in the Spanish Pyrenees [7]. We stayed there for four days with family friends, and I think I took about 300 photos. Which is actually a surprisingly low number for me, considering I got to go on a beautiful hike and see a few small towns close by [8-17]. The first day we got there, I spent freezing my butt off, even though I was wearing two jackets, because the house was made of stone and the heater had not been turned on for a while. As we got the fireplace up and running and the heaters had time to work their magic, the cabin eventually warmed up and we spent the next few days mostly relaxing, eating, and playing board games.

We were back before New Year’s Eve, which is called Nochevieja here. Apparently, it’s related to the Old English way of referring to the evening as “Ole Year’s Night” (Noche=Night & vieja=old). Anyways, it’s an important night to spend with family, and we had a group of 14 family members get together for dinner. Of course, like any important Spanish meal, it had multiple courses [18-21], and I helped prepare some of the appetizers. The Spanish have a tradition of eating grapes to ring in the new year, so as the countdown began, I got ready to scarf down 12 grapes in 12 seconds, one for each chime of the bell. If you complete it successfully, it is supposed to bring you good luck for the following 12 months, but I only got to about 6 before I couldn’t keep up, so hopefully I don’t have bad luck this year.

After dinner and grapes with the family, I headed to Vitoria to party with friends, which is another important and very common part of the New Year’s Celebration. I dressed up in heels and all, and since partying here is not like the United States where you go to someone’s house, by the time the night/morning ended, my feet definitely hurt. Dancing and walking almost three miles up and down cobblestone streets in 4 inch heels is not an easy feat. By the time I got home, I was pretty tired, and I spent January 1st sleeping, baking, and relaxing on the sofa.

As you can probably tell, I’ve been having a lot of fun outside of school, but I’ve been working hard in school as well. At the end of the month, we have our second set of exams, so I’ll be studying a lot this month. Rotary-wise, I haven’t done too much, so my blazer still looks the same [22]. Sometime in January, though, I’m expecting to present to my host club about how my exchange is going so far. I can’t believe that by the end of this month, my exchange will be half over. I guess I’ll have to keep making the most of the time I have left!

Until next time,
Nagisa