Would you like some SUGAR with that? Azúcar por favor

It seems as if every single beverage here is served with a side of sugar.  Just in case you need a little bit more sweetness to your fresh squeezed juice..add some azúcar.  Don't forget to throw in the "thhhh" sound  and not the "s" sound when you say it because this is Spain people. ;)


Served with sugar:
-Orange Juice (fresh or not)
-fresh squeezed carrot juice
-Yogurt (sweetened or natural)
-Milk that was requested for my 1 year old daughter. Served with sugar every time!


With that said - you never see a container of sugar just out and available for use.  Not in any of the local cafe's, bars or restaurants.  Except for Starbucks.. I think they have sugar laying out there. Hmmm..

My visit from Santa Claus a.ka. Papa Noel!

This Thursday we had "Santa Claus" come and visit at school.
It was an interesting experience considering the fact that I have never been more than 10 feet away from a Santa Claus so this was very awkward but this Santa is not so nice at all .He was very creepy he walked hunched over would not open his eyes it was really weird and scary.Of course any little kid would not think this but personally I did. I swear I am taunted forever! After we took a picture he asked us what we wanted for Christmas and I said a Ferrari but he said Santa elves do not know how to make them yet so I can't get one! But really it was just a joke!
Then Santa gave us pre Christmas gifts witch was a yo-yo! So fun to play with!

Remember to leave cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Fair

Today I dropped by the Christmas Fair by the Cathedral. My friend Lina mentioned it as the place to go if I wanted to see Catalonia Christmas trees and decorations.

She specifically mentioned el Caganer, which are basically little pooping figurines. From what I've read having one of these is supposed to bring prosperity in the new year.

I had to see for myself and boy it was more interesting than I imagined. You had a pooping Flamenco dancer, Hello Kitty, Darth Vader and even a Jesus squatting and wishing prosperity to you.

Of course I just had to buy one.

Visiting Girona, Spain

Girona is a beautiful little town rich with history. I think.. I really wish I could share more details about Girona but honestly I was working while my family enjoyed it.

Every night though I did enjoy a lovely dinner and nice long walk. Our hotel AC Hotel was beautiful and amazingly cheap due to it being off season.

The Pooping Log aka "Tio de Nadal"

Here in Cataluña and also in Valencia, Spain, they have normal Christmas but they have added a tradition that I find so funny! It is called Tio de Nadal, (in English "christmas log"). It's nickname is Caga Tio! This tradition involves a smiling log that on Christmas day, children order it to poop and they sing a little song.

Then children in Cataluña tap this log and apparently it poops candy but this doesn’t just happen over night. The family cares for the log by putting a blanket over it and feeding it food each nite! All over Cataluña you can buy one or the whole family of pooping logs! This tradition is celebrated by almost everyone in Cataluña and Valencia A This really makes things alot more exciting for everyone! These are the little things about Spain that I love!

Flamenco classes - update

It's my second week at a new school. The first one didn't have mirrors. If you have two left feet and two left hands, the absence of mirrors can only make it worse.

The new school is great. The class is smaller and more casual and the instructor is a better teacher. Although I love it, I still find flamenco quite difficult. Hoping it clicks real soon.

Spain's #1 necessity!

When you go to a restaurant and look at the menu this is normally what you see Pasta con Jamon,Boccadillo de Jamon, Pizza con Jamon basically jamon,jamon,jamon!
What is jamon you ask? It is pig otherwise known as pork. Here in Spain jamon is part of there life style, I understand that people like it but you don't need it in every meal! If you tell people in Spain you do not eat pork they will think you are crazy, and then offer you bacon.

They love pork so much that there are whole stores that are all pork and nothing else.
The thing that is the most disturbing to me is whole ham legs curing themselves by hanging from a ceiling as they mold, smoke themselves and sweat, there is even a little plastic cup to catch the sweat as it drips down from the ham leg I find this quite gross. It also reeks and smells terrible when ever you walk past a pork shop you can smell it even though your not in the shop. I wouldn't mind these ham legs if they weren't in every bar, restaurant, and peoples homes! I just don't find them so appealing or yummy.

Around the Christmas time here when you go to a grocery store there are whole holiday displays of ham legs apparently here in Spain ham legs make great gifts considering pretty much everyone loves ham!

What I really think is interesting is ham can range from sliced ham that costs about 5 euros to whole ham legs that cost 150 euros,I do not know why people spend so much money on ham?

Spanish people think ham is necessity of life!