Thanksgiving Preps

I spent the weekend in Arcos and it was a fun one. I went to the discoteca in town with some friends on Friday and we stayed until about 5:30am – which apparently was an early evening! We didn’t even get there until after 2 so all in al we weren’t there too long. I was at the disco, called CBC the Saturday before but it was not nearly as crowded as it was on Friday night. I saw some people that I knew there and it is a good feeling to finally go out and see familiar faces and to know some people in town. It is also nice to have 2 friends with cars so we do not have to walk up and down the huge hills here! Becca decided to wear heels out and not only did she tower over the Spaniards (who are not known for being tall) but by the end of the night she could barely walk. From standing so long, her feet were destroyed – bleeding and all! Thank goodness I opted for flats – what they lack in attractiveness they make up for in comfort. All in all it was a good night even though without fail I come home smelling like an ash try. I do not understand why so many Europeans smoke. They are not immune from getting lung cancer but I guess it is a part of their culture they are not willing to give up – deadly or not.
Saturday Becca and I had planned on going to Jerez to shop but we chose laziness over spending money. We decided we’d go on Friday because after all it is Black Friday so we thought it would be fitting if we stuck with the American tradition. We have been planning a Thanksgiving meal. Since there are only 3 Americans here we have a lot of work ahead of us and are expecting to be having dinner with at least 10 people. Our two friends, Whitney and Andrea from Jerez are going to spend the night in Arcos and help us out with the celebration. We are still undecided about whose apartment to have dinner in as none of us really want to have the clean-up duties. Becca’s apartment is the smallest but the homiest. She and her roommate do not work on Friday so it would make sense to have it there just for that reason. My roommate has to work on Friday and so does Lincoln so we would be forced to end our party early if it were at my place or Lincoln’s. Thanksgiving will definitely be a makeshift holiday here in Spain because we do not have all of the necessary ingredients available to us nor do we have all of the cooking utensils. We will do our best.
Saturday night we did not go out but a few of us hung out at Lincoln’s apartment and it was a good time. Another puente is coming up at the end of the first week in December. Becca’s birthday is the 10th so I told her she could choose our travel destination and I would be willing to go. She is thinking of going to San Sebastian, which is where she studied abroad during our junior year of college. It is in northern Spain so it won’t be as warm as it is here down in the south. San Sebastian is known for its gorgeous beaches, which we won’t be able to enjoy, but Becca knows the city well and she will know all of the hot spots and fun things to do. Hopefully next weekend I will make it to Sevilla for a night to visit my friend Kate. My roommate, Juan Carlos, is staying in town this coming weekend so I want to be here to hang out with him a bit because usually he goes home on the weekends. He is the new Spanish heartthrob. Becca and her roommate have decided that he is better looking than the 2 firemen (Sergio and Raul). I do not have any pictures to share right now but I will make sure to take some at Thanksgiving and then you can decide! My mom told me it is snowing at home in Easton. I am jealous I am missing out on it Just the other day I was wearing flip-flops and I still haven’t had to put on any more than a light sweater. Today is one of the coolest days here in Arcos that I can remember but it rained last night so that could be the cause. The English coordinator at my school doubts that it will ever feel like winter! A change from Pennsylvania. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving. Only about a month until I’ll be home to see everyone!

CeCe

hecha polvo

Since I last wrote I went to Portugal and had a great time. Because all of us that went are Richmond alums and it was homecoming weekend, we made it our own little Portuguese homecoming weekend. I did not get a lot of sleep because we went out and enjoyed ourselves too much and that didn’t leave much time to sleep. I liked Lagos a lot more than Faro. The beach was beautiful and the town had a cooler vibe. Faro was fun too as it is a university town but I still enjoyed Lagos more. We befriended a guy from Australia who came to Arcos this weekend with his two travel partners (another Aussie and a guy from California). They all got along really well with my roommate. They said that they have met a lot of people in their travels but Juan Carlos is someone they will never forget. My friend Kate who I met during orientation in Sevilla also came to Arcos this weekend. I had a great time with her as well. But after having 4 houseguests I definitely spent a lot of the weekend cleaning and doing dishes.
Becca and I enjoy being Arcos tour guides though and showing our friends around our beautiful town. Some days we would rather not walk up the enormous hills but we keep hoping we will have buns of steel by the end of the year so that makes the uphill trek worth it.
Again, I had a sleepless weekend. I woke up on Friday morning with a headache and took excedrine at 730am. The headache went away but because there is caffeine in the medication I could not fall back asleep. Friday night I was up until at least 3am. On Saturday evening I could barely keep my eyes open and ended up falling asleep in Becca’s bed and on her couch. Because Kate had come to visit us, I felt badly about not going out to the discoteca with everyone so I was suckered into waking up and joining everyone. I had a great time and somehow got a second wind. I did not go to sleep until 830 am!!! I slept until 43 pm on Sunday. I think this is a new record for me. On Sunday Kate came down with a fever and I played mom to her…I’m taking vitamins every chance I get because I do not want to get sick.
Other than the sleepless weekend, not too much else to report. I have been teaching classes in the evening at the high school where I work to make some extra money. I am also giving private classes once a week to the children of another teacher at the school. I am staying rather busy but I would rather be active than bored. I’m sad I won’t be home for Thanksgiving but Becca and I will somehow have a makeshift meal…her boyfriend is sending her some supplies from the states to aide our effort.

Hugs and kisses!!

CeCe

pictures are from the weekend visitors in Arcos and from Faro and Lagos, Portugal