New Year's

During these past holidays, I think that I spent a total of about 5 days in the house. I got home the 30th from Pamplona at about 11:45 pm after a trip I wish to not remember. Being in a train and then bus feeling nauseous late at night are not fun things. My pride kept me from asking for someone to come get me from the train station. I'm a silly girl.

The next day, I went to Guadalajara, a nearby city, to stay at Guille and Isma's house for New Year's. I got to see the computer game Spore...Mom, do you remember reading about it, with the evolution of the creatures from the beginning as a cell and the end as creatures with towns and everything? Maybe not. Before supper, the three of us settled in to watch Wall-E, which I hadn't seen yet. About halfway through, we were called down to supper, a special meal due to the holiday (and perhaps the guest). It was all very delicious, so delicious that I forgot that there are always three courses. As you can imagine, I pretty much filled up on the first, complete with cold smoked salmon on toasted crackers, shrimp, and salad. My mistake would have been okay, if my ever-communicative face hadn't yelled, "There's more?" Oh well, I have had plenty of opportunities to embarrass myself, and wouldn't want to deprive myself of more. My face betrayed me once more when I tried "queso fresco," something which I don't have a word for in English, for dessert. They told me it didn't taste like anything, and they were probably right, though for some reason my taste buds took an aversion to it. I wish I could have been better behaved, I'll try better next time. When it approached the new year, we all sat together at the table to bridge the two years with prayer. I think it's a wonderful tradition. After midnight, we toasted the new year with sidra (an apple wine, kind of) and shared hugs and kisses. First year to get kisses from outside the family! (though that would be the culture, nothing more).

New Year's Day, Guille and his dad showed Isma and I around Guadalajara. Me, because I am not from there; Isma, because he didn't know his own city. My favorite part was the labyrinth of hedges beside an old palace/church (don't remember which). The three of us entertained ourselves chasing each other through the maze. In the evening we walked to a park with a fish in the fountain, but we couldn't find the fish. After contemplating it for more than a millisecond, I decided that it would not be a good idea to jump in and look for the legendary aquatic creature. I ended up staying another night in Guadalajara and went to the zoo the next morning. Some friends of mine went ice skating in the afternoon, but I went home sick.

The 3rd, I wasn't feeling up to doing much, so Tamy and Isma came to my house and cooked spaghetti with me. That really made me feel special. Sunday rounded out my time with Guille and Isma's family, spending Sunday morning at their church and the Sunday lunch with their family. I throughly enjoyed all of the hugs their mom gave me; though not my mom's hugs, they were good heartfelt mom hugs. Everyone needs those.