MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So I know it is now a little late but I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Connor has finally arrived in Spain after some long and weary days of traveling. His flight arrived into Madrid on Wednesday the 22nd at 9:30am. It would have been much easier for him to fly into Malaga or Granada but I guess we weren't really thinking about the easiest option when he booked his flight - we were more concerned with the price. So, I did not want to leave him to navigate the airport, metro and bus station by himself so I went to Madrid to pick him up. I went to Granada the night before to see some friends and caught a 1:30am bus to Madrid. Now, wouldn't you think that a person might be tired at that time and would probably sleep on the bus? Yes. Did I sleep at all? No. :-) I think it was a mixture of excitement, nerves, adrenaline, etc. I looked around several times and noticed that I was the only soul on the bus that was awake. I arrived in Madrid at 6:30am and made my way to the airport to wait for Connor. I thought I might be able to sleep a little at the airport but alas that did not happen either. Connor finally got in around 10am and it was a happy reunion. It's amazing how long 3 months can be. We then made the trek back to the bus station via the metro (it takes about an hour to get from the airport to the bus station because you have to make a change on the metro).
Here is Connor happily riding the metro!!

The weary travelers waiting at the bus station

We arrived at the bus station to see that there was a bus to Granada at 11:30. It was currently 11:15 am. So why did we end up having to catch a bus at 2 and wait 2 1/2 hours? There was only one seat left on the 11:30 bus. Ugh. So we waited and waited. The only thing that made the wait ok was that my mom sent Christmas cookies with Connor and I may have indulged in a couple of them. After a 5hr bus ride and a couple of hours of sleep later, we finally made it to Granada around 7:20 only to find that the 7:30 bus to Motril was already full. Feeling pretty defeated, we had a beer at the bus station and caught the bus to Motril at 8:30 and ultimately arriving in Motril around 10pm. Tad graciously came to pick us up at the bus station and he and his girlfriend (who is also visiting for the holidays) had dinner prepared for us!! Point of the story: It was a LONG day for both Connor and myself.
Here are my friends with Connor and myself on Christmas Eve

And another random one of Connor and me

For Christmas Eve, we went to my friend Bernardo's house in Motril. His family was so kind for letting us invade their family meal. I wanted to bring them something very traditional of Christmas in the US and lucky for me, my mom had sent me vanilla extract (because they don't have it here) and I was able to continue with my culinary ways and baked Christmas cookies for his family. Connor was a great help with the cookies. The challenging part was making frosting without powdered sugar. I was able to find a recipe online which directed me to make a thick paste with flour and milk and let it cool and then add a ton of butter, sugar, and vanilla. I added a little bit of cream cheese to kick up the flavor. It wasn't perfect but turned out much better than I thought it would.


For dinner on Christmas Eve, the first course was one of my absolute favorites.....seafood soup (ok, so there was definitely some sarcasm there). Bern's mom knew that Connor and I don't like seafood and so she gave us both just broth and spared us having to eat oysters, shrimp and who knows what else. There was also bread, jamon serrano, and cheese on the table. Next course was a pork roll with a yummy sauce and then these potato pancake things (made especially for Connor and myself and we were the only ones that ate them). For dessert, we had cheesecake and Christmas cookies and we also drank the bottle of champagne I had brought for them.
Bern and Emily

Bern, his mom and his sister - aren't they an adorable family?!

The group on Christmas Eve

Bern's aunt on the left and mom on the right. They are beautiful women.

Christmas day was very relaxed. Connor and I watched Elf in the morning and were able to talk with our parents. I was finally able to open the many presents that my mom sent with Connor. Connor plays a great Santa Clause!!!! She is simply the best mother there could ever be. She bought me some new clothes, CD's, a book, a new vera bradley duffel, a bracelet, socks, a necklace, and tons of candy! It was so exciting to be able to talk with my family via skype and open my presents.
Today, we did something very Spanish and went to my friend's cortijo (cottage). I was excited for Connor to experience it. My friend Bern made 'migas' which is a very traditional Spanish dish made with oil, garlic, water and flour. You cook all those things and it becomes a very crumbly, bread-like mixture. I think it's really good.
Bern cooking the migas

Here is the finished product "migas"

Emilio was in charge of cooking the meat (bacon, sausage, blood sausage and filets of pork

Here is a picture of the table all set

Here is a nice self-timed picture of the group

The group all sitting around the fire


One other picture I can't forget to include is my ridiculous outfit that I wore to school on Tuesday for Christmas. My mom had sent me these Christmas socks and I just had to wear them to school. I also had on a bracelet with bells. The kids and teachers loved it.



I brought in treats for the kids and the teachers (I made apple pie, peppermint bark, and rice krispie treats). I tried to dye the rice krispie treats red but they turned out very pink. The kids were skeptical and I even had to try one before they would. However, after they tried them, I received comments like "you should stop being a teacher and be a chef" or "you can bring these every day, Emily." Some of the teachers told me that I would be a "buen partido" one day which translates roughly into "I will make a man very lucky and will be a good wife" haha If anything, being in Spain has made me more domestic, that's for sure.

Here is one of my 4th grade classes with their Christmas tree made of hands

Again, like with the last post, I have a lot of videos I want to post but they will not upload. I took a video of the kids singing "we wish you a Merry Christmas" and "the 12 days of Christmas." They are absolutely precious and I wish I could share them with you.
Connor and I are off to Granada tomorrow to explore and then to Barcelona!! Can't wait. Love to all!