Belated Christmas

Where have the weeks gone? I can't believe Christmas has already flown by. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with friends and family. I fear as always with this blog, I am playing a bit of catch up, so here we go!

Last weeks of the semester:

The last two weeks of the semester were a tad overwhelming. I'm used to final exams being spread out over a week's worth of days, but this semester they were compressed into 2 days. On top of that, each of my 4 classes had a final paper, also due on exam day. I powered through though, and now I can say that I am six credits away from being done with my spanish major! Yaaaay!

Final Goodbye's:

The end of the semester was extremely abrupt. Exams ended on the 13th of December, and the majority of the semester long kids flew out the very next day. The night of the 13th, pretty much the entirety of CIEE gathered at a well known spot along the Guadalquivir River to say one final goodbye. These goodbye's were some of the saddest that I've ever had to make. I've met so many lovely people this semester, and while we will all be back in the US one day, we are all so incredibly spread out, that it will make visiting difficult. Being in Spain has definitely made me realize just how big the United States is, and how little I've actually seen of my own country. Hopefully I will be able to visit some of the fantastic people I have met this semester. Sevilla is going to miss you all dearly, as will I!

Christmas in Sevilla:

On a happier note, I have yet to blog about Christmas in Sevilla! While the Christmas season is pretty much over in the US of A, Spain's Christmas season extends to January 6th (Epiphany), the day the wisemen came to deliver gifts to baby Jesus. In Spain, Epiphany, not Christmas, is the day that gifts are generally given. Here are a few of the other differences I noticed about Christmas in Spain vs. the States:

Belenes- In Spain, families do not put up christmas trees, but rather nativity scenes, which are called belenes. These nativity scenes are beautifully ornate and intricate. Near Seville's cathedral, a giant Belén market is put up where you can buy everything for your belén, including statues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, donkeys and other livestock, carrots and cabbage to feed your fake livestock, guitars, moss, potted plants, and other shrubberies. It really is amazing how decorative these things can get.

Lights- I've seen a few big cities at Christmastime, and I can honestly say that no one does Christmas lights like in Sevilla. All the main streets had huge banners of lights that absolutely lit up the night. Palm trees and orange trees were lit up as well, definitely giving off a different Christmas vibe than back home. My pictures don't really do it justice, but here is Sevilla by night at Christmas:

Sevilla's government building, El Ayuntamiento

Walking along the main street by La Catedral

Lit up orange trees

Lit up palm trees

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire- Yes, literally on every street corner of Sevilla during Christmas season there is a man roasting chestnuts. I had never really tried them before, and let me say, they were quite a delight.

Christmas Goodies- Apart from chestnuts, Spain has many other traditional Christmas treats. Some of my favorites included turrón, rosco de vino and polvorón. Turron was an almond based sweet. There are two types, one being  really hard and crunchy while the other was really soft and would melt in your mouth. Roscos de vino were essentially little donuts covered in powdered sugar, which were delicious. Polvorón was kind of like a shortbread, which is very crumbly and has a lot of cinnamon. Yes, the following pics are from google images, because I failed to take pics :P

Left- hard turrón, Right- soft turrón

Roscos de Vino

Polvorón

In general, I would have to say Christmas in Spain is much less commercialized. Yes, they have the lights and the treats, but stores and TV commercials  were not as gung ho about buying buying buying. Christmas in Spain definitely focuses more on the religious aspect of Christmas. It was quite a different feel than being at home during Christmas.

Speaking of home, I arrived back in the States on the 23rd to enjoy the holidays with my family. I'm so thankful I was able to make it back for the holidays. It has been so great to get to see everyone and catch up. I'm here in the great state of Illinois until the 15th of January, and hopefully during that time I will be able to blog about the 6 days I spent in Italy before going home! Until then, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!