Heather’s 22nd Birthday

I celebrated my birthday on Tuesday and had a real special day! The morning began delightfully with Matt making me a fresh fruit salad and allowing me to open my gifts as soon as we woke up. I was even more surprised when he showed me the chocolate pie he had made during the night when I was sleeping! The freezer already held ice cream, so I was going to have a real birthday celebration! We went to school as usual and I think the day didn’t recognize my birthday. It was pouring rain, that slanted rain which soaks you in only five minutes of walking. Plus, on the bus there were no seats when we got on so I had to stand squashed between people for the entire 30-minute bus ride. Other than wet socks and pants and irritability from being shaken back and forth with the road’s curves on the bus, everything was just perfect. My friends from our language for foreigners’ class wished me a happy birthday and in the evening, Nicky and two friends from Germany came over to our apartment for supper. Nicky and I made potato soup and we had freshly-baked French bread from the panaderia. Over supper, we all laughed and shared memories of Christmas traditions, beginning with Germany giving gifts to children on December 6. On that evening, Santa Clause places gifts in the children’s shoes! We ended with the chocolate pie and ice cream, a real treat in the world of Spain’s desserts. Finally, we all donned coats and hats and walked to Plaza E to catch the opening of Happy Feet, scheduled to begin at 10:50! This time we were all too full to purchase our popcorn and we walked right into the theater with a group of children from ages 5 to 11 or so. We all marveled at this; even Spanish moms don’t believe in bedtime! The movie was again all in Spanish, though the English songs were allowed to stay the same. The movie is so cute and fun! The singing and dancing penguins are delightful. When the movie ended at one in the morning, we weren’t the least concerned because the rest of this week is holidays. On the 6th, Spain celebrated its Constitution Day and on the 8th, Immaculate Conception. Today is Thursday, and our only class was cancelled. All this before our three week Christmas vacation beginning on the 15th! Viva Espana!