Holiday Cheer, Spanish Style...

Christmas vacation has arrived, and we're all in a tizzy packing bags and heading out of town.

I admit that I've sort of skipped the Christmas spirit this year. Sure, I've been singing carols with nearly every one of my classes, but that was purely pedagogical (the Music class about the 12 days of Christmas was particularly fantastic). A few teachers (including Neil and me) even sang a few carols in the teacher's lounge at recess today.

There are a few personal holiday traditions that I will definitely miss: Antonia and Mike's annual party, Christmas Eve dinner at Tony and Vic's with the family, Christmas dinner with Alex's family, and the New Year's Eve Supper Club in Chinatown. Feel free to add a life-size cardboard cutout of me to any of these festivities....

Still, this holiday season feels decidedly un-festive. No Christmas baking (our flat doesn't have an oven), no snow (though watching footage of snow-buried Toronto makes me a bit nostalgic), no tree trimming. To top it all off, I will actually be completely alone on Christmas day -- a new experience for me.

I'm heading to Alicante tonight, to catch a flight to Barcelona in the morning, where I'll spend a week or so. After that, it's off to Cadiz to spend New Year's with Jesus, and back to Aguadulce sometime in the new year.

So happy holidays. I miss everyone very much, and hope you have a great time, wherever you are. On Christmas day, I'll be armed with calling cards and a fully-charged cellphone (call me!) to exchange as much trans-Atlantic cheer as I can.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and other assorted merriments....