Off to Finland!!

Today Zuzanna took me shopping and we bought some typical Christmas sweets for the students in Finland.  Most of them are made with almonds, because there are so many almond trees here in Spain.  I hope they like them.  I also hope I don't get too hungry on my way to Finland and eat some of them!  

We decided that the box that Ms. Payreder had found for me for my trip over to Spain was the perfect size for me.  So, we changed the addresses on the box, put some extra tape on the ends and..... 

in I went!

Bye Spain!!!  Thank you so much for the wonderful memories!

Yours forever,

Scaffy

Time for a wash!

Sheep in Ireland are the cleanest sheep in the world.  They spend their days outside in the fields and, since it's always raining in Ireland, they have showers almost daily!

In Madrid it doesn't rain often at all.  And I had been noticing that my wool wasn't as shiny and white as it was when I was back in Limerick.  I was also worried that the students in Finland wouldn't like me because I was a little bit dirty.  Then, Zuzanna had a great idea!  

She took me home and gave me a good wash in her washing machine!  It was so much fun! 

 Like a roller coaster! 

 Unfortunately, getting dry wasn't so exciting.

Last Day at School :(

What an incredible day this has been.  

The class of 3º ESO threw a little bon voyage party for me this afternoon.  

They wrote lots of sweet messages for me on the blackboard... 

...and we took lots of photos.  Here I am with the 17 students who invited me to their homes these last 2 months.

And here is a group photo of us in front of the giant map of Ireland they all made as part of their SCAFenger Hunt project.   It shows all the places that I visited on my trip through Ireland with Ms. Payreder.  (It brought back so many nice memories of that fabulous trip!) 

We also had a chance to talk a lot.  I told them that I really loved Spain and that, thanks to them and their families, I had learned so much about Spanish customs.  I also told them that they were a fantastic class and  I thanked them for treating me so well!

They all said that they would miss me and I almost cried when they said that they couldn't imagine what the class would be like without me.  And they told me that if I ever wanted to come back to Madrid, I would always have friends here waiting for me.

They were also a bit worried about my future.  They wanted to know what I would do over the summer and in September, but I just couldn't give them an answer.  They said it would be awesome if the four schools could get together and they could all meet each other and I could see everybody again!  That would be awesome!!!

And after all the photos and the laughing and the talking.....we all realized how hard it is to say good-bye to good friends.  

Spanish culture at Marta's house

Hi!  I am very happy because I stayed at Marta's house last night and I learned a lot about Spanish culture.  

Here I am playing with a bull...

...and here I am reading Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes.

The Famous Three Kings Parade

Hi!  Last night (January 5th), I was in the 2013 Three Kings Parade with Patricia and Claudia!    

                   


                   

We were waiting for two hours and finally the parade started.  It had a lot of carriages and all of them threw candies to the people who were watching. 

                   

                    There were even Spanish sheep in the parade!  I was so happy to see them!

                     

After six or more carriages arrived the moment I was nervously waiting for.... the three kings : Melchor , Gaspar and Baltasar appeared in three big carriages pulled by horses.

I liked this parade with Patricia and Claudia a lot!  They gave me lots of  candies!

                     

The morning of the 6th of January, I ate the typical ring-shaped cake called "roscón" and I drank hot chocolate with it. It was very delicious!

Happy New Year!!

After the amazing trip to Barcelona I arrived at Carmen’s house to spend New Year's Eve with her family.

The 31^st of December I woke up late in the morning so I could enjoy myself until late in the night. In the evening we went to a party where Carmen´s cousins, aunts and uncles where waiting for us, dressed all of them in a very fancy way. 

It was a long dinner where I had the chance to try many different dishes but I refused to eat lamb (I’m not a cannibal).

We finished eating just in time to have the 12 grapes and listen to the 12 chimes which welcome the new year (Spanish tradition). 

  

I drank a little bit of champagne, danced and sang with everyone until very late in the night.  It was a memorable night!

Having slept just a little bit, I woke up the 1^st day of 2013 and when I entered the sitting room I found, to my surprise, a long table full of plates for all the people who were coming to celebrate a family meal, organized by Carmen’s parents .

                     

             We finished the meal by eating different flavors of cakes and “turrón”.