First things first. Today is my fourth anniversary with my fantastic, amazing, incredible, and otherwise superlative husband. I don't have words to express how lucky I am to have him in my life. We have a "date" tonight via Skype during my dinner and his lunch.
This week has been a whirlwind of events. A lot of my friends have visitors in town, and even more of them are going out of town soon for various trips, etc. The school where a lot of our friends teach English takes a break from tomorrow through the end of July. So because of all the visitors and going-away celebrations, I have been very, very busy. Two nights ago we tried to go to a very famous bar/restaurant that makes fresh tortilla (egg and potato omelet here in Spain, nothing like a "tortilla" the way we think of it in North America) twice a day and also has great chuleta (a very tasty steak). Unfortunately they are closed for vacation (until mid-July). We ended up going to another place that had traditional chuleta, and its accompaniments (tomato salad, small roasted peppers, potatoes in a sauce, etc.). You order one plate of everything and then everyone shares. It was delicious and honestly one of my favorit nights here so far. Until last night.
Last night was "La Fiesta de San Juan". Or the feast of St. John. As in John the Baptist. So this feast is a pretty big deal in San Juan, and apparently marks the anniversary of birth of San Juan (approximately 6 months before the birth of Jesus). This festival is a pretty big deal throughout Spain, and the Basque Country is no exception. It starts off with a traditional dance around 7:30 which I missed. Then at 10:30, they (the town) light two gigantic bonfires and shoot off fireworks. Then the locals get in on the act. Especially the kids. Hundreds of small fires are lit on the plazas near the two big fires, and all over the beaches. Specifically by children. Small children. So the tradition is that you light the fire, then you write things down you want to get rid of. Then you jump over the fire which represents purification and cleansing. Then in the morning, you go for a swim in the sea which represents renewal and rebirth. (Sound like baptism to anyone??) Anyhow, as a mentioned, children are usually tending to these fires. And then jumping over them. Because nothing could go wrong with small children starting and leaping over fires, right? I was sure this would be a recipe for disaster, but instead, parents sort of hung out watching this, and no one got lit on fire, so far as I could tell. My friends and I put our own little pieces of paper in one small fire and hopped over it. Another tradition is trying to climb a tree that has been shaved of its bark. We watched about 6 people, and the two best were two small girls, about 9 and 10. They did much better than a strong looking grown man, and three young boys a bit older than them. Anyhow, it was a great, fun night, and the whole city smelled deliciously like a campfire this morning.
More soon, including my reflections on going to another conference in the same place I went to a different conference on my second day in Spain. Life is so beautifully different now.
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