Los Reyes!!

I was tired, yes, but I also arrived to Spain January 5th, the eve of one of the country´s more important holidays: Los Reyes, or as I call it, 3 Kings Day. Traditionally, Santa didn´t exist in Spain, so kids got presents brought to them my the 3 magic kings, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar. The whole thing is strangely similar to Santa. You write them a letter, the night before you put your shoes outside of your room filled with hay for their also magic camels to eat. You can also leave some food or drink for the kings. If you´ve been good, you get presents left by your shoes, if not coal. So I missed the giant parade of the 3 kings walking around, but made it in time to eat Rosco de Reyes, or as I have translated it, 3 Kings Cake. A rosco is a big bagel shaped pastry, small ones for tapas in bars or larger ones for big sandwiches, and for reyes, a big sweet one, with fruitcake fruit and glaze on top, filled with custard or whipped cream puff stuff. They are also filled with suprises. Little toys, dolls special treats, but also some bad treats like a lima bean. If you get a good treat, you win the treat. If you get a bad one, you have to buy the rosco next year. So on my very first 3 kings day, with my first piece of kings cake, I got the bean and have to buy it next year. Regardless, I liked the rosco and the whole tradition of it and 3 kings day! Then after saying hello to Victor´s parents, I went upstairs, showered and crashed. But not before putting out my slippers, with some dried mangos for the camels (I figured they might get tired of hay) and a water bottle for the kings, (its the healthiest.)

When I woke up to go to the bathroom on the 6th, I was pleasantly suprised to find a bag of CDs by my shoes! Those kings really are magic and apparently I was very good all of 2007! Then I called Victor and he came over and he got his present from the kings, a belt and then I gave him all the presents from my family, and all the stuff I had bought for him from Ross and his favorite American places. It was so fun, I love presents a lot, and it was just like Christmas number 2! Then we went downstairs and we showed all the stuff to his mom, so that was really fun too! I had to bring back another suitcase I brought back so much stuff. Then we lazed around, till we ate lunch. We had choto, which I didn´t know what it was, and they didn´t really want to tell me. Turns out it was baby goat or kid. They loved it, I just kept thinking of all my babies. The sauce was good, but it just hurt my heart to think about eating it. Then the siesta and I think in the afternoon I think Victor and I went for a walk, or maybe to the movie to see Trip to Darjeleen, I´m not sure and I don´t remember anything else...

Monday was a day off for me and Victor as well. It was also spent being really lazy. I slept in and then for lunch we drove to a pueblo to eat cochinillo, baby, baby pig. We met Victor´s parents, aunt and uncle, cousin, Nachete and grandma. The baby pig tasted better than the baby goat, and I also requested the butt, with the leg cut off, so it didn´t look like a baby animal. Then Victor and I took Nachete home to Nacho and Alicia and ended up babysitting them for a bit. Alicia´s mom fell and broke both the bones in her lower leg, so there was a mini family emergency as she was in the hospital, awaiting surgery. So after babysitting, and talking to Deanna and Sara in Salamanca, we left and went back and Victor went to Malaga. It was a really great 3 Kings Day. I loved the holiday, even though I was exhausted, it was really fun.