October has come and gone- it's crazy to think we've been in Spain a month already. It seems like we'd done sooo much by this time last year and that everything was so much more hectic. Then again, we had been here two weeks earlier, and everything was so new to us last year- I guess we're just old pros to this living abroad stuff now!
Unlike this year, last year we were much more inclined to celebrate Halloween. Probably because we were surrounded by more Americans (well, one American Joe and one stand-in American Alberto). Remember the genie and the gaucho?
We also lived in the center of a popular city where we could see other people from our window decked out in tattered clothing and painted-on blood, which told us we wouldn't be the only ones to be out and about in costume. And though we knew that in Spain, Halloween is mostly for the children to dress up and trick or treat (or, truco o trato), there were other people our age who seemed to be out embracing our holiday too.
This year, Brian and I appear to the be the only two Americans in a city of 70,000 people (yes, we've asked almost everyone). And we sorta got the vibe that here, Halloween is even more so JUST for kids, and since we don't live in the center with a cool people-watching window, we didn't see anyone else even close to our age dressed up.
So sadly, this was the first Halloween in... my whole life? that I didn't wear a costume!
But, when the 31st came and was almost over, Brian and I decided we just couldn't sit there and do nothing on Halloween- I was getting way too jealous just looking at other people's fun facebook pictures. We decided we had to at least get out of our apartment and see if we could find any evidence to prove that tonight was in fact All Hallows Eve.
Well, we didn't find any jack-o-lanturns or blinking skeleton lights in any windows. We didn't see any people sporting cardboard cut-outs with witty comments on them, or any frightening Scream masks. We did see a little kid in a long vampire cape, or was that his jacket? It was hard to tell in the dark.
No, we didn't see anything to really suggest it was Halloween until we came upon a pub called "The Glory." We went inside and lo and behold, there were Halloween decorations on all the walls! Cobwebs and spiders and a giant, blow-up pumpkin with a spinning head!
We ordered some refreshments and the waitress even brought us complimentary snack food- some cheese, bread and sausage.
We stayed there a while, two of maybe ten people, wondering if (and hoping) something else might happen that evening. A late-night zombie performance of the "Thriller" dance would have been highly appreciated though we would have settled for simply a bigger crowd. But when we could no longer comment on the cool wall decorations and we'd eaten the last of the bread crumbs from the plate, we decided to move along.
Not much else seemed open, but what do ya know, we live right next door to a place that's open 24 hours a day and it seemed to be hopping! Yes, you guessed it, we decided to hop into McDonalds for a late-night ice cream snack before admitting Halloween defeat.
But McDonalds is an American chain, and when we stepped in the door we (almost) could have been back home! The whole place was covered in Halloween decorations (though I'm not sure if McDonalds back home did this, probably not!). And this sign wouldn't make much sense if it were in a window at McDonalds back home:
"Buuuuu" is their way of saying "booooo." It's saying "buenisimo" which means "very good".... Make sense now? No, ok.
Remember last year when I said that for some reason, Spanish people think that Halloween is all about dressing up SCARY? Every Spaniard we've ever seen dressed up for Halloween is a monster, vampire, or some other blood-covered crazy person of some sort. The cashiers were no exception.
The Mcflurry was o.k., and Brian got a burger. We've eaten here a couple times but I really can't tell you if it tastes the same as the food in the U.S. because I never eat McDonalds at home- I swear! It's just something about American things that draw you to them when you are a thousand miles away from your home country... Well that and this is the only place in Alcoy that's open 24 hours a day!
Did I ever mention that it's not really customary here to clear your own table in a self-serve place? It sorta makes sense in a cafe where you use actual glass cups and plates. But at McDonalds?
I think the garbage can says "Gracias" for a reason- it's not talking to the employees!
Makes you really second-guess the use of all those paper products when you see it all laid out in front of you, huh?
Yes. That is Brian sitting on the wall at the front entrance to our building. They changed the locks on us, and we haven't had a chance to pick up our new keys yet, so we were locked out of our apartment. Luckily, Brian has good climbing skills.
And that was our fun Halloween spent in the lovely East of Spain. Hope yours was just as eventful- somehow I think it was!
-Leeandra
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