las chicas solo quieren divertirse

Lately I have been going out with the girls a lot- a fun mix, mostly Spanish, but a few other nationalities thrown in, anyway, we all speak Castillano when we’re together. Last Thursday we went out for some tapas and vino, it turned into quite the evening!

Friday night I stayed in and made a million darling little double dark chocolate cupcakelets.

We all met again on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Asun- we drove out to her family’s house in a small pueblo called Fuente Vaqueros (which in my mind translates into ‘Cowboy Fountain’. Needless to say I was humming ‘It’s raining men’ all day.) It was sure raining something, as it has been a non-stop downpour for several weeks! We ended up bringing the bbq inside and enjoying a wintery, cinnamon sangria, all kinds of grilled meats along with dancing. A group of Tunos showed up (think Mexican Mariachi band with no hats or maracas, thank goodness I had a spare egg shaker in my purse to help them out!) It was a non-stop fun afternoon/evening/night of flamenco, sing-a-longing, and hilarious conversation.

Sunday we boycotted Valentines Day and celebrated the Chinese New Year. Nine of us girls met up at one of my favorite restaurants: Paprika. (It turns out it is also a popular spot for intimate romantic dinners. Those poor people who thought they’d have a quiet Valentines Date) We toasted the Tigre and shared plates of some amazing dishes- my favorite being the avocado chicken rolls.

Besides my festive weekend, nothing too exciting has been going on. I am loving my classes. I thought not working at a school would be stressful but I actually like being on my own so much better. I get to choose my own students, hours, etc, and I earn more money. I also don’t have a CRAZY boss with ridiculous rules. My classes normally go pretty well, but this week has been even more fun than usual. I think everyone is crazy from all the rain and no one has wanted to do any of the planned exercises, besides games and just sitting around talking (in English of course). I can’t believe I make money for this- all of my students are really interesting and I am actually learning all sorts of neat things about all of their industries and lives. I’m pretty sure one of them is married to a famous rockstar too. Anyway, good fun, lots of laughs and some great ‘mis-speaks’ and word-plays.

SABES QUE…
According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nien (Chinese: 年; pinyin: nián). Nien would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nien ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nien was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nien was afraid of the colour red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nien. From then on, Nien never came to the village again. The Nien was eventually captured by hong jun lao zu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nien became hong jun lao zu's mount.

-wikipedia