¿It's November Already?

Lazy afternoons spent in plazas.... 

I haven't had too much to update on lately.  I spent most of October getting used to my new schedule, meeting people and getting to know the city of Almería.  I have kept myself pretty busy by doing things like:

• Going to the Art Museum which had a temporary exhibit of a local artist named Juan Casado.  He had a lot of paintings of tables, jellyfish, rabbits, matadors and other things.  It was an interesting collection and I am looking forward to the next exhibit which should come after November 28th
• Going to the Archaeological Museum.  There was a temporary exhibit of paintings from the Alhambra and northern African cities, which I was really interested.  Then the museum itself was well done.
• Attending a jazz concert on a rooftop underneath the Alcazaba.  This was absolutely beautiful and we intend to go back for more shows here...
• Going to the movie theater.  Last night we went out to see Taken 2, which in Spanish is called Venganza : Conexión Estanbul.  It was really good, but it's strange not to hear the actor's real voices.
• Taking walks around the city to discover new places, plazas, monuments, etc...  I have stumbled upon more plazas and churches than I could imagine.  I even managed to find some tourist shops where I can buy things that say Almería all over them.  YES!
• Shopping.  Whether it's shopping in the mercado central for fresh, local, in season fruits and vegetables or going to Blanco, Berska and H&M to buy some new tops or boots.
• Going out on countless coffee dates just to visit with friends, chat, pass the time and discover our favorite pastries in the city.

Basically, I am trying to keep discovering things about my city and soak in as much culture as I can during this year.  The great thing about the museums is that they have free entry, so it gives us a little more motivation to go because we have nothing to lose by checking them out.  There is one more museum that I have yet to see, which is the photography museum.  I am hoping to get there within the next couple of weeks.  

Also, this was not my first time going to the movies in Spain.  I really like that I can follow along with movies in Spanish with no problems whatsoever!  Previously I have seen, Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 (Alvin y las ardillas 3), Valentine's Day (El día de san valentín), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Los hombres que no amaban a las mujeres - which actually translates to 'the men who didn't love women'), a Spanish movie, but I cannot remember the title and one more american movie back in study abroad.

This week was Halloween and it was actually noticeable here in Almería!  I gave lessons about Halloween in my classes at school and in my private classes, of course, but none of the students actually dressed up.  The problem with Halloween in these small towns is that the teenagers have a bad habit of going around and egging houses on Halloween night.  I saw the results of this last year in Baza when I came back from traveling on Halloween weekend to see many buildings stained with eggs.  It was really, really gross and not something I expected to see.  So this year during one of my classes about Halloween, one of my co-teachers ended up scolding the class about egging houses and telling them that the people in their town hate Halloween because they know that the kids are going to go around and egg their houses.  He told them that it was in their power to change this tradition and make it right, but most of them really did not seem too interested.

While I didn't see any evidence of houses being egged here in Almería, the city was very, very alive on Halloween night.  The city hall of Almería hosted "Almería en Negro"  or "Almería in Black."  It was really, really neat.  There were things set up on the main streets with mini concerts and booths with different activities.  There were Halloween decorations everywhere, including in all of the shops.  At one point they had a Thriller flashmob and everyone was dressed up.  It was actually a little terrifying because people did not dress up in any cute or funny costumes.  They went all out with elaborate costumes and makeup dressed like zombies, monsters, devils, etc...  I'm sure that they were very successful and I would not be surprised if Almería kept up this tradition for the coming years.

Jazz Concert under the Alcazaba

Now November has started and the weather is cooling down a bit (average temp is in the 60's, it's amazing for this time of year!).  I am feeling pretty settled in here and now that I have finally received my first paycheck, it's time to start planning some trips!  On for next weekend - my favorite city in Spain that I absolutely cannot get enough of...  

I'm sure that everyone and anyone who knows me can guess which city it is :)