Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 52 - Star Wars Social Distancing

I just want to take a few minutes to share some laughs in the form of more Covid-19 memes, in honor of Star Wars Day. 😉 (once again I know not the source, these have circulated on social media)

Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 20 - Canceled festivities

If there's one thing you need to know about Spaniards, it's that they LOVE their traditional holidays! Particularly in small towns, and in certain city neighborhoods that feel like towns. They're bright, colorful, festive... and very noisy! 😂 Marching bands galore, music late into the night, and in this part of Spain (Valencia region) lots of firecrackers and related noise-makers. The big ones around here (Alicante province) are the Hogueras (big ones in Alicante city for June 24th, smaller ones in other towns on different dates) and the Moros y Cristianos (main ones in Alcoi and Villajoyosa, but getting bigger in many other towns like neighboring San Vicente where the university is located).

The thing is... these events bring out massive crowds. Social distancing? Impossible! So one after the other cities and towns have been announcing the postponement of their big holiday. The Hogueras de San Juan in Alicante? Shipped off to the first weekend in September to wrap up the summer instead of launch it. Fallas in Valencia scheduled for mid-March? Just 10 days before (with some of the monuments already half set up!) finally shifted to 2nd half of July. Moros y Cristianos in Alcoi (end of April)? They're considering the first weekend in October. And so on, and so forth. 😥 

Milestone birthdays

Why is it that we seem to mark some birthdays as more special than others? Place more significance on them? Dunno really, not even sure every culture around the world does this... And those that do, don't necessarily have the same milestones!

I guess my own mixed cultural background comes in to play here... 

The first big milestone I remember - yet didn't celebrate - was 15. I was living in Mexico then and the "Quinceañera" was a big deal! But I mostly saw that through a friend's birthday two years after mine, as my family was on holiday in the US Southwest (fabulous summer camping in the "4 Corners" area!), and I was actually in Vegas for my birthday! Perhaps if we'd been in Mexico instead of out of the country there might have been a "Quinceañera" flavoring to the celebrations? Your guess is as good as mine! And it's not like many of my friends would have been in town, they were all off on their own summer holiday (international school).

Alicante is SWINGING!

So apparently there's a festival going on in Alicante this week called "Eat My Soul" (8th edition, a week dedicated to "Black Music"), starting this weekend, and going all out next weekend with a series of concerts, showings of movies/documentaries, a New Orleans food market and much more (which I'll miss out, out of town!)

I headed into town this morning to catch some of the action, and boy was it a blast!!! Swinging their way through the streets of the old part of town to the tune of "El Refugio Swing Band" (I didn't even know you could play a bass while moving it around!) and watching the people from "Alicante Lindy Hop" swing dancing (wish I could do that! Might sign up for classes in the Fall!). Check out these photos and videos! 

Here are the musicians:

Swinging their way through Alicante!

And here are the dancers!

Alicante Lindy Hop takes to the streets of Alicante!

That last video got cut a bit abruptly as I ran out of space of the phone... Unfortunate 'cause I LOVE that song! 

I've been moving to the rhythm all day... even once back at home! ;o)

PS: And yes this means I'm hopefully back on the Blog(s)! (fingers crossed!)

Random ramblings: catching up with an M.I.A. CrazyCris

First of all: THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the 5th Annual World Oceans Day Oceanic Blog-A-Thon! There were some wonderful entries, and I'm so glad we could get together again to share our love for the oceans in our little corner of the blog-o-sphere! :o)

But that was almost 3 months ago... where did the time go?! :o(

And thus the title of this post. So... yeah. Sorry 'bout that! I've definitely been M.I.A. since World Oceans Day, and even for a bit before that! And sadly I don't think I'll be very active in the near future... although I promise to try!

And here's why! Good things and bad things.

12h12 12/12/12

Ding, ding, ding, DING!!!

At the time of this posting it will be exactly 12h12 on December 12th 2012 (in Alicante)... So if you just look at the numbers that's 12 12 12 12 12. Lots of twelves! :p

Just a random moment to laugh at the numbers... although maybe I should head out and buy a lottery ticket ending in 12? ;o)

Will be back for regular blogging as soon as I finish with my weekend photos... I spent it in Belgium visiting fabulous friends! Got to see some snow, eat lots of yummy food, go to a concert, hang out in the Christmas market and drink mulled wine and buy about 3 kgs of chocolate to bring back home for gifts! :p

Historic Dive Into The Ocean's Deepest Depths

Have you heard the news? Check this out!!!

There's a more complete video on the National Geographic website, but try as I might I can't seem to be able to embed it!

James Cameron is now the third person (and the only one to have done it solo) to have reached the Ocean's deepest point in the Mariana Trench! I first happened upon the story via the fabulous site io9, and while reading the story I just linked to, what particularly hit me was the fact that humans have only visited the bottom of the Mariana Trench ONCE, in 1960 (there have also been two unmanned trips)! To think, we've sent more ships to the moon than we have to explore the ocean's depths...

You can find out more about the amazing National Geographic DeepSea Challenge at their website:

"We know less about the deepest points on our planet than we do about the surface of Mars. The DEEPSEA CHALLENGE team is dedicated to advancing the world’s understanding of our ocean’s vast range of biological and geological phenomena. The historic expedition to the Mariana Trench’s lowest point, the Challenger Deep, which lies 6.83 miles (10.99 kilometers) below the ocean surface, is the first extensive scientific exploration in a manned submersible of the deepest spot on Earth. Piloting the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, which is outfitted for scientific exploration, James Cameron will conduct tests, collect samples, and document the experience in the high-resolution 3-D for which he’s known globally."

I for one look forward to seeing more footage of the dive and reading about any possible life he might have seen down there! :o)

Movie Madness: crazy premiere in London!

Talk about walking into a madhouse! My sister and I were trying to cross Leicester Square tonight to collect our Mamma Mia! tickets with enough time to have dinner before the show... and found our paths blocked by a horde of screaming people!

My sister's like: "Thursday night? Oh, probably a movie premiere... I wonder which one it could be?... noooo... wait a minute! not... HARRY POTTER?!?!?!?!"

We found ourselves at a corner of the Square amongst a crowd of people looking up at a big screen showing the highlights of what was going on in the "fenced-off" zone (protected by Death Eaters no less!).

Missing again?

You might have noticed it's been a bit quiet around here again lately... and that I haven't been visiting my favourite bloggers... haven't flown off to the moon or anything, just had my life invaded by cousins! My cousin from Mallorca has been visiting this past week with her 11 month old baby and her younger brother and sister (8 year-old twins)... I've been teaching the twins how to snorkel (they go crazy with the slightest little fishy... in a safe calm spot I take them that really isn't a big deal underwater!), and they still insist on using me as a jungle gym in the water... fortunately they saw me with crutches at their first communion last April so I just tell them I have to be careful if I don't want to re-injure myself and they calm down. :o)

my aquababy niece with her mommy (my cuz)

my snorkelling-crazy cousins!

And although wonderful and fun... it's EXHAUSTING!!!

Not to mention reddening... why do kids always want to go down to the pool/beach during the peak hours? They've got lovely Mediterranean skin and don't realise their redheaded cousin is turning into a lobster!!! So much for sunscreen... I had it right all these years by avoiding the 12pm-5pm time frame... and worse... I'm getting a thick white stripe up to my neck from my bikini and it's going to look aweful when I'm all dressed up for one of my best friends' wedding in 2 weeks! :p

Mix that in with a heavy dose of classes I have to prepare and run around to get to on time (always more work in summer when students are out of school)... and the result is "internet? what's that?" I have so much to write about too! The madness that is winning a World Cup, a unique procession and dancing in the town just up the coast, haven't written about books or movies in months! And I've still got Hogueras tales to share! Fun video segments from these various events to weave together... where do I sign up for 48h days?

Cousins leave tomorrow, but my sis is here from London and I have to catch up on class prep work (plus have 3 new students) so I might still be silent for a while longer... and will start writing before I catch up on reading ('cause otherwise I'll never get anything written!). But to leave you with a foretaste... this is me right before setting out to watch Spain's historic (and highly stressful!) World Cup victory:

CAMPEONES! CAMPEONES! OHE! OHE! OHEEEEEEE!!!!

Football Fiesta in Alicante!

Well, I don't think it matters any more how the Spanish team does in the World Cup... at least not for a segment of the Alicante population! Fans of the local football team Hercules are going to be partying all night for a reason completely separate than the Hogueras... they won their final match of the season today which means they get to move up from the 2nd division of Spanish football to the 1st! This means they'll get to play against the likes of the Real Madrid and the Barcelona next year... good luck! They're going to need it! If I'm remembering right the last time they made it to 1st was about 15 years ago and they only lasted a year before getting knocked back down to 2nd... but I do remember all the partying in Alicante, t'was crazy! :p

Fallas en Valencia!

So yesterday, San José a.k.a. March 19th, was the culmination of one of the biggest fiestas in Spain: las Fallas in Valencia. You remember my posts last June about the Hogueras (introductory post here)? The big carton-cardboard-wood-painted sculptures displayed all over town depicting (often satirically) the current events of the past year that are then burnt down on the night of the feast of Saint John? Ok, well think pretty much the same thing... but BIGGER! The budget for the Fallas in Valencia is much higher than that in Alicante, and they don't have a limitation on height... The style is different too. Where the Hogueras are like cartoons based on simplified characteristics of the figures (kind of streamlined, more geometric shapes), the Fallas have a tendency to exaggerate characteristics (sometimes a bit bufoonish, and curvier). Am I explaining myself right? Does that make sense to you? Maybe a few pictures will help:

Hogueras 2009, Alicante

Fallas 2008, Valencia

Ever seen an Easter Egg sticking out of a foot?

Voilà!

doesn't look like a foot? allow me:

A long drop...

Now this looks like a good way to start off the New Year!



Isn't it great to see a birthday present so enjoyed? ;o)

Snowy Alicante

Remember me complaining last month because I was missing the unique sight of seeing snowy mountains from the beach in Alicante? Well, guess what?!

SNOW!!!

what Cris did her last night in Liege...

GO CRAZY!!!!          ;o)

Ok, I know I've been too busy to actually write about what I've been doing here these 4 months, I'll get to it eventually (short version: teaching scientific English at the University). But in a packing interlude (I'm leaving tomorrow) I just wanted to share a few photos of what I did my last evening here...

I woke up this morning happy to see this:

 

because I hoped it would be a sign of possible snow before I left tomorrow. I had an ice-covered car 2 days ago (took me 15' to defrost it!), and was really hoping to have some snowy, goofy fun before heading south to the snowless lands.

Well this evening I was meeting friends to go ice-skating at the outdoor (but covered, it rains a lot here!) rink downtown in the Christmas market, and as I left at 18h I saw this:

COOL!!!!

(there were some Brazilians out enjoying their first snow earlier, lol!)

So, big event of the evening:

crazyness on the ice!

Spinning:

Helping a friend skate for the first time:

Warming up later with melted cheese:

then admiring all the snow downtown (where it almost never sticks, this is pretty rare here):

trying to catch snowflakes:

and going crazy again:

Back up on campus there was even more snow:

I hope some of it's still there in the morning so I can get some daytime shots before I go!

Now I've got to get back to my packing, and looking forward to getting home in time to hopefully still see this:

Also quite rare, to have snow-covered mountains behind Alicante! (photo taken 2 days ago by my mom)

Happy Halloween!

I hope you're all having a SPOOKY evening!

I don't have anything special planned this year. Halloween's not a big deal on this side of the pond, although I did have a blast organising a big fiesta two years in a row when I lived here before... I re-discovered a love of Jack'o'Lanterns:

La Nocturne des Coteaux

a.k.a. my favourite night of the year in Liège! :o)

One of these days I'll get around to giving you a proper tour of Liège, but right now I'm just going to talk about what I think is the most awesome night of the year... when the oldest part of the city and the hillside gardens and forest that lead up to the old Medieval walls are all glowing with candles and lanterns and music fills the air!

Am I in the right country?!

So after 2 more days of lengthy hours on the French highways (plenty of traffic, closed exit to Luxemburg due to an accident), I made it to Liège... exhausted and with a fuzzy brain but in one piece. Or so I though until I wandered around downtown yesterday and ran into this:


HUH?! A GUARDIA CIVIL in Liège?! What, is the King of Spain visiting? (The Guardia Civil are a type of spanish national police)

Nope, turns out this is going on:


Ummm... I must have my geography mixed up, 'cause I could have sworn that by driving 2000+ km I would have LEFT Spain! But I must still be in the Peninsula 'cause otherwise how could I have run into the Vuelta Ciclista de España (the final of the three "Grand Tour" cycling races -El Giro de Italia + Le Tour de France + La Vuelta de España)?!

Well a little research (i.e. asking people in the streets + a helpful e-mail from my mom) informed me that for some reason the Vuelta started this year in Holland (?!?!?!) and had an "etapa" ending in Liège yesterday! (aparently today was a day off so they could skip France by flying directly to Girona to continue the race in Spain) Were the organisers trying to recapture the 16th century glory days of the Spanish Empire when the Low Countries were Spanish? No idea! Seems kind of crazy to me... but hey, these cycling races have been trying to up their international publicity for years! The Tour de France actually started in Liège several years ago (and the against-the-clock portion raced under my window when I lived downtown! Nothing so boring as having a cyclist zip under your window, one a minute for 4h!). I think the Giro did a few years back as well. And hey, apparently I missed out on one hell of a good party they had going this weekend to celebrate the Vuelta being in Liège: concerts, dancing, horses, and of course lots of food and drink! I did catch the tail end of the celebrations yesterday:


I love the horses!!!

Ok, now I have to go back to getting settled in... not easy in a dark dorm room associated with a communal kitchen (which when everyone arrives will be used by a whopping 32 people! and we each have to have our own stuff... the place doesn't even have an oven?! argh!!!). Also have to start getting some work done. I just wish the Belgian summer hadn't decided to disappear on September 1st... :p

Guess what day today is...

This should help:

(2005)

Anyone want to join our bbq and fiesta tonight? I make a great mojito! ;o)

Surprise on returning from London!

Well, I had been planning on getting a bit more writing done in here... but a "little" surprise my family had in store for me means I haven't actually been spending much time on the computer!

"what's that?" you ask... "what could be more important than sharing with us your wonderful London adventures and photos?!"

Well... this:

Confusing? I might have to explain a bit then... When my parents came to pick me up at the airport the other day, my dad had me take my suitcase to put it in the trunk of the car... which I couldn't do because the thing was already full! With a crazy Kiwi redhead!

In case you didn't know, Kiwis aren't just a fruit or a funky flightless bird with a pointy beak, they're also New Zealanders! And my sister (the one just after me) has been living there for 3 years now doing her PhD. She said she couldn't afford to come this summer, my parents hadn't been able to get the money together in time for an "inexpensive" ticket and yet there she was, in the trunk of the car!

You know those Mastercard "Priceless" ads? Well apparently my face when I opened the trunk would have made an excellent scene for one of them!

(this is the key moment, but wrong angle of camera to get a good view of my shocked face)

I'll get back to you with London stories... but I'll probably be a bit scarce over the next week while my favourite Kiwi is home! That and I learnt we'll all be together next weekend as the youngest is hopping on a flight home from London! All 5 crrrrazies in the same city?! Hasn't happened in 2 1/2 years!!! YAY!!! :o)