Friday afternoon saw me drafted in as a substitute for a sick man in the local hockey team. As those who are aware of my sporting abilities might have guessed, I was just a little bit nervous.
Turns out, however, that the league is an all ages, just-for-fun type thing. I had a blast and actually scored one of three of our team's goals! (Yes, it was a fluke - I thought I'd heard the whistle and play had stopped, so just whacked the ball aimlessly... it sailed through the goalkeeper's legs.)
I'm hoping to go back and play again next week.
On Friday night, it snowed! Actual, real flakey snow!
My host siblings and I took the chance and had a giant snowball fight in the street, at about 10pm. It was some of the most fun I've ever had.
On Saturday morning the snow hadn't quite melted, so Isabel, Maria, Antonio and I took a walk into the centre of Colmenarejo. It was lovely. We really need to introduce this 'snow' phenomenon to Perth.
(That's my host mother, Isabel, by the way. And one of our three dogs!)
Saturday night was carnivale. In Colmenarejo, the carnivale celebrations consist of a big parade, in which everyone wears costumes or bright clothing, and then a big talent competition.
(When I say bright clothing, I mean BRIGHT.)
The big fiesta-slash-talent-competition is supposed to take place outside, but - lo and behold! - it started to pour with rain as soon as the parade finished. Never fear; the entire town just quickly shifted to the local gymnasium!
The costumes were excellent, though my photos of them are not. I blame the dodgy lighting.
I had a lot of fun dancing with everyone I knew - my host family, my friends and my neighbours. The music was a weird (but fabulous!) mix of traditional Spanish songs and pop music (think Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake) played by a big brass band.
Up next - the talent competition. My neighbourhood entered the talent competition with a dance routine to
'Geisha Dreams'. Impressively enough - they won! I have to say, I was quite proud. And not only because I was helping organise rehearsals all of last weekend. Here's the triumphant group shot.
To celebrate, we all went out after the official carnivale celebrations were done. The only place open was a little Chinese restaurant in Galapagar. (I think the people who worked there were a little affronted when we all showed up still in costume.) Much beer was drunk, and much delicious food eaten.
We were out until about 1 in the morning, and so most of Sunday was spent snoozing.
So there you have it - my crazy weekend. And now I'd better get down to my Maths homework.
We celebrated the longest day of the year last night with some good family friends and a feast of epic proportions! Mmm. Spanish omlette [tortilla de patatas], spinach pie [pastel de espinacas], nachos [...nachos], sausages [chorizos], and cheese and garlic bread [pan con ajo y queso]. Plus, of course, plenty of wine [vino], cake [pastel] and ice cream [helado]!
