Waaah. Not being home at Christmas makes me feel a little bit like the grinch. Even though I’ve been extremely homesick these past few days, Madrid is not a bad place to be during the holidays. There are a ton of Christmas markets all over the city, and lights, and lots of madrileños wearing really dorky holiday hats, everything is very festive. Walking around the city you see lots of Santa’s on ladders climbing up people’s balconies, which makes a lot of sense since there are no chimneys here.
The butcher shops are also more packed than usual with goodies for Christmas dinner. I recently read that Spain actually surpassed the U.S. in percentage of the population that is obese, and their excessive consumption of meat can’t be helping. Check out this bad boy right around the corner from my house:
The kids are fully into the Christmas spirit as well. This entire week is devoted to Christmas activities, and most of the teachers are about ready to light themselves on fire. I kind of like it though :) The other day one of my favorite little ones was nearly in tears, and when I went over to see what was going on, I was forced to settle a dispute about whether or not Papa Noel was real or (gasp!) just your parents. Oh and in case you were wondering, in Spain Santa Claus does not say “Ho, ho, ho”, but rather “Jou, jou, jou.”
On Thursday I head off to Marrakesh for the weekend, in attempt to shake these Christmas blues. Merry Christmas everyone!
Taking the Long Way 
Merry Christmas to YOU, Alyssa! I’m so bummed that we won’t be seeing you on Christmas, but what a great experience you are having. I love your blog and keeping up with what you are doing. I send love and hugs. GL