On the 28th of February is not only my Uncle´s birthday but also the Day of Andalusia. This is the best day in the eyes of many here in southern Spain. They are very proud of their heritage and culture and I can clearly understand why. During this holiday there is no school and since it lands on a Thursday, there is a long weekend. That means five days free for me! In my next post you will see my wonderful journey to Istanbul, Turkey.
For some of my adult students at the academy I work at and some friends I made some gluten free rocky road brownies! They were amazing and delicious. A while back my father pointed me towards a gluten free blog and this is not the second recipe I have tried out. It is official, I must try more. I do not have any pictures but I made a treat from Andalucia for my fellow teachers at school that is also gluten free called amarguillos. They are a traditional christmas treat from Sevilla I am told and are made from sweet potatoes and almond flour. Honestly, they were not my favorite.
After a snack of bread and olive oil for all the students we went outside to listen to the anthem and raise the flags. The flag on the left is of Andalucia and the flag on the right is of Spain.
Afterwards we headed to the celebration. Each grade level represented a state within Andalucia. They decorated posters and made food. Here you can see Almeria, which is where I lived last year. I am hoping to visit there St. Patrick´s Day weekend as well.
Of course, beloved Sevilla where I started this whole journey.
Jaen was prepared by my sixth grade students and is the state in which I currently reside. Plenty of our beloved olive oil which I cannot get enough and also there was some delicious rice pudding!
Huelva is the only state I have not visited. It is the farthest west and is famous for the beaches and strawberries.
Cordoba is famous for its beautiful mosque and olives as well.
Malaga´s table was of course filled with seafood. I am hoping to visit a friend that is there over cinco de mayo weekend.
Here is Granada which is one of my favorite cities.
Cadiz is a place I must return because I have not spent much time exploring but also has a lot of seafood and is where Christopher Columbus sailed out.
Some mother´s of the students danced some traditional dances. They also have little musical instruments in there hands which is much more complicated to control while you are dancing. There were really great to watch.
Next, two girls danced Sevillanas. This is a traditional flamenco dance that all people learn here at a young age. I am currently taking classes and also had the opportunity to practice with my students!
Since my sixth graders wanted to perform and one boy did not have a partner I decided to join in. I am on the other side so it is difficult to see in the pictures.
I just loved watching all my first and second graders dancing Sevillanas! They are better than me!
Overall, it was a fabulous birthday and a great way to start off my long weekend!
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