Happy Halloween!

Everyone--well, most everyone--at school today was hyped for two major reasons: one, the holiday (and the accompanying coloring, games, and CANDY), and two, the firefighters' visit.

O, the director of studies, passed around a notice during lunch yesterday. The team would be coming by around 11:30AM to do a presentation with the 3rd graders, but all were welcome to see their "exhibit" afterwards. You only had to be aware that there were going to be men in uniform and you could be assured that the female staff we're going to be on hand...to bring the kids 'round of course.

They got started a bit late, but no one minded. My three fellow female assistants (the other is male) on the opposite side of the fire engine, watching the men get everything ready, and motioning for me to come over. I grinned and shook my head, opting to stay with the masses of children that had gathered, and everyone glinting at the bright sky as the ladder zoomed up and up, past the roof. The kids went especially crazy as one firefighter, then another, hoisted himself down using the rope, doing flips on the way.

Afterwards there were many photo ops to be had, and again, I was invited to join, but again, I declined. From the sidelines, I took a photograph of my three fellow assistants posing with one of the cuter (or so one mentioned) firefighters, who would apparently later text one of my coworkers commenting on her bonita sonrisa. Needless to say, it was a pretty exciting event, albeit too cortito, as a student would later comment.

For the rest of the afternoon, my class worked on Halloween riddles and their masks. I had traced out two faces: a pumpkin and a black cat, the former of which was more popular, but the latter turning out to be much cuter. We ended the day by me doling out candy--some gummi, some creamy stuff, some gum, and M&Ms--wearing a witch hat I bought only yesterday at a 1-EUR-store (dreadfully called a chino, because they majority of its proprietors are presumably of Chinese descent). I tried to get them to say "trick or treat," but to no avail. Oh well.

Let me just say that I never knew exactly how lethal the "kids with candy" combination can get. Well, perhaps I'm exaggerating, but they kept wanting to switch, or asking for more, like ravenous baby chicks. "Let's save some for the other class!" I told my first. Seeing as how my ghost bucket is still 1/4 full, I could've easily given them more chuches, but I really worried about sugaring them up too much. I did, however, encounter a few students outside of the main entrance, waiting for their parents, so I took liberties and gave them some more. An adult called out one of them, and I was at first scared, but then she thanked me. What a relief.

Now I'm just killing time before I take tonight's overnight train to San Sebastián, where A and I barely booked a room. Our plans for Granada had fallen through, so we thought this would be a good alternative. Too bad we hadn't planned much earlier (better), because ALL of the places we looked at within our budget--from

the branch of the national youth hostel association to the 2* pension--were booked. Luckily, one place from among the many that I frantically emailed last night responded that they still had a double room available, so I sent them our info straight away. We'll see how that goes in the next post. Until then, have a great weekend, eat lots of huesos de santo and buñuelos de viento!