Holidays?? In Spain??

So today is 'El Dia de Trabajo' in Spain which translates to--Day of Work. It is a holiday, indeed. Only in España will the people get a day off from work to celebrate 'work!' I swear, I have never seen a country with so many holidays or reasons not to work. They take days off for every and anything. I guess I am not complaining because I don't think it is a terrible thing, but I do find it a bit humorous. There is a holiday here AT LEAST once a month. Another interesting fact about working in Spain, it is required that the people get 4 weeks of vacation every year. It doesn't matter if you start working tomorrow, you got 4 weeks! wahoooo! Even businesses, restaurants, etc... close down for weeks at a time for vacation. My parents were shocked about this little tidbit and couldn't fathom how the business owners do it, but they do. Every year. It is a little annoying at times living here because the lifestyle is very different in that respect. In a normal place, most of the shops, grocery stores, and businesses are open from 10-2pm, close down at lunchtime from 2-5 pm and open back up again from 5-8pm. This is usually 5 1/2 days a week too--Saturday afternoon and Sunday nothing is open. In Madrid, Barcelona, or the bigger cities, obviously there are more places that stay open due to the tourism, but usually only in the tourist areas. So this wacky time schedule doesn't allow you to do your errands whenever you want like the good ol' USA. I have gotten used to it, but definitely miss this about the States. It definitely is true that the Europeans are more laid back than the Americans though because I think they enjoy life more. They find every reason not to work and many Americans don't know how to quit..... (cough cough.. dad.) I did celebrate the Easter holiday here last month-- American style-- and treated everyone to a great American brunch. I made krupsuu (a traditional Finnish breakfast--an oven-baked pancake), french toast, scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, bacon, fruit, and some desserts. Our friend, Paul Shirley was in charge of the mimosas... There is nothing better than a good American breakfast. I invited the Americans and Spaniards over and many Spaniards were experiencing their first American breakfast. After eating we put the WII to use and had a little bowling tournament.

The festive tulip and bowl of Easter eggs, chocolate ones of courseCarlos, Marc, Chris, Me(and my bunny shirt), Paul, Estela, and Javi

The pretty cupcakes I made

These are some pictures from the religious festivities that take place during Easter in Spain. Easter is more of a week long celebration here called Semana Santa-Holy Week. There is a parade of floats and people dressed up (on the first Sunday of the week and on the night of Easter) that represents the pride and enthusiasm of every Spaniard's religion. It is a huge deal to the people here, especially in the south of Spain, if they can't carry their float. This year it was raining and there were interviews of people on tv completely sobbing because they were so upset. It's the day they look forward to all year. The bottom picture shows how big they can be.

In Mahon

In Mahon

In the south of Spain