A New Years Review

By Marianne

I've gone through the New Year traditions in a lot of different places. I've seen the fireworks in London, Spain and New York. In Annapolis, Baltimore, Washington DC and Los Angeles. And most recently, in Thailand and Sydney, Australia.

I don't remember too much about my London New Years, I imagine mostly because the last time I was in the UK for January 1, I was ten years old and I don't think I ever did anything particularly noteworthy. Hopefully for January 1, 2011, I'll be back there again to really see what it's like.
I remember in Spain going to a restaurant with my parents and having to eat a grape at each of the 12 strikes of the clock. I was young then too and I have a distinct memory of painful cheeks and almost choking on grapes. Small mouth + 12 grapes = not a good time.

Countdown to 2009 in Koh Pha Ngan

My first New Years in New York City, 1997, I had moved to the country mere weeks before hand. I was still so excited to be living in a place like NYC, so the New Year was pretty great although again, as an 11 year old, I wasn't exactly drinking champagne on a roof in Times Square. This all makes me realise that despite having been in some of the biggest cities in the world, it's not often that I've managed to make it to the 'big night' show that ends up on everyone's television. I'm usually with them in the living room watching the screen.

Well at least I did pretty well the last two years...

For the Millenium, I was 14 years old and had a big girly sleep over with all the girls in my year at school, waiting anxiously (or not so much) to see if the world would indeed end at Y2K. I've been to First Night in Annapolis and seen the US Naval Academy's midnight show, and I've been stuck in plenty of post-midnight traffic.

Last year was certainly my most tropical new year. I watched the countdown to 2009 on Koh Pha Ngan with about 30,000 other people at one of the infamous 'Full Moon' parties (New Years is just as good an excuse, if not better, than an actual full moon for a party after all.). It was the typical backpacker thing to do. Nothing glamorous about it, but certainly the best time I've ever had on a beach, and definitely the 'thing' to do if you happen to be a traveler in Thailand.

My New Years Eve in Sydney

This year, I finally got to see, live, the fireworks that I see every year on television and I spent New Years in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. I was in one of the first countries to roll in to the new decade and it was definitely above average. Okay, it was fantastic. At about 11 in the morning on December 31, I headed out with a backpack full of good food and cheap wine to meet up with everyone at Thornton Park in Balmain East. It was the perfect spot - not too big, and apparently not too well known, so our group had plenty of room to spread out our blankets, pump up the iPod speakers and get comfortable for our last day of 2009 with a perfect view of Sydney's Harbour Bridge. The show was fantastic. The bridge lit up again and again, with waterfalls of fire, towers of fire, champagne explosions. Everything. After the fireworks, a long journey home and a good sleep what did I do for my first day in 2010? Walked in as a VIP to Space Ibiza's Sydney New Years Day party of course! I danced and partied with the likes of Sam Sparro and Pete Tong until we were kicked out and I struggled to get home without falling asleep to enjoy a nice long lie in. Happy New Year indeed.

Burning Midnight Foam

By Megan
Nothing starts a day off quite like a cafe americano (one of the many styles of coffee found across Spain) and pan con tomate (the sadly misunderstood catalan food of favor created by smothering tomato, olive oil, and salt on bread) before a bus ride to visit Valencia to witness of the most bizarre and dream-like celebrations ever conjured.

Photo by Amy John

'Las Fallas' (a word used both to describe the festival and the sculptures) is a week long celebration in honor of Sant Josep (Saint Joseph) wherein teams create large-scale sculptures out of styrofoam.
The creations often depict political or other local events of the past year, or sometimes simply reflect the artist's fantastic sense of humor. The amount of detail put into the cartoonish pieces is stunning with no corner sparred of color or thought, and yet, is baffling as all of the works are eventually burned to a crisp in the streets of the city before the festival week is through. Oh, and they are all constructed overnight on the first day of the festival.
This entire trip felt a bit ludicrous, especially our 5 am bus ride back to Barcelona.  I mean, the entire point of the festival is creating massive foam structures and burning them to the ground.  After the uneventful bus trip to the city, we- my two brave friends and I- spent several hours wondering the streets in search of the fallas that had yet to be set aflame, before splitting a seafood paella made on a street cart near the market.

"The Big Enchilada"- Photo by Amy John

A few more hours of sitting in parks and exploring the sites of the city and we were exhausted- the main event was scheduled for mid-night.  We took a coffee break and suddenly we found ourselves in the middle of a pyrotechnic parade- another Spanish favorite. Drums pounding, feet dancing, and fireworks shooting into the crowd, I began to look forward to the main event of the evening; the burning of the largest, most detailed falla of the entire festival.
Around 11pm, sore feet and all, the three of us packed into the main plaza, along with the enormous crowd of rowdy teenagers and grandparents alike, excitedly waiting for the main event. Over an hour later, music blared, the crowd roared with anticipation, and fireworks shot out of the giant genie before it burst into flames. The intense heat waved down over the mass and faces laughed with delight, while flakes of mystery fluff rained from the sky. It took the entire, several story falla less than ten minutes flat to burn to the ground. Styrofoam, while not very environmentally friendly, sure burns quickly.

Before...   Photo by Amy John

After... Photo by Amy John

The rest of the evening was spent walking to the beach, giddy with energy from the night's unimaginable events. It is clearly a game to create something so extravagant, overnight, knowing that it's purpose is to be admired for the  impermanence of the structure.
A falla is designed to be destroyed. There is a playful passion that clearly exists in this celebration that makes one stop and think about the events of the past year, whether political or otherwise. But, the overall message is clear; learn and reflect on the past, but accept the future and it's new, fresh experiences. So, while on the crowded 5am bus back to Barcelona, I started mapping out my next journey while my seat partners attempted to sleep.
Next week: One Beautiful Series of Mistakes- An accidental visit to Pobla Segur via Lleida