A Bunch of Hocus Pocus!
- Natalie Penry
- Nov 3, 2024
- 8 min read
And just like that, we've entered November! This is shaping up to be quite an eventful month, with some guest stars & holiday episodes down the pipeline, but I would be remiss if I didn't update you on the last days of October.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and it's been a bit strange to spend October somewhere where it's simply not a big deal. No one is decorating houses or carving pumpkins or anything, and the weather is far from cozy fall vibes. In fact, Halloween is pretty much only celebrated on the day of, with costumes that are supposed to be scary in nature - the creative, "be whatever you want to be" costumes are reserved for Carnival in February.
That being said, it's still a holiday, and I live with several Americans who also love Halloween, so we made sure to keep a couple key elements of spooky season front and center. And in that wonderful, Baader-Meinhof phenomenon kind of way, keeping scary thoughts in mind led to some truly memorable Halloween moments. Read on for two spooky stories from Menorca!
Resident Evil
I've briefly touched on the myriad of tasks Language Assistants have to complete in order to live abroad; if you don't remember, just know it's a rather complex series of steps. Part of that journey includes applying for a TIE, or a Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (Foreigner Identity Card). This is what allows us to stay for the duration of the NALCAP program, as opposed to getting sent home at the end of our visas in mid-January.
Even though there are only ~20 auxes in Menorca, there are plenty of other foreigners who are in the process of applying for these cards, and with limited appointments available, well, you can imagine. In Mahón, appointment slots are released Mondays at 8:00 a.m., and it is equivalent to a Ticketmaster Great War trying to secure a spot. In fact, I still have friends that have yet to successfully schedule an appointment, despite the official party line saying we must have our TIE appointments within the first thirty days of being here.
I was lucky enough to get an appointment on Halloween, and headed out that morning with my paperwork in tow. If you've ever had to deal with the Spanish government, you'll know that punctuality and speed are not really gold star areas for them, so I was not at all surprised to be held in the waiting room for ~20 minutes after my scheduled time. When I eventually got called back, I was optimistic things were going to go smoothly. I am, after all, so Type A that I had double and triple-checked I had everything necessary...You can see where this is going...
As it turns out, I had grabbed the customer copy of form EX-15 (a tax document) instead of the business copy (rookie mistake). The officer working with me said if I could run back to my apartment, grab the correct copy, and return to the Foreigner's Office before 1:00, they could still process everything today. If not, I would have to fight it out to schedule another appointment. Challenge Accepted.
I live ~10 minutes walking from the office and it was 12:33 when I left the building - enough time in theory, but I needed to hustle. For those of you unfamiliar with central Mahón, it's very picturesque and beautiful, but those cobblestone hills can & will put you in crisis when fast-walking through the streets in boots and a wrap-around skirt. I attracted more than one odd look as I ~power-walked~ my way to C/Sant Jordi, obviously a woman on a mission.
Fortunately, I was able to make it there and back in record time (16 minutes). The only slight hiccup that remained? My ID photo. In the US, our passport photos are 2 inch squares; in Spain, they have a different format. I had known this ahead of time and decided to run the risk of bringing my already-printed visa photo - some former auxes had mentioned that most offices were willing to accept the US-sized photos and trim them down to the correct size with scissors. When the officer assisting me looked at my photo, she instinctively said, "Oh, you'll have to go down the street and get a new photo taken."
I must of let out some sort of strangled yelp because she looked up from the paperwork and actually saw saw me for the first time - remember, this is post Make Way for Ducklings Mad Dash to and fro, so I was absolutely drenched in sweat. Honestly, you'd've thought I had come from hot yoga or something. The officer took pity on me and followed up with "You know, I'm going to see if they'll just accept this photo." Girls help the girls!
Assuming the powers that be find all my paperwork (and slightly incorrect photo) to be in order, I should be able to pick up my TIE card in January and be considered a non-permanent resident instead of a tourist/student visa holder. But yes, a bit of a spooky start to the day - nothing is scarier than red tape and bureaucracy!
Fright Night
Fortunately for us auxes, Halloween was a quasi-weekend. Spain celebrates All Saints’ Day as a bank holiday, so even those of us who do not get Fridays off were guaranteed a long weekend. This gave us a lot of…motivation, shall we say, to make it a fun, memorable night.
Like I said earlier, Halloween looks a bit different here. The costumes are largely meant to be scary, with many people wearing all black and utilizing horror makeup. My friends and I had to piece together some costumes with what was available in the local bazaars (there’s nothing constituting a Spirit Halloween in Menorca) or what we brought from home. What we ended up with was an Angel, a Devil, and a Disco Girl!
We started the night off at a local bar on the port called Bandidu, where there’s a standing jam session every Thursday night. One of our aux friends, Jack, usually gets up to play or sing, so there’s always a reason to go, and the general vibes of Bandidu are so unique - it so owns its vibe, so even if it’s not my scene precisely, I still love how settled into itself it is, no? After meeting up with some other aux friends and closing down the jam session, our group ambled down the port to another bar that’s become a friend group favorite: Texas! Known for its cowboy decor and daily karaoke, Texas has become one of our favorite places to frequent. The locals may question our karaoke choices, but honestly, what night isn’t made better by four girls passably singing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”?
After a stop at Es Claustre, a bar/cultural space that is located in the central outdoor area of the Iglesia del Carmen, our little group headed back to my apartment to play cards and hangout more. Though Spanish nightlife exists in a much later hour than Indianapolis (the party typically doesn’t become “fun” until 2:00 a.m.), most of the people not living on Sant Jordi were fairly tired by 4:30 in the morning. Being the kind, compassionate, still-wired-on-caffeine girls we are, my friend Rachel and I offered to walk Jack home and detour on our way back to see the sunrise. By the time we made it across Mahón (in the middle of slight showers), it was already 5:30 in the morning; the sun would be up by 7:15! At that point, you kind of have to stay up, you’re obligated to for the plot.
We figured there would be a bar or coffee shop still open or opening on the port, so started walking down there. This is the point where I remind you that Spain celebrates All Saints’ Day, that it’s a bank holiday. Yeah…our bad! There was absolutely nothing open, just a handful of people stumbling home after a longer night than ours. We meandered through the port and ended up back at my apartment around 6:15 - the exterior door to the apartment actually got jammed, so we had to wake up roommate Zoë to buzz us in - but we were committed at that point. I’m fortunate to have roof access in my apartment complex, so Rachel & I grabbed some water, snacks, and speaker to wait out the last hour or so before this highly-anticipated sunrise.
I honestly felt like I was 12 years old again, valiantly trying to stay awake at a sleepover with friends so we could claim we’d pulled an all-nighter. Rachel and I literally sat on the roof, unspeaking, listening to music and watching the sky. We still managed to break a glass of water (tripping hazard) and observe someone on the street below get in a fight with a partner. At that point, I had been awake for almost twenty-four hours; I had been out and about since 8:45 p.m.; I was tired, cold, and slightly damp from the rain. I wish, I really do, that I could say the sunrise was angelic and alleviated me of any and all earthly concerns, but I’ll be honest: my first thought on seeing the sun peek through the clouds was “oh thank god, I can go to sleep now!”
All jokes aside, it was a beautiful sunrise. Menorca doesn’t know how to do a bad sunrise, truly. And yes, it felt heavenly to go inside, take off my makeup and jewelry, and finally crawl into bed. While I’ve been writing this, I’ve had the sense that I’m not accurately conveying the emotions and the atmosphere from Halloween.
As much as it annoys me to say this, you kind of just had to be there. It’s hard to share the details of a memory without losing the distinctive sense of being in the moment that makes it special, you know? Trust me, though, it was memorable and a more Halloweekend-esque night than anything I had during college!
I did want to take a second to touch on the severe weather and subsequent tragedies in Valencia, Spain. As I'm sure you've heard, earlier this week, the region of Valencia experienced the deadliest flooding in Spanish history, leading to the deaths of 150+ people; that number is expected to continue rising over the next few days. A year's worth of rain fell in around eight hours, causing a significant level of damage and destruction to the region.
While the island of Menorca was relatively unscathed, there is still a sense of mourning here. Many Menorcans have family and friends living in the mainland, and since disasters of this magnitude are relatively rare here, it feels personal to everyone. We're all hoping for closure and a quick recovery.
If you'd like to help victims of the flooding, the Spanish Red Cross is accepting donations here.
Boo...we've come to the end of today's post. I hope these cuentitos gave you a glimpse of the American perspective on Spanish Halloween or at least made you smile. It’s my firm belief that everyone has these crazy little moments in their day-to-day lives, the run-ins and accidents that drive you up the wall or make you reflect and think “did I really do that?” Those make the best stories, for me.
As I’m entering this new month, I think it’s finally starting to sink in that this is a longer-term kind of deal. The adventure is only just beginning, and it’s such a different composition from adventures of yore…Like a lot of twenty-somethings, a big part of my life outside of work is finding fun and fulfillment in a new place with new people. While I’ll always remember the hectic, only-in-a-city-for-five-days era of backpacking or SAS, I’m really enjoying trying to build a life for myself here, road blocks and all.
Here’s to doing it afraid, doing it tired, doing it lonely and giddy and joyfully - here’s to doing it anyways :) ¡Adiós from Mahón!
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