Pulpo a la Fiesta

Because TDSE has been holding down this blog for the past couple weeks (and doing a great job), it seemed like a nice idea to write a small update about my travels in Spain to supplement his hard work. I am currently sitting in an Irish pub called Gilligams in Boiro, Galicia, and I find myself using that phrase much too often. If you've heard that the Galician portion of Spain is like a completely different country, you are very much correct. At the very least, most of its inhabitants would have you believe that.


My concept of what is clean and what is dirty has been permanently and unchangeably altered. Apparently living in tents and spending 7 hours each day digging will do that to you. That being said, the dry and sunny days have been very nice. The wet days, which are often, have also been very nice, just wetter. Galicians also say that Galicia is more like Ireland than Spain. I'll confirm this.

I successfully did my own laundry by hand for the very first time. Like my opinion on dirtiness, I also have a new and elevated opinion of washers and dryers. We are staying at a children's overnight camp called campamento espeniera or something similar to that, which is kind of as creepy as it seems. It does however, allow for the learning of many new and fun songs as pre eating rituals. I have also woken up on quite a few occasions to ke$ha being played by the camp counsellors, which I have greatly appreciated.

I will be talking about the site we are excavating in a further blog about doing archaeology in another country, but the best way to describe it would be dramatic. All kinds of crazy stuff has been involved in the excavation process, but it has been very educational, which is the ultimate goal so I would definitely call it a success.

The city of Boiro is pretty small, but it has been entertaining and we continually run into people we know, which makes it seem kind of like home. Albeit a home without a washer and dryer, but home nonetheless. The local newspaper has actually published front page articles about our work a couple of times (pictures pending) that have been interesting to read. The government here has a large investment in our excavation and has been trying to plug the work being done at Neixón. As evidence, they are actually having a huge festival at the site tonight, that will involve tons of people, food, and alcohol.

I am going to be here until this coming Saturday and hope to blog at least once before I return to the states and experience the many wonders of American culture (no joke, this is honesty). Once I return, I'll be retroactively blogging about exoeriences here, complete with pictures and excellent explanations of what it's like in Galicia. For more on what it has been like digging around here and to see blogs that I'm saying I have guest edited, though I actually have not yet seen them, check out Kelly's blog here.

As an explanation for the title, "Pulpo a la Fiesta" is a popular Galacian dish that translates directly as Octopus to the party. It is simultaneously delicious and awesome to make really awful jokes about.