On Sunday, May 6th I went to the celebration of Juanmi's cousin's first communion at the
Club de mar (Boat club) here in Almería. We didn't actually get to go to the communion itself because it was in a small church and each kid could only invite like 10 guests so of course the closest family members (parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles) were the ones who went to the actual mass and the rest of us just went to the celebration afterwards.
I was nervous to meet all of Juanmi's family but it went really well! They are all super nice and really funny...especially his uncle, Jose Luis! After eating his lunch with a few beers, he was walking around the restaurant acting a fool and making everybody laugh! SO funny!
In addition to the good company, the food was AMAZING. When we first got there there were plates of serrano ham, manchego cheese, Raf tomatoes (a really expensive and delicious species of tomato grown exclusively in Almería) and anchovies drizzled with olive oil. Then they brought out two more appetizers: stuffed artichokes and vegetable tempura with shrimp. After the appetizers were gone, the first dish, a filet of
bacalao (cod) with a garlic sauce, came out followed by a lemon flavored slush to clear the palate before the second dish. The second dish was a steak served with sauteed veggies and new potatoes. It was the first steak I had eaten in Spain and it was SO good. Finally for dessert, they brought out a brownie-type deal with chocolate sauce and a scoop of ice cream. Oh and I forgot to mention you had your choice of drinks, but the default was to eat the appetizers with beer, the fish with white wine, the steak with red wine, and the dessert with champagne. It sounds like a ton of food and drink but the portions were relatively small so you didn't end up popping out of your clothes haha.
After everyone was finished eating, we sat around and socialized and eventually they started serving mixed drinks as well. Juanmi's aunt handed out some little trinkets to all the female guests to serve as a reminder of the communion and the men got cigars. Smoking isn't allowed inside public places in Spain but after enough pestering the waiters, the ash-trays were brought out and the remaining guests all started migrating to the cool table (i.e. our table--Juanmi, his brother, cousins and their boyfriends/girlfriends who are all around our age) to smoke their cigars. It was hilarious, just as I expected.
Overall, I had a great time not only meeting Juanmi's family but getting the insider's perspective on a real Spanish family event. It was cool to get to take part in the celebration and to be able to compare it to the first communion in the States. Granted I'm not Catholic, but I've got several Catholic friends and I'm certain that this event isn't celebrated on such a large scale back home.
The little boys here that are doing the First Communion dress in little sailor suits and the girls in all-white fluffy mini-princess dresses. Afterwards, they're showered with gifts. Depending on the kid, his family, and the number of guests invited, the kid will walk away with more stuff than he knows what to do with. I didn't even see all the gifts Juanmi's cousin Dani got, but I know he had at least 3 watches, 2 digital cameras, a remote controlled helicopter, and several video games. I'm virtually certain that he had to have cleaned up moreso than at Christmas even. Crazy.
I'm looking forward to getting to celebrate more events with Juanmi's fam! As the evening was coming to a close, everybody kept teasing his cousin Lorena and her boyfriend about the fact that their wedding would be the next big family celebration...no pressure, guys haha!
