Time flies when you are studying abroad – It is a fact, a fact that is extremely ongezellig. I can remember the first day I inhaled Dutch air as if it were just a blog ago, and I can say that from that day until now, I got a lot out of my time here. To celebrate the start of the mighty and powerful winter-break, let it replenish our batteries and redeem our souls with hot cocoa and kerststol!

I do not know why, but for me the winter break always brings childhood memories, memories of when, for example, I acknowledged the existence of the Dutch for the first time! My first glance of the Netherlands came from Jackie Chan’s movie ‘Who am I?’ set in Rotterdam, this movie was aired religiously every winter break in Mexico and it definitely calls for a rewatch as this holiday I will visit the Cube Houses and other places that appear in it.

That is a cool idea, actually, I shall make a list of the iconic places from my favourite films set in Europe, and then literally take a walk down the memory lane! On that list would be the Collignon’s market from Amelié in Paris, the Colosseum from Gladiator in Rome, the Einstein Café in Berlin so I can try the apple strudel from Inglourious Basterds and definitely the ferris wheel from The Third Man in Vienna. I have a feeling that I know Europe by means of movies more than by anything else, but that will soon change.

Anyhow, I will have two weeks for myself However, I can’t escape my student duties, they demand study for the oncoming tests that will warmly receive us in January. I would also like to organize my notes, and rewatch some lectures. It is work! But only with work my humble trip to Rotterdam will feel like I went on a month holiday.

Normally by this time I would be stuffed with ‘tamales’ (hard to explain), and drunk on hot ‘champurrado’ (chocolate-corn drink), as well as other customs. And as clarification, we do have piñatas this time of the year but not in the way you think, the traditional piñata is not a character – I don’t even know where the horse came from, it is just a colorful round piñata with seven big spikes, where each spike represents one of the seven deadly sins. It is filled with fruit or candy and normally it is only the kids who do it! Only sometimes, when the piñata is too tough, the older members of the family are called to help release the goodies.

As for the oncoming New Year’s Eve it is common in spanish-speaking countries to eat a grape to each of the twelve strikes of the bell, nowadays broadcasted on TV. Each grape represents a wish for the new year! Now that is a tradition I can continue here, but something more interesting I could do is what they do here in the Netherlands on the 1st of January: the ‘Nieuwjaarsduik’ or New Year’s dive, a dive into the sea or river no matter how cold it is, followed by hot soup. Refreshing!

Read Luis Avalos's blogs here