Carnaval Weekend = excuse for men to dress up as women!

Starting off el puente ("the bridge" aka the long weekend) right with the usual Friday night crew!

Pleather jackets and faux fur coats are really in here.  Here I am with my friend, Maria Dolores.  How gangsta does she look?? woooo!!! And wow, for those of you who know my grandma, you know she will salivate when she sees the leopard print coat I bought here haha.  Rockin it for Grandma whenever I wear it.

Toni and her marido (husband), Federico.  Interesting side note for you language dorks like me, here in Spain, a married couple is el marido and his mujer (woman).  I was corrected when I got here because I said marida, thinking it was wife.  Interesting because in America, it would be offensive to be referred to (not as a joke, that is) as a man's woman. 

This was Saturday in the main center of the town where people dressed up for Carnaval.  Here I am with some of my students who dressed up as the A Team.  Love it.

These groups of people on stage dress up and sing chiringuitos, which are basically songs about a certain topic, ranging anywhere from politics, the economic crisis, cultural stereotypes, Justin Bieber....

My Soccer buddy/Spanish boyfriend, JuanMa!  How cute?!

And then of course, JuanMa's dad, JuanAntonio, had to rock the wig too!

My pink wig was definitely a big hit!

So here is where it gets disturbing haha.  Carnaval, I have learned, is an excuse for men and teenage boys to frollick around like super skanky women.  This guy was so into it that he even flashed me his pink lacey underwear that he had over his shorts, which under his shorts were his fishnets of course.

This guy came up and chest-bumped me.  Alright, whatever!! Just go with it and don't ask questions!! Haha

A REALLY good Italian restaurant here in Puertollano.

This, my friends, is called a Chupito Hilda (Hilda Shot).  It consists of thick, hot chocolate, whipped cream and cinnamon, all in a delightful edible wafer-ish shot glass.  Definitely a tradition with my Friday night gang.

Cheers!  Chupito Hilda with Maria Dolores.  She's the one who introduced them to me!

The newest addition to my apartment, my new roommate Noelia.  She is very cool.  Just moved in a couple weeks ago (after a complete CAT FIGHT between my other roommates that resulted in one deciding to move out---major drama lol).  She is one year older than me and works at the oil refinery here in Puertollano.  It's also awesome because Noelia is from Sevilla, a very cool city in the south that is well-known for Flamenco.  Can't wait to visit.