Accion de Gracias

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Flag of Spain and Canary Islands Málaga, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands
Friday, November 27, 2009

Today was Thanksgiving back in the US, or as the Spaniards call it, Accion de Gracias. First of all, I would like to say that I am impressed by how much the Spaniards know about the United States. I called home and I told my mom that the Spaniards know about Thanksgiving and my mom was surprised that they know about it, and also how she doesn't know of any Spanish holidays. I've lived here for over two months and I still barely know the Spanish holidays. Most of them seem to be related to the church. It's interesting how today it seems like the church plays such little role in peoples lives but in the past it is what dominated most aspects of society. Back to today. I knew it was Thanksgiving but it sure as heck didn't feel like it. At school the teachers didn't bring up the subject or cut us any slack. The weather was kind of rainy today so that helped. It didn't feel like it was early October like its been like. The leaves are still all green on the trees though. It's still hard to believe that it's almost December. It's still really warm, I can't wear a jacket, but the decorations remind me that Christmas is right around the corner. The decorations get more awesome each day. Calle Larios is super impressive and they've put up these large glass trees in the Plaza de la Marina and the Plaza de la Constitucion. Then on my walk home tonight I noticed a large plastic tree they are putting up. Tomorrow night is the lighting of everything and I think it should be awesome. It's so cool seeing how another country celebrates Christmas. While they don't have lights on individual houses the public displays of decorations are incredible.

For lunch today Maria made a soup and a plate with three different kinds of meat. Chicken, ham, and beef. She said it was very traditional and that you mix it all up and dip your bread on it. It was so good. It reminded me of Thanksgiving. Then tonight the ISA group had a dinner at a restaurant (they rented it out) it was so good. Wine, salad, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, gravy, cranberry type sauce, and some kind of meat. We later found out that the meat was turkey with stuffing. It was really good. I can't remember the last time I ate that good. I had so much I thought I was going to get sick. It was a real good night. Even though we are so far from home and the traditional Thanksgiving (which is my favorite holiday...food and it's not commercialized), it felt a little bit like home. We laughed a lot. At the end I told the woman who I assume owns the restaurant that it was very good and I could tell she appreciated hearing that. She also told me that it was her first time ever making a turkey in the oven. She also told me that she spent two weeks looking on the Internet for a recipe on how to cook a turkey. I really appreciate that she did that and that she put so much effort into making it. It was really nice of her to help us feel at home. Even though it was different it was still very good. A very good Spanish Thanksgiving. She also told me that I need to visit Barcelona (where she is from), Paris, and London. I really want to see all of those places.

Afterwords myself, Kate, Kirsten, Christina, and Rebecka walked together to Plaza de la Merced. On the way we encountered a giant Christmas bell and a Christmas tree decoration. Later, we had an interesting time at Plaza de la Merced with the people hanging out trying to sell us hashish.

The one time where I really missed American Thanksgiving was when I called my grandparents in Florida. They were hosting my uncle, cousins, and Melanie and that my grandma had to get off the phone so she could put the turkey in the oven. For a moment I felt like I was there with them. Other than that it is sad missing out on such a great day but I took it pretty well. I am enjoying Spain too much to be all that sad. It was fun talking to my grandma. She told me that she saw my belly dancing pictures from Morocco. I told her that I went to Spain to learn Spanish but instead I received my degree in Belly Dancing. How funny.

Tomorrow I will be going to my friend Maria (my Pachange intercambio partner's girlfriend) class at an institute to talk to her tourism class in English. That should be interesting. Then Saturday I'll be in Cordoba and Sunday studying for an exam on Monday. I hope I do good.

Hasta luego.

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