Old friends, New friends, Great food, and Better memories.

So obviously, Thanksgiving has happened. Much thanks has been given. This is the second time that I have spent Thanksgiving in Spain, and it's always a little weird. For the most part, nobody knows or cares about it, (and I mean, why would they?), so it's a little weird to have this feeling like it's a special, great day when it's just another Thursday for everybody else. I don't know if it's the holiday in particular, or maybe just the way that it always falls a few months after my arrival here to Spain, but it always makes me a little homesick. Well, I don't know if it's really homesickness, but there's something about the thought of the whole family getting together without me that makes me want to be there. I was missing them all and wishing that I could be playing Rock Band with them in the basement, and eating all of the foods that I've come to expect on Thanksgiving.
(How did I survive a Thanksgiving without cheesy potatoes?!)

Work on Thanksgiving was rather uneventful. No parties or drawing turkeys with the outlines of our hands. No pilgrim hats or Indian headbands. Just your everyday science lessons about the Earth and why it's great. I spent the afternoon preparing a "pumpkin" pie, which was a rather huge experiment, but turned out to be a rather huge success as well. The afternoon was the toughest part of the day, when facebook was ablaze with Thanksgiving wishes and details about everybody's Thanksgiving day plans. But I have to admit that those feelings of missing all of the traditions of Thanksgiving melted away at night. Our little American group got together to celebrate with a potluck dinner, along with friends from about 7 other countries, many of whom were celebrating the holiday for the very first time. The dinner was definitely not your typical Thanksgiving spread, but it was tasty and thoughtful nonetheless.We had arepas and empanadas, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes, lunch meat turkey (tapa-style), and more desserts than necessary. And we ate until we couldn't eat anymore -- just like true Americans.

Unfortunately, the night didn't end well for me. After I got home, I was surprised with a reverse Thanksgiving dinner, when I ralphed up everything that I had eaten that night. I'm not sure what exactly it was that made me ill. I am kind of leaning toward the fact that I had eaten some questionable chicken for lunch that day. Or maybe it was the mixture of food, or maybe even the quantity. Maybe it was the super cheap wine. Maybe it was a combination of these things. But whatever it was, it was reason enough to call in for my first sick day. Having spent half of the night tossing cookies, I was in no shape to put on a fake smile at school.

Friday was a very peaceful day. I didn't leave my apartment until around 7:00pm, and even then, it was only to print my bus ticket for Sevilla! I came right back home after printing the ticket, and spent the rest of the night hanging out at home -- definitely not typical for a Friday night in Toledo.

But the weekend was fantastic, as is typical for weekends spent in Sevilla. (Despite the fact that it rained the whole time ...again!)
I had SO MUCH FUN hanging out with Rachel and Ana Bello. Saturday night, we baked delicious things at Ana Bello's house. On Sunday, we had another Thanksgiving feast. And I mean, this was a legit Thanksgiving feast. We had real turkey, and delicious stuffing, green bean casserole,  sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes, corn, and even more delicious pies. It was SO good. Thanks to Ana Bello for working so hard and making a truly authentic Thanksgiving dinner! The day couldn't have been any better. We had dinner at 2:00, and spent the rest of the night hanging out and playing games. (We even played TABÚ! My favorite!) We only left around midnight! Nights like that are so good for the soul. It was so great to spend time with old friends, make some new friends, speak Spanish (with a healthy amount of English mixed in), and eat the best meal that I've had since being in Spain. (And the leftovers were just as good the next day.)

On Monday, I had the chance to go back to the school to visit. It was great to see everyone. (And it was also great to see that two new kebap joints have opened up next to the school!) Of course, I felt like my Spanish melted away when I walked into the building, and I was suddenly incapable of any intelligible conversation. I hate it when that happens! But despite all of that, it was great to see and catch up with everyone.
Monday night, the school had it's semiannual flamenco party, so we went to that as well. It brought back so many good memories of the semester that we spent there! After the party, we braved the cold and went out for tapas and tea. Good times for sure. It was so great to spend 3 days in such good company!

Obviously, I have a lot to be thankful for. And believe me when I say that I am!