Giving Thanks Here and There

Celebrating Thanksgiving in England last weekend was great fun, but it was only the beginning. Never in my life have I had so many Thanksgiving-related festivities! The Pilgrims and Indians had a three day feast, but I had a week-long extravaganza that went as follows…

Teaching Thanksgiving: I read The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving a dozen times over the past few days, sharing the story of how the Pilgrims endured their first year in America and why they had reason to rejoice over their first successful harvest. It took a while for some of the kids to figure out why they don’t celebrate the holiday here in Spain… glad I got that sorted out.

Friday’s Feast: My friend, Elly, hosted a small gathering of friends for a Thanksgiving feast. There the company was absolutely delightful and the food was irresistible! Ricardo’s turkey was incredibly delicious and impressively overflowing with lots of goodies—like nuts, fruits, ground beef, and spices—which he whipped up from his Italian heritage. I’m afraid I stuffed myself with another amazing selection of holiday food for the second time this week! My food baby, Jorge, did not appreciate it when after dinner at Elly’s, SK & I took him out for a night of dancing to celebrate Elaine’s last night in Madrid for the year. (But she’s coming back in January, yay!)

A Pilgrims & Indians Party: SK & I met a new crowd of folks on Saturday night at Emily’s party. Even though Emily is American, most of her roommates or neighbors are British. They were really excited to have an excuse to wear feathered headdresses and make tomahawks. Emily’s mom had sent her cider, which was the perfect flavor for the occasion!

Church Celebration: In this First Sunday of Advent, Pastora Cathy incorporated the meaning of Thanksgiving into the service. I think that this little poem below says it all. Cathy found it in a crumpled newspaper a couple of weeks ago, and she talked about it in her children’s sermon. I’ll leave you with these words of wisdom… and I thank the Unknown Author who gave them to us.

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there to be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something

For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,

Because it means that you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Bringing Thanksgiving to Birmingham

In 1621, the Pilgrims left England and sailed to America. That first winter was incredibly difficult for the Pilgrims, and they suffered many hardships. Luckily, Squanto and other Native Americans showed them the ropes of how to take advantage of the bounties from the land that would later be called Massachusetts. By the following autumn, they held a three-day feast in order to celebrate all the wonderful food they gathered from their harvest. At the first Thanksgiving, there were actually more Native Americans than Pilgrims. Since the 1800s, Americans have honored this time in our history and have dedicated one day out of the year to remember to count our blessings and gather with family and friends around a table for a delicious feast.

I had my first Thanksgiving celebration of the year this past weekend… and I feasted in the very country that the Pilgrims left: England!

Sarah and I traveled to Birmingham, England in order to have a Thanksgiving with Yadira, who now lives in Bham instead of Madrid. We arrived on Saturday; that night, the three of us went into downtown Bham for the German Christmas Market, where we perused the holiday wares displayed under the tents, snacked on bratwursts, and drank glühwein (mulled wine). Sunday morning was spent preparing for the big party—a grocery store run and several hours in the kitchen. Yadira was in charge of the turkey, whom I named Stanley, and SK & I took care of some side dishes: mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dressing (aka stuffing), and sweet potato casserole.

Yadira and her three awesome roommates (Jenn from CA, Yogi from India, & Anya from Poland) hosted over ten guests from various parts of England and even Australia. It was truly an international bunch, and everyone enjoyed learning about our American tradition. Take a look at the video for a visual display of the Sunday-Thanksgiving action!

After our afternoon feast, we were all rendered pretty much useless and content to stay inside (it was dark by 5:00 anyway) for the remainder of the night. However, the roommates and us two free-loaders managed to move our bodies for a spontaneous dance party later on! The trip was short but sweet, and early Monday morning Yadira drove SK & me to the bus station where we caught our bus to the Luton-London airport. SK & I enjoyed our time with Yadira, but we weren’t too sad to say goodbye because we’ll be hosting her in Madrid in just a few weeks!
My 3^rd graders traveling class pet, Peppa Pig, went to England with me to have an American Thanksgiving, and we kicked off the holidays with an indulgent treat: a Christmas-sprinkles KrispyKreme doughnut.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for so many things, and I'm thrilled that I've still got a few more chances to celebrate!

What else is new?

School talk:

My school schedule has had a number of makeovers since the school year began. The most recent re-do was given to me this week. I have now lost all my classes with first grade (sad day… I was getting quite attached to them, and I enjoyed working with Carmen), with the preschoolers (misery averted…), and with all other random classes I was asked to pop into once a week (which was just plain pointless). As a result, I will only be working with both of Victor’s 5^th grade classes and with Cristina’s 3^rd grade class.

The reason behind the schedule alteration is because a fourth teaching-assistant has finally arrived. Now there are four of us: Yazmin from California/Mexico, Sharon from NYC, Kellie from Liverpool, England, and me! We are all quite different, and I think we bring a special diversity to our school.

Sunday news:

Call me crazy, but I went to two different church services this past Sunday. After attending the service at my “home church,” The Community Church of Madrid, I met up with Elaine in order to check-out Immanuel Baptist Church. I was surprised by how large the congregation was, especially with it being the second service, and I really liked how diverse it was. If I can’t make it to CCM because of volleyball, I think I’ll give this church a go.

Speaking of volleyball, almost all 12 of my teammates were present for our game Sunday night. We didn’t just win. We annihilated our opponents. Then again, the average age of my team is around 28 and that of losers was more like 16. But hey, a win is a win. Put that one down in the score books.

New friends!

"One Euro Wednesdays" at 100 Montaditos is the perfect way to get to know someone. Between sips from a jarra de tinto del verano and bites of mini-baguettes filled with deliciousness (aka un montadito), I found myself enamored with a girl I had met less than an hour earlier. Emily is a Kentucky-girl who grew up with one of my Furman friends who put us in contact with each other this summer. However, this was our first and long overdue face-to-face meeting. As if it weren’t great enough to make a new friend, Emily is a new friend who lives in my neighborhood, a stone’s throw from my school and where I tutor. I had the pleasure of meeting some of her roommates, and I have a feeling I’ll be popping in after work on weeknights. I’m excited about the possibility of having another group of friends to hang out with at random here in Madrid. One would think that living in a big city, surrounded by thousands of people everyday, would make it easy to find friends. Not so. Thus, I can’t wait to see where Emily and I will be going!

Holiday tunes

I was in the grocery store on Monday afternoon, and I heard it: the first Christmas song of the year. It was an instrumental version of “Sleigh Ride.” Yet, as much as it lifted my spirits to be filled with Christmas Cheer, I have to make it through being filled with all the goodness of a Thanksgiving feast… or two!

My Newest & Most Noticeable Neighbor

All throughout my childhood, my next-door neighbors had so many pets over the years that might as well have been The Secondary Humane Society of Dothan. While some of their dogs were ordinary and unremarkable, I don’t think I’ll ever forget their two Dachshunds… nor will my parents. Those two hot dogs were yappers, and they barked day and night. As a child, I understood why my parents were frustrated with the boisterous animals, whose bedroom bordered the dogs’ domain. They endured the little guys for a few years and rejoiced when the neighbors decided to swap them for other fury creatures.

Now, I fully understand my parents’ past pain, because I suffer the same plight. You see, my bedroom window opens up to the interior patio of my apartment building. I live on the 1^st floor, and sounds from the inhabitants of the seven floors above me fall down the shaft and echo into my room. Thus, I hear every soccer game, every piece of fish frying, every baby crying, and every dog barking, Someone, I don’t know who, recently brought a brand new puppy home… and I mean, brand new. It cries in the mornings. It cries in the afternoons. It cries at night. I used to think that my neighbors were playing a cruel trick on me, lowering down their wailing puppy by a rope for it to hang in front of my window while I try to sleep. Nope! It’s just that loud. My hope has been that once it grows up, it’ll stop crying. Well, I’m pretty sure it’s growing, because it doesn’t cry as often as it used to because it’s learning how to bark. What a dream come true.

I think this puppy is causing me more harm than just sleep deprivation. I realized today that every time I see a small dog in the street, no matter how far from my apartment I am, I wrinkle my nose and grimace, wondering if that is the fury face of my torturer. I used to be a dog lover, but if this thing doesn’t quit, I can’t make any promises that I’ll be a dog owner ever again.

Ok, perhaps I’m overreacting a bit. But if you’re ever in Madrid, come hang out in my apartment for the day, and then you tell me if you’d live with Yapping Yonny.

Plundering Asturias

If this a treasure map be

Over mountains, through valleys

No doubt, you will eventually see

That in this land lies more than gold:

Furious waves, beaches of dark sand,

Opulent & rustic architecture of old,

Local people eager to lend a hand.

Fickle weather: grey clouds or drizzling rain,

Broken at random with streams of sunlight,

Quickly return to their seasonal refrain.

To find respite from the precipitation,

Ducking into the nearest sidería

Offers necessary and cheery resuscitation

For any spirits that may be weather-affected,

The notable regional dishes and flavorful pichos

Will surely make things stand corrected.

These are the riches you will find

If you come to Asturias

And leave the rest of Spain behind.

This small region of Spain holds so much within its borders. SK and I set off to discover some of the Asturian delights and to visit Ida, who’s now teaching in Gijon. After an overnight bus trip, we arrived groggy and a little delirious early Saturday morning. Ida gave us the tour of her new city after we had some time to nap in her darling little apartment. We were quite impressed by the beauty and charisma of this coastal town. Inspired by the landscape and a park playground, we imagined we were pirates for the weekend, seeking out the riches of Asturias, which translated to plundering a number of bars and restaurants for their spectacular cuisine. Fortuitously, Gijon was having a pincho competition with 75 different eating establishments seeking to win glory and fame for the most appetizing and best-looking delicatessen of them all.

Asturias is known for its sidra (cider) and its sidrerías (cider houses). On Sunday afternoon, we fought through the torrential downpour that took us by surprise and arrived at Tierra Astur, soaked and hungry. (http://www.tierra-astur.com/) With a dry seat between the window and an assemblage of hanging cider bottles, glittering like emeralds in front of the open kitchen, we were challenged with the task of ordering from a rather large menu of enticing treats to feast upon. What we thought would be an easy battle, turned out to be a challenge of epic proportions...

We decided on sharing a tabla de quesos asturianos. The cheeses were simply incredible… the best thing since sliced bread (which complimented the cheese quite nicely)! We destroyed it and kept no prisoners.

Since my cohorts did not take my advice, we each had an entree to follow the cheeses. But these were not normal Spanish entrees, and rather they fell under American standards of size. Thus, we were not prepared for the immense scope of our order.
Ida had a savory hamburger (yes, a burger in Spain... but Asturias is known for its cow products); Sk ordered the pot of fabada (a rich bean stew and Asturian specialty); I got the medallones de buey (ox sirloin steak).
When our server brought us our meals, we had to ask "Did we take on more than we could chew? Literally?"

Yes, we did... this was one battle we could not win.

On Monday, SK and I set sail (if busses had sails) from Gijon because we wanted to spend a few hours in Oviedo, the capital of Asturias. Although Oviedo doesn’t have the beach, it does have a mysterious romantic quality to it, which perhaps is evoked through the elegant and whimsical city exterior and the abundance of bronze statues that greet visitors in plazas and on street corners. I was captivated by the way the raindrops clung to the stone surfaces and the way that cobblestone streets shone like silver in the cloudy light.

We toured the 14^th century cathedral, strolled through a park and fought off an army of pigeons, and hid from the rain in none other than Oviedo’s Tierra Astur. This time, we only ordered a half portion of the cheese plate… and we conquered it in the most graceful-pirate-manner possible.

Asturias: The land of green hills and sounds of bagpipes, reminiscent of the British Isles. The land known for its savory palate and rich flavors. The land of unending culínes de sidra, poured from above and over the head into a glass far below. The land where umbrellas are a necessity and where the rain falls at will. Truly enchanting.