Dia de Acción de Gracias... Giving Thanks in Español

 In Spain, of course there is no Thanksgiving, which is unfortunate because Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday!

I love thanksgiving so much because there isn’t the pressure that Christmas carries- pressure to get gifts for everyone, finding the perfect gift, shopping, decorations etc. Thanksgiving is about a good time and good food- and that is what I am all about!

What was one downfall about thanksgiving in Spain was that I still had to go to work Thursday and Friday! What a bummer! So because the 4 of us had to work on thanksgiving and go on with our Spanish lives consisting of teaching English, tutoring, and conversation partners, we decided to hold our Thanksgiving on Friday night. I quickly took charge and Addie was my sidekick.  We quickly formulated a 15 person guest list- whoops!  Eventually we had a final count of about 12 guests.

The big challenge was the Turkey. None of us had ever done a turkey before, and they only place I knew to start- was to buy one. Now here in Spain you can not just go to the supermarket and get a nice clean and frozen one days before.  So I had to go to the Carniceria  (meat store) up the street called Pollos Planes, a chain which specializes in birds. Did they have a turkey? No, but I could order one and have it the next day. Perfect, Ill take a 4 kilo bird (8.5 pounds- because Although we’re 12, we don’t want leftovers, and Addie and I aren’t the biggest fans of meat, but what’s thanksgiving w/o a turkey?)

So the next day I arrive at the Carniceria just before closing time, an employee sees me walk in and in spanish, asks me “Hey beautiful, are you the girl for the Turkey???” then when I bashfully say yes, she starts yelling to the girls in the back “Hey, the girl for the Turkey is here! Get the turkey! The turkey!” 

Shit… I’m the turkey girl in town.

Well, the day of thanksgiving comes. And I had to work so I was nervous all day. Addie and Nora started cooking earlier (Nora and I had spent the night before chopping veggies and prepping food for 3 hours) . Then When I got home, I whipped together the stuffing, a veggie dish, and a little of this and that.

Then I take out the bird. My stomach immediately got queasy. I carefully cut off the bag with scissors, fighting back the urge to run away and cry. But I was determined, because this was my first thanksgiving, I CANNOT fail in the kitchen!

We unveil the bird…. And there are still feathers on the poor thing! This was horrible. Then I saw the captivity where I was supposed to stick my hand to clean the thing…. I really at that point almost barfed.

clearly I am not as thrilled as Addie about the turkey prep

Thank the good Lord for my loca Latina Adaliss, who was THRILLED to stick her hand in the poor bird and remove her organs and hack away at the neck.

When Adaliss was done completing al her life goals by removing turkey guts while listening to Shakira, I took over again and washed the bird and patted her dry.

Then we stuffed her, flossed her legs together, seasoned her, and googled where to put the themometer. (We did a lot of google-ing for this turkey! We went in almost blind!)

I had calculated that a 9-pound bird needs 135 minutes, plus 30 because she was stuffed. So I decided to give it 3 hours in the oven. Not true. Our Spanish oven sucks, so it took 4 or so, I cant even remember because I was freaking out that we still needed to reheat all of our sides, and it was already 8 pm!

Andrea and I. Andrea is the daughter of the teacher I work with- they have become like family!

After calling my father to confirm that the breast should be white, and not dark like the legs, and she finally hit 75 degrees Celsius, I took her out, and we threw in the sides. Everyone marveled at the miraculous bird, it was all of our guests’ first thanksgiving!

Next step, I designated Nora to google how to carve the bird. But luckally Rosemarie came in, and she had carving experience so she took our little knife and cut it up.

Finally, we could eat our semi hot food. The 12 or so of us sat down, and in Spanish, I thanked everyone for coming, and please pardon if the food sucks, it was all of our first effort at thanksgiving. Then addie spoke about being thankful, and we went around the table and in Spanish said what we were thankful for.  I could have cried how perfect it was.

 

Then I took a bite of my food… and I really could have cried because of how DELICIOUS everything was! 

Everything was PERFECT (the green beans could have used an extra minute or 2 in boiling water, but it was nice to have a crunch!)

Noras delicious sweet potatoes!

Then we brought out dessert. Almost everyone brought something gourmet over. My friend Andrea brought over a DELICIOULS chocolate/vanilla bakery cake that was MOUTHWATERING, Gabi made a chocolate cake, Melissa brought over a Raspberry topped cheesecake,  Ruben made a lactose intolerant friendly cake, Rosemarie brought banana and pumpkin bread and more sweets, and last but DEF not least… Francesco and his father brought this HUGE turron cake!!! I almost died when I saw this monstrous plate deliciousness!!

All in all, Thanksgiving was a challenge in many ways, being away from home and not spending the day with my family, removing the heart of a dead turkey and plucking off the last of the feathers, and cooking an assortment dishes for 12 while still enjoying myself. 

I had a lot to be thankful for this thanksgiving, and it goes further than just being here in Spain. Even though I could not express all of it in Spanish, I found this poem that sums up why I give thanks this year… For personal growth, character building, and creating myself.

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there 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 you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

~~Author Unknown.~~

My too short of a trip to the Rhineland, Germany!

My short little trip to Germany was quite an eye opener, where I did a lot of learning, a lot of thinking, and a lot of reflecting on life and the world.

It all started in the Valencia airport, where I was waiting to board my flight to Cologne (Köln), and I was really nervous about the plane ride, and waiting for my friend at the airport, because I cant speak more than 4 words of German! I started thinking how much I am infatuated with languages, they are all so gorgeous!

I can't lie, I used to think German was probably the ugliest language, it might have to do with all the WW2 movies, they always sounded so harsh and mean. But listening to friendly conversations, or families speaking with their children, I realized how warm German can sound, and all I could think is that life isn't fair- why can't I just speak any language I want, at the drop of a dime?  I wanted to understand the language of the country I was about to visit and fall in love with- I wanted to be able to communicate with the Germans!

My friend Julian met me at the Cologne airport. He is like an angel from above! I met him at SUNY Cortland's Leadership retreat, where we bonded over hikes in the woods and long meals in the dining hall. He lives in Düren, about 40 minutes from the city of Cologne and was my official tour guide and translator for the weekend!

So when Julian picked me up, he gave me a nice little overview of the city and its history, as well as a brief tour of some of the city. He told me that unfortunately, 95% of Cologne was destroyed during WW2 and as a result, the city has a very old, original center surrounding the Cathedral, and the rest of it is more modern, due to the recent rebuilding after the war. The breathtaking cathedral was lucky enough to stand, because as Julian explained to me, the Allies used the cathedral as a landmark of where Cologne was, and therefore did not destroy it.  It is a blessing that the Cathedral survived (along with some Roman ruins) but disheartening that you can no longer see the antique beauty that used to surround the city.

So anyway, Julian also took me into a few Breweries in the city, and I got a look at the traditional German breweries and pubs.

It really is a pity that a girl who hates beer goes to Germany. But I did succeed in drinking about half of a beer. Julian assured me that many German girls drink half beer and half FANTA! (german tinto?) So that is what i did. I may have gone a little heavy on the fanta though ;)

After that, we hopped onto the Autobahn in the Volkswagon, and mom skip over this part... but we hit 190 km/hr which is about 120 mph... and we were still being passed by other drivers! I was very nervous, but Julian assured me that Germans are very good drivers, they have a lot of required training, an hour long driving test, and 2 year probationary period- you mess up once, you loose your license! (good thinking, germans!)

The next day we woke up early for a day of German touristy activities.  But first, a nice breakfast consisting of 2 coffees, delicious German rolls, meats, cheeses, and jams. We lingered over our breakfast for an hour, and then we were off.

First stop, we went to a castle near Julian's home. His father told me that there are about 1600 castles in Germany! Thats 1600 more than in America!

After the castle, we went to a picturesque German town called Monschau.  The town is in a valley, and the houses are very "German" with the wooden structure, like the bones, and the concrete/slate filling.

So in this cute town, we did some walking around, and did some mustard sampling. They were all so good I could barely choose which to buy! In the end i decided on a Riesling mustard (of course), a Fig, Honey mustard, and the Original German recipe (how could i not get those two?... and in the large jar!)

We did some more walking around, and visited some more stores. Then we stopped at the bakery and picked out some baked goods for lunch (aka why i love europe)

So we went back to Düren for coffee and baked goods (including waffles!), then hit the road to Aachen. Aachen also has a lovely cathedral, and they also started their Christmas Market- something I would normally HATE in the USA, but loved in Germany. It was such a happy christmas feeling, not a stressful one. The market was set up in a way that reminded me of the north pole or santa's workshop (FYI the translation of german "santa claus" is really "Christmas man"!)
We took a look at the cathedral in Aachen, and walked around the christmas market, and I tried a mulled wine called "Glühwine", which was quite delish and really warmed me up on that chilly German evening.

Although I'm not normally one to even slightly enjoy the cold, it was a nice change for me, and I didn't mind the 40 degree weather- it kind of reminded me of home, and of Cortland. It also put some christmas cheer in my soul.

That night after my first and quite yummy schnitzel dinner (at a non-spanish hour of 7:30pm), Julian took me to his friends' house party where we had a really fun time playing "Loopin Louie" and chatting it up with germans (thankfully in english!)  But it was around 1 am this night that I decided I was going to live in Germany in the summer as an Au Pair, let's see how that works out!

We had quite a night, that lead to a late morning. We did not wait up until noon! OOPS! Thats ok, we deserved it. So we gradually had our breakfast, and made our way to the city of Cologne again. I got a look inside the cathedral, and then we went to.... the CHOCOLATE MUSEUM!

Julian and I walking along the Rhine to the Chocolate museum

The chocolate museum was a dream come true, and very fun and interactive. We learned all about the Cocoa bean, and tree, and about the production and manufacturing of Chocolate. We spent about 1.5 hours wondering around learning about one of my favorite topics! (which also included a few free samples!)

a Lindt Chocolatier dipping wafers into liquid milk chocolate

A woman WOULD write this

After the museum we headed back to Julian's town and went out for a nice German meal, and then had game night! We played a Turkish game called "Okay"... im not sure if thats how its spelt, but thats how you say it!

It was also really nice to spend time with Julian's family. They really took me in as if I were their non German speaking daughter, and made me feel right at home.  They were so accommodating and so helpful. It was nice to be in a family atmosphere again, and to feel apart of it, even though it was difficult to communicate. Luckily, Julian is an excellent translator and had a lot of patience with us and our multi-lingual conversations.

Although I absolutely LOVED Germany, I felt sad quite often, hearing Julian tell stories. For instance, he told me that his town Düren was completely destroyed during the war, and they had to quickly rebuild, which is the reason he thinks his city is "ugly".

It also made me feel somewhat downhearted to hear whenever he talked about the war, and brought up the Americans. I almost felt like I had to apologize for my country doing damage to such a beautiful place!

I then felt sorry for Germany as a whole, when Julian pointed out a German flag hanging in the front of a house. He said to me "you see that? that is very uncommon here in Germany, no body EVER hangs flags outside".  I found it kind of strange, probably because of Americans being somewhat "over proud" of their country. When I asked why, he said he is not 100% sure, but it probably has something to do with Germans feeling ashamed of their flag and their history due to WWII and Hitler. I felt bad for Germany, because although I may not be the most proud American walking this earth, people should not feel ashamed of their heritage that they won't even bear their flag in their own country.

Being American in Europe, people know so much about my country, or my culture, or may have an idea of it, possibly skewed (like the Topless Bar in Cologne whose logo was written in American flag colors- or the American manikin dressed like a rodeo cowboy) But we have this image because of the excessive pride.  Even in Valencia where Americans are hard to find, our mark is still left everywhere with Yankee gear, NYC clothing lines, and red white and blue everywhere. I almost feel like our culture is forced upon the world-maybe more Americans should be out educating themselves about other great, fascinating, and enjoyable cultures throughout the world- ones that don't push themselves into the limelight


P.S... I love German gastronomy so much, that I needed to buy an extra bag to bring home all of my German products!

About 100 Euros worth of Germanness!

Excursión

This morning when my carpool picked me up, she says "do you know, that we are all leaving school today for an Excursión?"
No, no i did not know. Im glad im well informed around here!

At first I was kind of ticked. I mean, I was not feeling well today, and I kind of just wanted to have an easy day, and go home on time.

Well, this excursión (field trip) turned out to be pretty sweet! We went to IVAM- Valencia's Museum of Modern Art.

So I spent the first half hour of the morning with the angel on earth, Maria Jose who spent her time on the phone with La Aduana (customs) trying to rescue my package my mom sent me in october! (possible future blog topic)

Then we took a bus to the museum. Not just any bus... a COACH bus no less. Riding in style

We got there, and typical Spanish students, do you know what they do first?....Whip out those bocadillos baby!

they wish they were as cool as me and could ride bici's all day!

So after the teachers were finished tomando un café (having a coffee) We proceeded to the project! We went into this super cool room, inspired by Felix Candela, a Spanish Architect who designed the beautiful Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias here in Valencia. They had a whole exhibit of his life's work. Now, I did not learn much about his style of architecture because the presentation was all in Valenciano, but I got the gist of things! Candela was born in Madrid in 1900 (around there) and he was a super-athlete but because of his views and because he was an intellectual, he was driven out of Spain by the republicans during the Civil war in the 30's and 40's and ended up in a concentration camp in France.
Afterwords, he was welcomed to Mexico, where he designed many amazing structures like churches and sports complexes. He never moved back to Spain, but he did come back to design great architecture like that in Valencia (he was over 80 years old!). He ended up marrying an American and living in the States until he died in the late 90's in North Carolina.

in this cool room... those lines are ropes, and the room had blacklights!

Later, we got to be little architects ourselves and make our own models like Candela. Mine ended up being quite triste (sad) and I needed to be helped I think more than the first graders! The stapler really got me confused. But here is my work of art!

But later, the best part of the field trip was what occurred next: A train of back massages!!! You know I hopped on the back of that right away! And sweet Gabi (green shirt) volunteered to give me a back massage like a sweetheart. He is from Romania and all he can say to me is "Chelseeeeaaa" and "ZEEEEEE!!" like the letter in the alphabet, because students here are taught British English, and our Z is pronounced ZET... crazy brits!

After the field trip (which i was successful in doing nothing all day)... I even got to BICI back home through parque Turia. I know all my students were so jealous watching me ride off into the sun!

**Funny translated quote**
(Museum man): What is an architect? what does he do?
(Joaquin in first grade): He's the guy who digs for buried treasure!

Wining and Dining in Sevilla the Maravilla

Well, Seville sure did measure up to my expectations.  Seville, in the South of Spain is somewhat the epitome of what people thing of Spain to be: beautiful weather, flamenco dancers, bull fights, beautiful architecture, history, and good food... oh the food!

Before I continue I need to apologize for my horrible pictures. I have decided that a) I am going to start to live more in the moment, and admire things with my eye, rather than through my camera lens. I have also b) decided that my camera is never capable of capturing the beauty I see anyway.

We arrived in this lovely city on a friday night. I immediately met up with my friend Chessa who I had met in Madrid last summer who is studying in Ronda this semester, and her friend Lena. I met them in our hostel, the Sevilla Inn, right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city near the historic and gorgeous cathedral.

Then our weekend of food and fun commenced at Coloniales, where we waited about an hour for a table at this popular Tapas Restaurant. And I understand why! The food was amazing, our favorite being the chicken in almond sauce.

Later we met up with a friend Megan, who I met in a hostel in Madrid upon arrival in September. She took us to this bar in Alfalfa, and I dont remember the name, but it sure was an interesting experience! The bar was decorated very religiously, and it was difficult to know if they were serious, or joking because the bouncer seemed like an usher in a church, but the bartender was sporting a sweatshirt. The bar reminded us of a church/a grandparents house because of all the religious decor.  Also, their advertised drinks were Agua de Sevilla (containing cava, pineapple juice whiskey,  triple sec and whipped cream) and Sangre de Cristo (translation: blood of christ.... not sure what it contains!)

Me and Megan, with Jesus behind us

The next day we did our touristy things including a tour of the Cathedral, where you can visit the tomb of Christopher Columbus (aka the only thing I wanted to see- I think im still churched out after last summer!) But this church is impressive, and it is the largest gothic cathedral, and the third largest church in the world!

The highlight of our day may have been our horse and carriage tour of the city! Because we're some good looking American girls and the guys who do these tours are desperate, we got a good deal of 3 people, 45 minutes, 50 euros, changed to 5 girls, 45 minutes, 50 euros! 10 euros each, we were in! (after we ate chocolate con churros of course)
This tour was great because we got to see everything like the Plaza de España (beautiful ceramics), the Park of Maria Lucia (I think thats the name), Torre de Oro, a hotel that costs 400 euro a night (550 USD), the University, and many other things.

in our horse and carrigae outside of the Plaza de España, where scenes of Star Wars were filmed!

We also went to the Alcazar, which is the Royal Palace which used to be a Moorish Fort and that is clearly evident with the architecture. It is here where they planned the expeditions to the New World along with circumnavigation and many other excursions.  Now, the upstairs is still used for the Royal Family when they visit Seville, and the gardens are a popular spot to get married

Later after a to-die-for vegetarian lunch consisting of roasted artichokes, spinach and garbanzos, and roasted mushrooms (and a pitcher of sangria), we continued to indulge a few more bottles of wine on the hostels terrace. Then we headed over to our flamenco show. (but first, a  photo shoot in front of the cathedral)

Flamenco will always mesmerize me. I can not get enough, it is truly an emotional experience for me to watch it! I can always feel what the dancer is feeling by her expression, her movement and by the music as well (the wine may have helped the emotions...)

The next day was strictly souvenir shopping, followed by more indulging in food and wine. And good lord, each meal got better and better! Starbucks, fruit and honey crepes, mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese, a Spanish ratatouille, more sangria, etc etc etc... but the highlight may have been the not planned, just kind of stumbled on... mexican food! Margaritas and Fajitas! except, for some reason they weren't making Fajitas anymore... thats ok, we got chips and salsa, a burrito, taco, and enchilada. All vegetarian, all delicious we almost fought over who would lick the plate clean!!!

this mexican meal was a gift from the Mexican gods who visited us in sevilla, and let us watch American Football too!!!

Later, what we thought would be a low key night maybe watching a movie, turned into a 4 am night with some new Irish friends and lots of laughs.

Future weekend trips have a lot to live up to!