Of my 23 Thanksgivings, I’ve actually spent 20 in the U.S. and 3 in Spain. My first Spanish Thanksgiving was in 2012 when my parents and I visited my brother who was studying abroad in Barcelona. We replaced turkey and mashed potatoes for doner kabab and I didn’t mind at all because at least we were all together. My second Spanish Thanksgiving was last year which, naturally, I blogged about last year. The recap is that it was hard to have my first Thanksgiving away from my family, but it ended up being a precious experience sharing Thanksgiving traditions from three different Americans with one person from Germany and one from Argentina. Despite turning out to be lovely, last year’s Thanksgiving was actually one of the hardest days abroad for me and I hoped this year would be better. Aware that it was a harder time, Gonzalo planned a visited to the islands for the weekend and we figured that even if I can’t eat turkey yet, we’d cook chicken and do a mini-celebration.
As the week approached, I was definitely sad. My family is lucky enough to be able to get to spend the entire week together and as they gathered in Northern California, I imagined them playing games and eating good food and just spending time together – my favorite things to do. Early in the week though, on one of our drives to school, Raquel asked if Gonzalo and I had plans and if we wanted to do a Thanksgiving dinner at her apartment with her family. It sounded great to me and we started planning the menu for the evening, with Jordan-specific substitutions. Raquel told me she would take care of everything, besides sweet potatoes, which would be my contribution. I did look up dairy, gluten, sweetener free corn bread recipes, but that got complicated fast and I doubted my ability to find sufficient substitutions at the grocery store here. Thursday rolled around, and I was still missing my family, but I was looking forward to my Thanksgiving with a Spanish family. Dinner was scheduled for an early 8pm, so I assumed we’d eat by 9 or 9:30. Gonzalo and I arrived early with sweet potatoes and Riojan wine in hand and asked if there was anything we could help with. In classic Raquel style, she had already taken care of everything. Their Christmas tree was already up and decorated, the table was set beautifully, and the food was ready to be served. I felt instantly at home. Along with Raquel and Oscar, Raquel’s mom, two of her aunts, one cousin, and her cousin’s boyfriend had all put aside their Thursday evening plans to come celebrate Thanksgiving. We put on Christmas music (per my request – there is no Thanksgiving music so don’t give me a hard time) and munched on ham while chatting before sitting down to eat. When we sat down, Raquel asked me to explain the tradition of Thanksgiving. I talked about the myth of Thanksgiving (they know what actually happened) and explained that I, personally, loved Thanksgiving because it means time with family and reminds us to focus on gratitude. With that, I led us in a prayer and we served our food. Raquel had managed to find turkey and had cooked beef and chicken options, potatoes, roasted corn and other veggies in addition to the baked sweet potatoes I’d brought. Raquel even made a chocolate mousse to go on mangos for dessert. During the meal, we started going around the table to say what we were all grateful for – my personal favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal. Though this wasn’t my first Thanksgiving in Spain or my first Thanksgiving with non-Americans, it was my first Thanksgiving speaking in Spanish. Hearing gratitude in a different language from people celebrating a traditional holiday from a country that’s not their own added a special sweetness to the whole day for me. I feel lucky and loved to have this second family welcoming me in for this holiday. I was exhausted by the time we finished eating around 10:30 and as I kissed everyone goodbye, thanking them profusely for totally turning around a day that can be tough abroad, I couldn’t stop smiling. It was one of the most unique and special Thanksgivings I have ever had. I finished the evening by FaceTiming my family and grandparents and, once again, being hit by the overwhelming gratitude I have for this opportunity to explore more of the world, my family, and my friends near and far, old and new :)
2 Comments
Hildie Hoeschen
12/2/2018 02:37:58 pm
YAY YAY I am so happy to hear you had a fabulous time celebratin'! Makes me a little nostalgic for our little makeshift Thanksgiving last year... (Albeit, I'll be quick to admit that I MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT miss having to cook a large meal in a pseudo-Easy Bake Oven contraption ;p).
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November 2018
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