I've Got Plenty to Be Thankful For: Thanksgiving in Spain

Celebrating Thanksgiving outside of the U.S. was an odd but memorable experience. Certain elements were missing such as watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, eating cranberry sauce and carrot cake, and being surrounded by family. The strangest thing about this holiday though was that since it’s strictly American, there was no sense of a holiday here in Spain. It’s easy to forget it’s Thanksgiving when here it’s just another Thursday and everyone is continuing about their business as usual. I don’t think I wished anyone Happy Thanksgiving until the day was already half over because I hadn’t been around a fellow American until then. I tried explaining cranberry jello salad to one of the teachers at the school where I work and she thought the concept was extremely strange. Jello isn’t that big over here and if people do make it, it’s just straight up jello and in a mold, so adding stuff to it and calling it a salad is really weird for them. All I can say is they’re missing out. I attempted to make the salad for the Thanksgiving dinner that we hosted at our flat but it wasn’t quite up to par because I had to substitute cranberry juice for the water in order to get a little bit of cranberry flavor rather than back home putting actual cranberry sauce in the salad. It was better than nothing though. We had quite a big dinner with three countries represented. Three of us from the states, eleven from France and one from Britain. Thanks to the efforts of my lovely flatmate, Cecilia, we had turkey (the ham-sized format to fit in our toaster oven), stuffing, green beans and pumpkin pie. I contributed the jello salad of sorts, and my arm for mixing the heavy whipping cream. We had wine, bread and cake from our French friends, and mashed potatoes and gravy completed the spread thanks to an American/British collaboration. We ate around 10pm and managed to fit everyone around our table with a little bit of chair sharing involved. Everything was delicious and while not exactly the same as the Thanksgiving meal back home, it helped make the day actually feel like our American holiday. 

 Gotta love Thanksgiving leftovers

Other than Thanksgiving, not too much of note happened this week. I went to school and worked at my nanny-speaking job. With the two girls at my second job, we made hand turkeys and talked about Thanksgiving so that was pretty fun. I showed them a clip of Santa Claus at the end of the Thanksgiving parade and then they wanted to listen to the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” over and over again. I’m having a slightly difficult time keeping them focused during our lessons because they love watching videos on my laptop and so after I show them one song that goes along with what we’re working on, they want to keep watching other videos. Also they both have these similar to iPad devices and the younger one started crying when her’s stopped working and I had to spend about ten or more minutes trying to distract her from this tragedy. Technology can  often provide helpful resources, but it is also a bit of a pain sometimes. 

My hand turkey example

To practice my Spanish I’ve been meeting up with two Spaniards (María and Pilar) weekly and we do a language exchange. Usually we’ve been going to cafes and talking for around three hours each time, but last week for a change, I visited the Museum of Science and Water with María. We saw some turtles, fish, insects and a lot of exhibits geared towards kids and also viewed a presentation in the planetarium. It ended up being just us and the man giving the presentation so that meant we were on a first-name basis and we had to answer (at least attempt) all the questions he posed. Thankfully María did most of the answering since my Spanish vocabulary when it comes to planets and space is rather limited. We got to learn about a bunch of constellations and see what the sky looks like at different times of the night and since it was just us two, our host showed us what the sky looked like the day and year we were born. I have to say that I never would have had that memorable experience if I wasn’t friends with a Spaniard who knows about such places. 

On Saturday (yesterday at the time of this post) we had a flatmate bonding day and went to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay or in Spanish Los Juegos del Hambre: Sinsajo. I had originally been adamant that I wouldn’t see it in Spanish, knowing that it would be super hard to listen to Spanish voices in the dubbed version, instead of the actors I’m familiar with. But when all my flatmates decided to go, I couldn’t be the only one missing out, so I hoped for the best and joined them. It actually wasn’t as bad as I was expecting and after a little while into the movie it was easy to adjust to the new voices. The only part where the dubbed version really bothered me was during a song that the main character sang and according to some reviews it was a super moving part of the film, but in Spanish it was kind of a fail. What was supposed to be a somber and moving moment, instead had me attempting to hold in a laugh and that was a fail as well. I even heard some of the Spaniards laughing, so the song just didn’t carry over well in the dubbed version. After the movie we had a late supper at a new thai restaurant across the street from where we live that was super classy and had live piano accompaniment. Then we ended the night with hot cocoa, marshmallows and heavy whipping cream leftover from Thanksgiving. Overall I’d say it was a pretty good week.

Milan: Rain or Shine (but mostly rain)

Now that I’ve actually got something new and different to write about I thought I’d add another entry. So this past weekend I ventured out of Spain for the first time since my arrival in September. I went to Milan, Italy with my flatmate, Cecilia and we had a very unforgettable experience. After an hour bus ride to Alicante we flew to Milan and right away there were some big differences from Murcia. From the plane I could see vibrant green countryside which you don’t really see in the desert region of Spain. Also, everything was very wet. We got off the plane and had to pile into a shuttle bus to bring us to the actual airport building because of the rain. After waiting fifteen minutes or so for the bus to start moving we basically drove for half a minute to reach our destination. I would have willingly walked that short of a distance but it wasn’t like we were given an option so oh well. We next took a bus from Bergamo Airport to the center of Milan. Oh and apparently Bergamo is only two and a half hours from Venice, which I didn’t realize until after I got back from Italy. If only we’d had more time, that would have been a cool city to visit. 

From the city center of Milan we took the metro to the stop that was one stop away from our hotel because it would have cost more to go further since it was out of the urban limit zone. If we’d known what would ensue, we would have definitely paid more to go all the way. So we walked out of the metro and of course it’s pouring cats and dogs and we walk in what we think is the correct direction aiming for the next metro stop where we just needed to take one left to get to our hotel. We passed the next metro stop and didn’t see the street so we kept going thinking it was just a little further. By this time we were fairly wet thanks to strong winds despite having umbrellas. Finally we both came to the conclusion that something was wrong since we still weren’t seeing our street. We asked a passerby where Via Fratelli Bandiera was and she understood a little English thank goodness and although she didn’t know exactly where the street was she said if we kept going we’d come to another metro stop (Precotto) where we could check the map. We then realized the awful truth. Precotto was a stop we’d passed on our way to where we got off, so the whole time we’d been backtracking and now needed to go back to the metro where we got off and walk the opposite direction to get to our hotel. This wouldn’t have been so bad if it was a nice day. But we were quickly becoming soaked to the bone and realizing we’d been going the wrong way the whole time was a little disheartening. So we began walking back and stopped in a little cafe to dry up for a bit and eat something. After staring out the window at the continuous downpour, we decided there was no point trying to dry off when we were most definitely going to get wet again so out we went this time heading in the right direction. About forty-five minutes later we ended up in the right neighborhood but were having a hard time finding the metro stop that was gonna guide us to our street. So we stopped in a store but the lady didn’t speak English nor Spanish so she tried to point us in the right direction. We understood sort of where to go thanks to her help, but stopped in a grocery store to pick up some food and ask for more directions to make sure we went the right way. After buying cookies, sweet bread and pop (yeah we were too miserable and wet to make healthy eating choices) we got directions and realized that our hotel was about two minutes away from the store. Over two and a half hours after we’d left the metro we finally reached our hotel and talk about a welcome sight. After checking in we decided to try and dry off (my pants and shoes were completely soaked as well as a lot of my clothes in my backpack) and rest for a few hours before going out for supper. However, the rain never let up even slightly and we both decided we’d rather stay dry and warm and eat our snack food than go back out for the night. It was a good decision because not long after a thunderstorm started and I was thankful to have stayed in. 

Sunday I woke up to the sun shining and knew it was going to be a great day. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we took the metro to Piazza Duomo to visit the impressive Duomo (cathedral in Italian) so that I could go to Mass before we began sightseeing. After 9am Mass I took some pictures inside and outside the beautiful cathedral then we got in line to visit a nearby museum. The building that houses the museum is right next to the Piazza Duomo and it is where Mussolini would give speeches overlooking the piazza (plaza). After waiting for a half hour or so and the line was barely moving we opted to skip the museum and headed in the direction of Castillo Sforzesco or in English, Sforza Castle. After walking around a bit we stopped for lunch at a pizza place where we got personal pizzas that were huge! I was pretty hungry so I have to admit I ate the entire thing. At least it was a thin crust pizza so I don’t feel too bad about it.

 the Duomo

My giant pizza!

The rest of the day consisted of visiting Sforza Castle, Sempione Park, Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace) and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. These were all pretty cool places and I took lots of pictures. The Galleria is right next to the Duomo and is basically the fanciest shopping center ever. It has a glass roof and is filled with super expensive shops among them Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Needless to say, I didn’t buy anything. Oh yeah and I also made a stop for gelato once I actually was hungry again after my super satisfying lunch. We took the metro back to the hotel in the early evening where we relaxed for a few hours before venturing out for supper. There weren’t a ton of restaurant options in our hotel’s neighborhood so after walking around a bit we gave up on finding a pasta place and decided to eat pizza again. For about seven euros a piece we split a pizza and a calzone. The food was delicious and super filling and this time I couldn’t quite finish everything. I definitely think my craving for pizza has been satisfied for awhile. 

 Arco della Pace

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Monday, after packing up our backpacks and eating breakfast we bid adieu to Hotel Bristol. We made a quick stop to the nearby grocery store and while there we took pictures in the pasta aisle because it was Italy and just felt like the appropriate thing to do. The dude behind the meat counter witnessed us snapping photos and seemed to find it humorous. He asked us where we were from and upon learning we are living in Spain near Alicante he wasn’t too impressed. Apparently Alicante doesn’t have the greatest reputation or something. At least it’s not in the same region as Murcia so we’re good. Next we headed to the Duomo to go up to the terrazza (roof) and if it had been clear we would have been able to see the Alps but alas it was a rather dreary rainy day. Fortunately it wasn’t down pouring like Saturday, so we didn’t end up as wet and could still do a little sight-seeing. Despite not seeing the Alps, the view was still really cool from the roof and I went a little picture crazy. After descending, we stopped for gelato and as I was taking the first lick from my cone, the ice cream plopped to the floor. I was left staring at a cone completely devoid of ice cream. It was a tragic moment. Thankfully, a kind worker witnessed this disaster and let me get a another serving free. Yay for saving the day! I asked for a cup this time so that there wouldn’t be any danger of a repeat performance.

 On the roof of the Duomo

Looking down on the Piazza Duomo

The green line metro was having repairs or something at certain stations, so we ended up having to walk a ways from one stop to the train station where we were planning to buy tickets in advance for the airport bus the next morning. On the way we came across a nice-looking restaurant where we stopped for lunch. The drizzly day made me in the mood for soup so I had a nice big bowl of onion soup with tons of bread on the side. After lunch and buying our bus tickets we chilled (literally) in the cold train station for an hour and a half or so before taking the metro to Mediolanum Forum for the big event of the night. Thank goodness we left at five because the green line metro kept going the wrong direction and we ended up getting on and off multiple times before deciding to change to the red line and then connecting up with the green line further along. We finally made it to the forum about an hour and a half later and then we had to wait outside in the cold for about forty-five minutes for the doors to open.  The concert was worth the waiting and cold. The Kongos opened for OneRepublic and I only knew their song “Come With Me Now” but they weren’t bad. Although I saw the Native concert in the U.S. I didn’t mind at all going for a second time. Ryan Tedder is so incredibly talented and it was another fantastic performance. 

OneRepublic!

After the awesome concert there was a massive exodus in the direction of the metro and there were long lines to buy tickets, to say nothing of how densely packed the metro cars were. Once we finally were on the metro we rode it as far as we could, but due to maintenance it didn’t go all the way to the train station. So we got off and were dreading the long walk ahead of us, when I spotted a bus that said stazione centrale which is where we were going. We got on and apparently it was just following the metro route and since the metro wasn’t working we didn’t have to pay anything. So crisis averted and we ended up at the train station in no time. Then we shivered in the cold station for two and a half hours and learned what it felt like to be homeless since most of the inhabitants were exactly that. It was awful and I now have a renewed sympathy for the plight of homeless people. When we were finally about to leave we headed for the nearest exit only to find it locked. Slightly nervous we walked to the next closest exit and once again it was locked. After checking the third one we decided to go to the police office and ask them how to get out because it was a panicky sensation being trapped in that huge train station. We were close to missing the first airport bus as a result, but the police said there was one exit open and eventually we found it and caught the bus a few minutes before it left. From there it was smooth sailing and by 7:40am we were boarding the plane for Alicante. As we were taxiing on the runway, I could see the Alps from my window and I tried to take some pictures but the mountains didn’t really show up. Once we were up in the air though I could see the Alps through the clouds below and that was pretty awesome. Overall it was a good experience in Milan but I was definitely happy to get back and sleep after the exhausting end to the trip.

 The huge train station 

Flying over the Alps

On Wednesday, I had a hard time adjusting to classes because I kept feeling like I should be on the Tuesday schedule since it was my first day back to school. While working with the students in second grade, I was asking what foods they liked and I especially enjoyed the answer I got from Loli. Lollipop. How positively fitting. On Thursday, much to my horror, I learned that I’m actually going to have to do some work outside of class. What?! I didn’t sign up for this! Just kidding, I guess it’s about time I actually put some extra effort into this teaching assistant thing. So I have to come up with activities and a step-by-step structure for preparing fourth graders for the Trinity English exam. My coordinator gave me three rather large stacks of papers to read up on before undertaking this task, so now I’ve got plans for this weekend that involve me, a large mug of coffee and some “light” reading. Okay well I’m definitely ending this entry right now because I don’t want to write anymore and I’m sure no one wants to read this much. Arrivederci! 

Halloween in Spain

Well I had a lot of fun at school this past week. And I’m not being sarcastic. I had prepared a powerpoint of about twenty or so slides to teach the students about Halloween and I gave the presentation a total of nine times to an age range of six to eleven year-olds. In the younger classes it was a little boring because they don’t have as strong a grasp of English so they didn’t have many questions for me, but in the older classes it was better. I had a couple of kids ask me about throwing eggs at Halloween because apparently that is a big part of Halloween based off of the American television they’ve seen. One boy actually admitted to having been a part of egg throwing here in Spain. The teacher was surprised at this revelation and informed the children that if they witness any friends throwing eggs they should call the police. It’s interesting how the Halloween that has caught on over here is the darker side of it. For example, there is no dressing up as a princess or a puppy dog, only scary things like vampires, witches, frankenstein etc. Also, the lack of candy corn over here is rather depressing. I had a fun time trying to explain that candy corn is a sweet and not a vegetable. On Thursday it was basically fun day in preparation for Halloween, so I either was giving my presentation or helping with decorations the entire day. In one class we decorated the door to look like a mummy and in another class we made a witch and in the last class of the day I cut out the eye holes of masks. My hand was a little sore from that!

Gift from one of the students

On Wednesday my flatmates and some of their French friends and I went to see The Maze Runner and it was pretty good. I’m proud to say that for a movie in Spanish I followed everything rather easily so it felt like quite an achievement. Movie theater experiences are different here for a couple of reasons. First of all the lines to buy tickets are crazy long, but that may be because Wednesday tickets are only 3,90 euros. We waited in line for about fifteen to twenty minutes (you wouldn’t want to arrive late or right on time to movies here) and we were worried at first that we wouldn’t get tickets because there was a screen that showed how many seats were left for each movie and it said only thirty-two remained when we first got in line. However, practically no one in front of us wanted to see The Maze Runner because there were still twenty-eight spots left when we finally bought ours. Another different thing about the movie theater is that they wouldn’t open the door to the theater room until about five minutes before it started. Now this was kind of annoying because the hallway became quite crowded before we could at last go in. Also there was assigned seating, so you need to make sure and buy tickets together if you want to sit with the people you came with. I have to admit that although I liked the cheaper price for Wednesday movies, I prefer good old American movie theaters to the kind here. 

I didn’t do too much on Halloween, but in honor of the day, I thought I would watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I settled on The Birds which didn’t seem as scary as I had remembered but it does make you look at birds a little differently for at least a day or too. I also made deviled eggs, which I had been planning to make for the last week or so, and happened to be a fitting titled food for the day. I had a Halloween-themed day with the girls I teach in the nanny-speaking program and we made bats using toilet paper rolls. I also gave them Halloween stickers that I’d brought with me from the states. I had originally brought them to share with my students at the school, but that was before I realized how many students I would be teaching and I definitely didn’t bring enough. 

 My deviled eggs

A cute little bat

This weekend consisted of me catching up on some TV shows, writing essays for the master’s in education program I’m applying for, going grocery shopping and cutting my bangs (or as they say in Britain, my fringe). Really it was an uneventful weekend, but in two weeks I’m going to be off on a little excursion to Italy so I’m saving up my energy and spirit of adventure for that. Which by the way I’m super excited about! Sayonara until next week. 

 I thought I'd share a couple pictures of the view on my drive to school

It's like a desert with tons of sandy hills