Yesterday was my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, or as they say in spanish, "Día de acción de Gracias." That's quite the mouth-full considering all you really need is a hefty appetite and the word "thanks" to celebrate this uniquely American day of feasting. Aside from being thankful, it's the one day of the year where it's socially acceptable to stuff as much food into yourself as physically possible in a glutton-filled attempt at being appreciative for the 'good' in your life. Call it hypocritical, but the leftovers, sweet potatoes, the awkward family silences, and the football (I should say"American" football) make this day the best day of the year. It's one of the few uniquely American holidays that we can celebrate together, regardless of religious affiliation, and I love every second of it.
This year however, was my first time not being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, and instead, my friends and I ate a dual-turkey dinner coordinated through our program. That's right, at my table of about nine people, we ate an excessive two whole turkeys, accompanied by an olympic-sized swimming pool's worth of wine. What we lacked in pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, and normal mashed potatoes, we made up for in our mutual realizations of how much we missed home. I guess you could say we ate our feelings in turkey. Come to think of it, that's exactly what we did.
Thanksgiving, this year, was a reality check. Our dinner last night made me realize 1) how long a year really is, 2) How much I really love 'Murica, 3) I'm growing up, and 4) Don't let a vegetarian carve a turkey, it's just not a good idea for anyone. None of these realizations sat too comfortably at first, but I'm starting to get used to the idea that Barcelona will begin to feel more like home than Davis, and the people and places that I used to call home will change, and feel foreign to me upon my return. But that's the reason why I did this in the first place, for this amount of time, to flip everything I know and take for granted on it's head, in order to become cultured or grow up or 'enhance' my university education or something stupid like that.
Word of the Day: Thanks - Gracias
Gracias a todos para esta oportunidad. Thanks to everyone for this opportunity.
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