The center had a Thanksgiving lunch for us today. Since the restaurant owner was American, the meal was much more authentic than I was expecting (except for the Moroccan soup for the first course...): complete with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, bread, and even wine for everyone.
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| Not too bad for a country that doesn't even celebrate the holiday, eh?? |
Before lunch, Amalia, our program director, asked if anyone wanted to say a few words, a grace. I was so thankful for the center's understanding of the importance of the holiday for us-- they really tried so hard to make it as normal as possible given the circumstances. I'm sure they know this is one of the harder days for students during the trip.
About five students got up and said all the usual, and then some. We're thankful for our families, for our friends-- new and old, for the extraordinary opportunities we've been blessed to have and the memories we'll always remember from our time in Sevilla.
We're thankful for having food to eat, houses to keep us, and warmth in the cold winter months. We're thankful for the people in our lives who have made this study abroad experience a reality for us.
I'm thankful for all the little things here that have put a smile on my face. A cup of coffee between classes at my favorite cafe with friends, the stranger who helped me to pay for my baggage fine at the airport, the other Americans I meet here who are having similar experiences and have the same kind of dreams that I have.
I had a new mindset to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, too. I worried about leaving home so much this summer, that it would sometimes bring me to tears. As excited as I was to have the opportunity, I couldn't stand the idea of leaving behind my family and missing all the things that I would miss throughout my time here. But looking back now, I can only be thankful to God for giving me a new outlook. I am so grateful that He has given me the ability to overcome my greatest fears and a self-confidence that before I never knew, and that I still wouldn't know if it hadn't been for this trip. I am thankful for having the chance to become more of the person I want to be one day.
And it's true what they say, that you don't know what you have til it's gone. While I love all those who I've met here (ok, well, most of them at least...) I realize every day I'm gone why my family will always be the best thing I have in my life. I'm tearing up here thinking of the endless support my parents and sister have given me and their understanding of my leaving. How do I thank these people who have done absolutely everything in their power to help me achieve my wildest dreams??
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| Mom, me, Steph, and Dad at the mountain house in Pennsylvania. Hope I have a chance to go over winter break! |
Mom and Dad, I am so glad I got you guys. Sarah and Pedro are great, but I would never want to call anyone but you my parents. I am so grateful for the way you have raised me, and the values that you taught me that make me able to carry out this journey. Although maybe not in this exact way, you have taught me so much about things as simple as respect for other people, that seemingly have escaped so many others on this trip. And Steph-- I miss you so much, you punk. Wouldn't want anyone else as a sister.
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| Me (left) and Steph, little sister (right). Christmas circa the 1990s. |
I have to say that I'll miss running around the house and trying to help mom here and there, seeing all the crazy people we call family come visit, the annual rummy tournament that card-shark Mommom always wins (one day we'll prove that she's been cheating all this time), the night before of making pies with all the ladies and listening to the first Christmas carols of the season.
Well now that I am sobbing here in my bed writing this... hope everyone back home enjoys a day of endless family, food, football, and fun!! I'm so thankful for all the wonderful things waiting for me back home.
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