End of Year Re-Cap

So, like the rest of the world I got a little overwhelmed at the end of the year and this poor little blog fell by the wayside. No matter. Here are the highlights:

THANKSGIVING. I was so, so sad to be away from home on this special holiday and that sadness was only accentuated by the thought that there would be no turkey or stuffing for me this year. The Spanish, in case you didn't know, don't really eat turkey. They look at you in fascination if you talk about buying a whole bird to roast. However, several other kids in my program and I decided to order a full-on Thanksgiving dinner from a local chef. He's a friend (an American one) of one of the women who works for the program and runs his own catering business. Normally, he caters to Spaniards, but he spends the last Thursday of every November cooking up a delicious Thanksgiving feast for anyone willing to pay. My friends and I went in together, so it wasn't a bad deal. Three of us went across the city in the rain to pick it up and it was quite an experience to ride the metro with boxes of turkey, broccoli casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. Lots of Spaniards know what Thanksgiving is and as we trekked by them with our mouth-watering cargo, they wished up a happy holiday. Later, eating the dinner in the basement of our center I really couldn't imagine a better Thanksgiving in Spain.

MY BIRTHDAY. Also sad to be away from home on my birthday, but my family and friends in the US made me feel loved despite the thousands of miles and 6 hour time difference. I received a delightful package from my mom and skyped with all my friends. In Spain, my host mom made me a special comida (complete with champagne, cake, and a beautiful gray scarf) and some friends and I went out for tapas and wine. Yes, it was a little staid for a 21st birthday celebration in the US, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. And don't worry; I had spent the previous Friday night clubbing until the wee hours of the morning as a way to kick-off my birthday week. I'm just not hard-core enough to go to class with a hangover. Judge me if you must.

FINALS. They were not fun, obviously, but they were better than if I had been at Hamilton. It got so, so cold here and my host mom just about had a fit about the craziness of the weather, but we survived. I spent one full day ensconced in my room writing a 8-10 page paper that I had foolishly left until the last minute. Still not sure how well I did, but I got it done and didn't have to pull any all-nighters. Sounds like a success to me. It was sad to say goodbye to all the friends that I had made this semester because the majority are not returning for the spring semester. What with facebook and skype and all now, however, I'm confident that I'll stay in touch with at least some of them.

CHRISTMAS. I went home! I'm sure everyone reading this already knows that I went home, and it was wonderful. I spent the (very short) nine days fighting jetlag, eating American food, and enjoying my friends and family. It's been years since I've had such a nice Christmas. On December 27th I got back on a plane for Spain! Now you'll just have to wait for the next entry to hear about my trip to Greece with my good friend Emma.