Pavo Day! (and LAST Day of Classes!!)

Hello all. Things are finishing up here. For the first time I am beginning to realize that I am doing some things for the last time. This is the beginning of the end of my time here and it's a little sad. I can accept that though as long as I am getting the fullest experience out of those last things - which I am making sure I do. Also ... I will be blogging regularly for these last 10 days. (I realized that I am close to the 50 mark and I have a secret wish to make 50 blogs. We'll see.)

So Happy Thanksgiving from Spain! Here of course we didn't have a holiday and I didn't get to see the Macy's parade (sad face). But, Thursday we did get a bit of a treat. Thursday was the last day of classes! Woo hoo, no more classes this fall :) I realized that I'll only go to UC3M three more times (for final exams). It's wierd and kinda sad to think that I am leaving so soon. Thursday we made our final art visit (to see some sculptures in a public space under a bridge) and we talked about art in public spaces. Then Thursday night we did get to celebrate el Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving) a little bit. We had a Thanksgiving/Farewell Dinner with all of the students and their Señoras. It was at Botín which is, according to the Guiness Book of World Records, the oldest restaurant in the entire world. They had pictures up on the walls that showed this restaurant throughout the years and it was pretty cool. We didn´t have the traditional Spanish food though ... instead they had prepared for us a Thanksgiving dinner complete with Pavo! (Turkey, potatoes, peas, sweet potatoes, turkey soup and cranberry sauce). The verdict? Well It wasn't the Thanksgiving I usually have with my Mommy's food, Dad's carved turkey and my family all around. But, it was a nice dinner with my Spain family. (And I'll see my family SO SOON, so I wasn't too homesick on this day that celebrates family - but I do miss you guys!) It was a nice dinner. It was fun to see everyone's señoras after hearing about them all semester. We also got a neat surprise: Tunas! So here tuna isn't a fish. It's actuall a kind of band. They are groups of university students who dress as minstrels and sing in restaurants to earn money while at school. They were very entertaining!

Altogether it was a lovely dinner though different from other Turkey Days. FELÍZ DÍA DE ACCIÓN DE GRACIAS A TODOS!

Ps. Funny thing I forgot to put in ... when we first sat down the Señora next to me and I started chatting away. I was friendly and didn't think much of it. Then, the Señora next to Elena looked at her and said slowly "¿Entiendes bien el Español?" (Do you understand Spanish well?). Elena was like "Yeah, I'm Spanish" ... then the Señora was like "Oh I thought you were the American student and she was the Spanish señora" (pointing at me). Then I found out that the Señor next to me thought the same thing ... I have chosen to take this as a compliment. Elena looks very young so it is easy to see how someone might have trouble seeing who's older (even though 12 years separate us). And I think it means I look Spanish whish is fun :) Ok ... that was all <3