Thanksgiving in Spain

Apologies for the lapse in posts recently. Since returning from Valencia things have been a bit "topsy-turvy" here. We came back to new classmates and challenges at school, and we both skipped a day of class due to illness. Thankfully, nothing serious.

If you are wondering whether we will be celebrating Thanksgiving here, the answer is no, we will be school tomorrow. We did check around to see if there was any type of observation of the holiday here, but there isn’t. Someone told us that the Basque Culinary Center – the regional gastronomy cooking school – hosts a Thanksgiving dinner, but apparently not this year. Still, because we poked around their website, we will be having lunch there next week at their restaurant that gives the students the opportunity to cook and experiment, and allows the public a chance to enjoy what the students create at a reasonable price. We are looking forward to that meal!

It won’t be the first time we’ve missed out on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner – a trip to Argentina in 2012 holds that honor. We did contemplate making a mini-Thanksgiving feast, but most of the ingredients required to do so are not readily available. Although processed turkey is easy to find, we have yet to see a whole turkey or even a turkey breast. Apparently, it is easier to find closer to Christmas. In addition, sweet potatoes are hard to come by and cranberries, which are native to North America, cannot be found either. We will miss the traditional foods and, of course, spending Thanksgiving with family.

After four months in Spain, we do want to acknowledge the amazing opportunities and experiences we have had this year. We are fortunate to have talented teachers, interesting classmates, wonderful friends, supportive family, and the time and resources necessary to pursue our dream of living abroad.

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday,

Shana & Jeff