My mom, dad, and sister visited! The nine days that they were here passed by too quickly but as a family, we covered a lot of land in Spain, starting in Madrid. Since Madrid has one of the biggest airports in Spain, it's always easiest to use this airport to access central and northern Spain. León, Bilbao, and other nearby cities have airports but these small airports are expensive to fly in and out of... and I'm not positive that their international flights go as international as the Americas.
Back to the point, my family visited me! In Madrid, we took a stroll through Parque Retiro, checked out some of the big plazas such as Puerta del Sol y Plaza Mayor, and of course sampled traditional Spanish foods in a number of locations including markets, restaurants, and cafes. We also decided to tour the Royal Palace, which was a fun afternoon. Unfortunately, the palace does not allow visitors to take pictures once inside but believe me... what a treat this tour was. Mom, Sarah, and I agreed that we certainly wouldn't mind having a dining room as lavish as the one where Spanish royalty dines.
As you might have guessed, between two weekends in Madrid, I got to show my family around my town. On Tuesday morning, mom, dad, and Sarah, accompanied me to my elementary school where mom helped me read Thanksgiving books to the 1st grade. In this particular class, there is one little girl with an incredibly impressive English vocabulary. While some students helped my mom and I identify different characters in the books such as "mom", "dad", "family", "dog", this little girl raised her hand and said "roasted chicken". She was half right... there was in fact a roasted bird on this page of the book but a turkey, not a chicken. But, come on, where on Earth did she learn the word "roasted"?? (P.S. 1st grade here is kindergarten back at home). Don't tell me you're not impressed. English is their second language!
Throughout the week, Sarah and dad also had opportunities to jump in and help me with my work. One day a week, I teach an after-school gym class for 4 and 5 year olds. Since Sarah has worked many times with younger children, I asked her to help out at the gym. Sarah was full of ideas, as always, and one child in particular became her shadow by the end of the class. In fact, the following class, when Sarah was already back in New York, this same child walked into class and disappointingly asked, "Donde está tu hermana?" meaning, of course, "Where is your sister?" So sweet!
At the end of the week, I was scheduled to present to an adult language class and my dad was more than happy to help me out; he's a natural at presenting! We split up the slides and he helped me to explain the history of Thanksgiving, among other details. While the class acted shy during the times we encouraged participation, I've had many students approach me around town in the past few days to once again thank us for setting aside some time to explain Thanksgiving.
I also cannot go without mentioning the amazing Thanksgiving favor that two teachers at my elementary school did for me. The week before my family arrived, I was sharing a glass of wine with these two friends of mine when I told them how excited I was to make a Thanksgiving meal right here in Spain. To my dismay, the grocery shopping did not go quite as planned. My local grocery stores had very few of the ingredients on my list and one of these special ingredients was pumpkin pie spice. Well, these two teachers got together and made me a little jar of pumpkin pie spice by blending cinnamon, nutmeg, and all the other spices that remind us of Thanksgiving desserts. When they presented me with this gift, I felt like crying! I swear this town spoils me. I can't explain how thankful I feel for the community here.
This weekend I'm being low key, recovering from the crazy month of November. I'm also using this weekend to get ahead on lesson planning since I'll be working extra hours in the next few weeks to make up for the days I'll be missing before Christmas. I officially have flights home for the holidays and I'm getting excited for some R&R and family time.
One last thing. This past month, I've noticed an incredible difference in my Spanish. Today, while hiking with the father of one of my students, I noticed myself thinking in Spanish. It was a total WOW moment for me. I've been learning Spanish now for a very long time and while I've dreamt in Spanish a few times, I don't think I've every thought in Spanish. I think in English and then actively translate. This is a great sign! Here's to November and achieving goals :)
Before touring the Royal Palace.
Inside the palace, right before we had to put our phones/cameras away!
Sister and I :)
Inside the Crystal Palace (Parque Retiro)
Walking around Guardo to see views of the surrounding mountains!
A picture taken inside the high school of Guardo, after a Thanksgiving presentation.
Hiking today with my friend Iñaki.
Foggy hike.
Towards the end of our hike, the fog started to clear.
The hard part of the climb! I survived!
Note to my readers: expect to see a lot of my green winter coat in future pictures! Hace frío aquí.
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