Turkey Day Minus Pumpkin Pie Plus Homesickness

Hmmm where to start. This year marks the third year I have not been in the United States for Thanksgiving. Next year, I've decided to be home (either San Jose or Albuquerque) for Turkey Day. I do miss running the Turkey Trot and replacing all my calories afterwards : )

My 25th Thanksgiving finds me in Madrid...if someone had asked me last year (in Buenos Aires), what I would be doing this year, I'm pretty sure I would've said I'd be at home. But home next year works too.

In BA, some friends and I found an American bar serving a Thanksgiving meal. I think it was something like $12 USD. In Madrid, a traditional turkey dinner is upwards of $25 Euros, so I decided to save my money. We'll celebrate tomorrow night, with some kind of Thanksgiving Dinner, but it's still TBD, so who knows what we'll end up with.

I'm sure I've written this before, but I still feel like I should be waking up from a dream sometime soon because my life here has turned out so well. I've met many wonderful and interesting people and have settled into an essentially stress-free routine. Today, like many other days, finds me wondering why I get to live the life I do. What did I do to be so lucky? The only logical conclusion/explanation I can come up with is that I am REALLY fortunate, that I should appreciate every moment and give back when I can. The phrase "spoiled brat" also comes to mind.

Since it's Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to give thanks to both sides of my family who made sacrifices for future generations of relatives they would never know. I owe them a huge debt of gratitude. After traveling to many different countries and living for an extended period of time in three of them (Mexico, Argentina, and Spain), I've come away with a huge amount of respect for immigrants from all walks of life (laborers, students, business people and beyond). It's tough being an immigrant (of sorts) with a quality education behind her who speaks enough Spanish to open a bank account, go to the grocery store, etc. I can only imagine the sense of isolation those who don't have the tools to communicate feel on a daily basis. In a time when immigration reform is a source of great controversy, it's worth it to take a step back and spend some time in their shoes. Remember you wouldn't be where you are today if it wasn't for years and years of hard work by those who came before you.

Me and Dublin: Peas in a Pod

When the person at Customs greets you with a smile, it's always a good sign. When I arrived in Dublin late last Friday night, that's exactly what happened. After three days in Ireland, I've come to the conclusion that Dubliners are quite possibly the nicest people I've encountered in my travels.

Proof points: My shuttle reservation didn't go through, so I ended up waiting in rainy darkness for about 30 minutes. Thanks to multiple friendly bus drivers, I was directed to a bus that took me to the city center. I then walked to the apartment my cousin's friend rented for the weekend (had to ask two cops how to get there). Don't worry mom, it was a well lit area...but the moral of the story is, I couldn't believe how friendly everyone was!

The remainder of the weekend was spent walking around Dublin with my cousin Allie eating really good comfort food (Bangers and Mash in Yorkshire Pudding, Beef Boxty, really thick French Fries, drinking loads of tea with milk, etc.) and of course, yummy beer. It's true, Guinness REALLY does taste good in Ireland.

If nothing else, Dublin reaffirmed the fact that I am not a museum/itinerary person. I much prefer to learn about a new place via my stomach. For example, Allie and I went to Howth on Sunday, a sleepy little town on the coast, where we found the most delicious farmer's market. We literally wanted to sample pretty much everything we came across (it was a paradise of baked goods). I'm feeling a little hefty as a result of my Irish indulgences, but it was well worth it. If only they had a farmer's market in Madrid...

Sometimes I Love My OCD Ways

Not that anyone cares, but I've made myself quite happy tonight because I fixed my adapter (which I thought was broken), thanks to the fact that I kept the instructions. First of all, I was pissed because I thought I broke Farren's hair dryer, but it turns out I just blew the fuse and had to replace it with the extra one conveniently hidden away in said adapter. Apparently you can use it for computers and iPods, but not for hair dryers and flat irons. Duly noted.

On to more interesting things. On Sunday/Monday, Tim, his friend Marie (who flew in from NYC for the weekend!), two of the British girls who live downstairs and some of their European friends took a quick two and a half hour bus ride to Salamanca. The picture is of the city's Plaza Mayor which kicks arse when compared to Madrid's Plaza Mayor. We spent the night, enjoyed Salamanca's Sunday night 'night life' and then came back to Madrid. It was nice to get out of the city and cross another Spanish destination off my list : ) Next up, Dublin on Friday to meet up with two of my cousins....YIPPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!

My New Haircut

Yes, I stole the title from the hilarious YouTube video. On Monday, in an attempt to make myself feel better after being sick (again), I decided to get my hair trimmed at a peluqueria down the street.

I go to Great Cuts in San Jose sometimes and I figured if they can handle a trim, surely the Spaniards who use Redken shampoo and have advertisements for GHD products would suffice. Bad decision. I told the woman I only wanted the ends cut. Somehow I ended up with layers (I don't even know the Spanish word for layers). She told me (when she was done), that my hair shouldn't be one length, so she added layers. GRRRR. I know my hair is too thick to be one length, but I was waiting until December to have Geri, the only person I trust to actually CUT my hair, fix it. Now, I am missing at least an inch of hair and the style resembles the "Rachel" cut Jennifer Aniston used to rock in the late 90s. I know it is stupid to complain about a bad haircut, but every time I look in the mirror, I silently mourn the loss of my hair. I'm going to eat lots of eggs and olive oil to make it grow. At least I have two months before I go home.