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.
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