We just got home from our Thanksgiving weekend and I have to say it was really great and full of little details and nice surprises, as well as gluttony. On Friday we left for Pamplona fairly late in the evening after leaving Mica with the grandparents. I don't know what it was, but I had a bit of a meltdown on the way there...maybe it was the fact that holidays are sometimes difficult to be in another country, especially ones that I enjoy as much as Thanksgiving. Maybe it was Friday and I was just tired, but sometimes I start thinking that I would just prefer to figure out a way for us to have jobs in the US... and that I'll never have friends in such an unfriendly part of the country. Sometimes I just miss home. I never thought I would and I guess that was naive. Or maybe it's just that every holiday I'm reminded of how broken one part of my family is and that fact that I don't really see that changing in this lifetime, not really for lack of effort on my part. I tried for years to maintain a relationship with my mother's brother who was always a great uncle, but after events of the last year I have just given up trying. The other day I read something really great on a friends' facebook. Rejection is my higher power's protection. Couldn't have said it any better myself. No longer being a relevant part of the family is painful at times, but I'm sure the thought never occurs to any of them so why should I waste time and emotion on it? In fact, one of the more callous of the family actually once wrote a blog about how much more she enjoys the holidays now that our side of the family is no longer a presence. Way to honor our Grandfather. Why I still care about the opinions of people who would not have survived a day of my life, nor understand anything about me is beyond my comprehension... but my New Years Resolution is to stop giving a crap and pronto. But I'm getting away from the point.
I admit... I am often ungrateful for the things that I have here and I sometimes need to remind myself of the fact that some things are hard, some things are wonderful and others suck but that is going to be the case regardless of what city, state or country I live in. The language can sometimes make you feel like an outsider if you haven't yet mastered it, although this weekend I think I handled it pretty well and spent a good part of the time speaking Spanish (trying to anyway). It at least makes me feel better that I was able to communicate my ideas though I'm sure it was grammatically a disaster. Two points for effort I suppose... I'm sure it didn't hurt that I was full of alcohol as well. Again, I digress.
When we arrived on Friday they had made a super impressive cod tortilla, mussels, and a salmon and shrimp salad. As I said.. the eating didn't stop and it was all fantastic. Of course now my neurotic husband is complaining about how fat he is and how I can eat whatever I want but it's salad for him until he is happy again. Whatever. Thanksgiving has always been about decadence, at least in my family... he has much to learn.
So I brined and roasted a turkey that was much smaller than the one we requested, but I think it turned out pretty well. In addition we had cranberry sauce that I made this year with cloves and spiced rum. Sounds strange... tastes yummy! Our friends and hosts for the weekend made a potato puree and I even managed to make gravy without messing it up. Success. They even put up an American flag and decorated the table with a pumpkin, etc. to make it extra special. Some people here really are great and I really appreciated the detail of making me feel at home.
Then today, we saw Pamplona and where San Fermin takes place... I will never be brave enough to see the running of the bulls. It was easy to imagine how people get trampled there, but the city is lovely. If I get around to it later this week I will post some photos.
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