It’s obviously been awhile since I last wrote, but I was inspired by Thanksgiving so I thought I’d throw some ideas down. Sometimes I feel like when I am outside of the U.S. I care more about the holidays than if I were actually there. Fortunately, I live with 7 other Americans so it is easy to get into the spirit of American holidays. We presented on Saint Patrick’s Day at our school, made valentines with our students on February 24th, and I even taught my students “Trick or treat, give me something good to eat . . . “ (to which there is a Spanish equivalent that they say in Colombia but instead of pulling down underwear your nose grows). We usually have our own celebrations outside of school as well and Thanksgiving was no exception.
I was a vegetarian for 6 or 7 years before coming to Colombia. My friends and I often joke that it is “Vegetarian gone wild” because several of us who sparingly or never ate meat in the States, eat it in gross quantities here. As a previous vegetarian I missed out on the turkey on Turkey Day. I was always okay with that but now that I eat meat I was especially gung-ho about eating turkey on the last Thursday of November. With the help of some Colombian friends we were able to track down a farm with turkeys. The farm is right here in Santa Ana and belongs to my student’s family. Though I’m confident that everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving, I don’t know if anyone can compete with the freshness of our turkey. I helped pick out a medium sized Tom and witnessed (and photographed) the slaughter, feather plucking, and cleaning of the bird (pictures soon to come).
All 8 of us volunteers agreed to make a few dishes and so our Thanksgiving menu was rather extensive. It included: dips and chips, mashed potatoes, corn bread, salad, two types of stuffing, two types of casserole, macaroni and cheese, chicken, cookies, 7 layer chocolate pie, and of course the much anticipated turkey. Although we were missing some of the basics that are all but impossible to find here, cranberries, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes, we made the best of it. Thanksgiving is all about sharing everything from food to customs and cultures. Colombia is very much a culture of sharing; my students even share their lollipops- case and point. What better way to show our appreciation to our Colombian friends who have shared so much with us this year then to invite them to dinner? The kitchen smelled like home and the villa was filled with children’s playful laughter. So in the end no one really missed the cranberries.
I think it is only fitting that Thanksgiving be the last holiday that I celebrate while in Colombia. I have about 2 weeks left before returning home. Thanksgiving naturally forces one to reflect. My last weeks have been slightly surreal. I remember before coming to Colombia thinking that a year was a long period of time. Since I had been abroad before, I thought that the year commitment might have been one of the most challenging aspects for me. This could not be further form the truth, the year has honestly flown by. Not to say that there haven’t been challenges because there have been and many of them. Before coming to Colombia I applied to what felt like a thousand programs. I knew I wanted to live abroad but I didn’t exactly know where and with whom. The process of elimination began as I started to get responses from each program. It was easy to eliminate the programs in which I did not get into, the tricky part was deciding between my actual options. Anyone who knows me knows that I am terrible at making decisions (and directions but that’s another blog post). For various reasons I eventually chose WolrdTeach Colombia, at the time it seemed to be just by chance. Now I feel as though I was suppose to be here. Moreover, I feel like I was suppose to be in Santa Ana teaching 6-8 graders. I am extraordinarily fortunate to have such great coworkers and friends. I know that this experience has shaped me and will continue to impact my life long after my departure December 14th. And so this year I find that I am grateful for so much in my life. I want to thank my students, coworkers, and friends in Colombia. And I want to thank my family and friends in the States who I am very much looking forward to seeing shortly.
No comments:
Post a Comment