día de acción de gracias
i’m not a huge fan of turkey. and on my list of favorite foods, well, mashed potatoes isn’t even on there. and stuffing? why would you ever willingly eat soggy bread? that’s like leaving cereal in milk for an hour and then coming back to eat breakfast. it’s just silly. however, despite my lack of appreciation for the actual food, i absolutely love thanksgiving.
yesterday was a little like thanksgiving. when i was getting off the micro for class, i got a front row seat for the parade. or rather, the march. of angry students. and there was football on at my house. well, fútbol, not football. and it was super windy in valparaiso, so i was at long last able to enjoy the leaves/palm fronds falling. basically autumn. but the best part of my chilean thanksgiving was the meal.
last night was our cena de despedida, or going away dinner. as of yesterday afternoon, we are officially done with the study part of our time abroad. save for a few lingering assignments. so as a closure to the semester, we were invited to a feast at the yacht club with our mamás as our last group event. no turkey involved. i might have missed my thanksgiving favorites of sparkling apple cider and apple pie, but chile outdid itself. pineapple and raspberry juice, seafood and empanada appetizers, mushroom crepes, chicken cordon bleu, and a huge dessert table covered with chirimoya, manjar mousse, lucuma layer cake, and a beautiful death by chocolate cake. all shared with my adopted family and friends. couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend a distinctly american holiday in a distinctly not american country.
