Accion de Gracias

I had one of the best Thanksgiving dinners in a long time. Ironically, it was not even in the United States. I thought that being in another country would make Thanksgiving come and go making me feel sad and homesick. Totally not the case and here is why:

El Salvador has this awesome program where volunteers get to stay the night with an American embassy family for Thanksgiving. I had the pleasure of staying 3 nights with an awesome family – downright amazing. The father of the family is a returned volunteer from Costa Rica, paul, (where he met his lovely wife Patricia) who now works for USAID. We also met their lovely daughter Rachel who is joining peace corps this summer in Africa! What a family! They were so wonderful and welcoming that I felt like I was home in an American house – complete with hot showers, delicious American food, air conditioning, and super comfy beds! It was such a nice break after training to enjoy all of this and feel rejuvenated enough to head back to our sites afterwards. Although it was also challenging because I never wanted to leave. The family was so incredible I really have to thank them again – as they even offered to let us stay whenever we need to in the capital. Great, great family. I feel so blessed to have met them this Thanksgiving.

But I have not even told you why the Thanksgiving was so good. First, it contained all the traditional American fixings meaning turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, rolls, wine, and desserts. Also, I ate turkey and bacon for the first time in so many years. WOW! Delicious. Vegetarianism? Huh? Just kidding. Sort of. The food was even better because I got to share it with my new embassy family, my two favorite other volunteers Tricia and Kara (my rocks here), and about 20 Salvadorans who were there to hear the story of Thanksgiving and celebrate with us. Thanksgiving in Spanish and it felt so good, especially when we told the history of the holiday. It is such a glorious holiday. I love it.

After dinner, we sang KAROKE! And danced the night away. Words cannot describe how cool this was, so I am going to include some pictures (mostly stolen from Kara, thanks girl<3).

My best girls and I hanging in the mall before Thanksgiving.

Food :)

Karoke - Livin' La Vida Loca

Friends<3New and Old.

post script: I also would like to report that I went in Starbucks and there was Xmas music playing. I just about died of happiness.