Since it’s typical in the US to say what you are thankful for on Thanksgiving Day, I decided to make a list of things I’m thankful for, from the perspective of a foreigner living abroad. You can go ahead and assume that everyone’s typical items (family, friends, health, food, a house, etc. etc.) are also on my list, but I’m only going to elaborate on the ones that are specific to living abroad.
I’m thankful for…
Maria and I in Almonaster La Real (Huelva)
1. Having good luck with my roommates. I don’t want to jinx the rest of my year here or anything, but I feel very fortunate to have had awesome roommates so far.
The first year in Huelva there was Maria. She was from the area so she knew a lot about the city and never hesitated to give me tips about where to go and what to do. It also helped immensely that she herself had lived abroad in Ireland and Germany so not only did she understand what it’s like to be living in a foreign country, but she also spoke English so she could help answer my questions easily. When we watched TV together (which was usually every afternoon while we ate lunch) she always explained things to me that I didn’t know or understand. Basically, she was an invaluable resource and friend.
I remember the very first night I had moved into the apartment. I hadn’t had the opportunity to grocery shop yet so at about 9:30pm when I had settled in I decided to go to the store to get something to cook. I figured since the Spanish ate dinner really late the grocery stores would be open late, too. But as I was walking down the street I ran into Maria, who was on her way home. I said I was going to the store and she told me it was already closed. “Do you like pasta?” were the next words out of her mouth. “Claro que sí, soy italiana” I probably responded. We went back to the flat where she whipped up some delicious pasta with veggies and we shared our first of many meals together. I was super lucky to have her as my roommate that year, and I will forever be thankful for that experience of living with her.
Last year in Karlovy Vary was Jess. I could elaborate a lot on our friendship, but mostly I will say that we both felt incredibly lucky to randomly be hired by the same company in the same town. We were super lucky that we had so much in common: running, cooking, eating, traveling, Czech beer, to name a few. It made my year living in a place where I didn’t speak the language and many people didn’t speak my language far more fun and less isolating than it could have been.
For the first few months we were really each other’s only friend in KV. Sure, there were our colleagues from work who I would definitely consider our friends, but they all had families and kids to occupy them most of the time. Eventually by the Spring we had made a few other friends, but those first few months would have been quite painful if I hadn’t had Jess. It was hard to leave at the end of the year because we were having so much fun, but I know that we will stay in touch. And I’m looking forward to visiting KV this year because Jess is back there teaching for another year!
And finally, this year I have two awesome Spanish roommates, Nagore and Eduardo. Though sadly I have no pictures of us together. The only picture I do have is of this note I found outside my bedroom door on the morning of Thanksgiving. My roommate Eduardo left me a note because the night before we were just talking about the holiday and how it’s such a big deal in America. Waking up to a small thing like that made it a little easier being away from home on Thanksgiving.
Nagore and Eduardo are both patient with me (well, with my Spanish) and very sweet and welcoming, always offering me food and whatever in the house. Neither one of them is from Villarrobledo, so whenever they aren’t working they go home to their respective towns – both of which I vow to visit in the Spring!
2. Skype. Facebook. Gmail/gchat/gvideo. Duh.
3. Digitial cameras. I can’t imagine all my photo-taking having to be processed from rolls of film…
4. “On Demand” in-flight entertainment systems that most (not all!) airlines have now. It makes an 8-hour cross-continental flight go by that much faster.
5. Living in walkable cities. Not having a car over here makes things a little annoying sometimes, but I’m grateful that all three places I’ve lived since moving to Europe have been easy to get around on by foot. It also really helps you to discover a place and burns more calories – toma!
6. Spanish food and Czech beer. Don’t think I need to say more there.
7. Last, but certainly not least, all of the super hospitable and helpful people I’ve met since moving abroad. I’m afraid to list them by name lest I leave someone out, but I want to say that I am so thankful that I have met so many friendly people in my time in Europe. These include my coworkers, neighbors, students, parents of my students, and other friends. People who have opened their homes to me, shared their culture with me, invited me to meals, given me rides to the airport, taken me to the doctor, I could go on… sometimes it’s hard thinking about all of my great family and friends in the US who are so far away from me, but meeting such friendly people here makes it easier and enjoyable to live abroad. This reminds me of a poignant, if sad, quotation I saw not too long ago that I will leave you with:
You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place. -Miriam Adeney
Happy Thanksgiving!
