Latesgiving

Thanksgiving did not go at all as planned this year. If you recall, I was incredibly gung-ho about preparing the perfect feast and cooking everything myself from scratch. I scoured the internet for recipes that don't require ovens (since nobody has one and those that do are afraid to use them). I found a reliable recipe for stuffing and of course, mashed taters, but pie was going to be the trickiest.

Planning was difficult, but progressing when I received notice that the youth group trip to Alajuela to return the favor of conducting the Sabbath School and Church service was moved to Thanksgiving weekend. This meant that practice was moved to Wednesday and Thursday night before leaving on Friday. This, in turn, meant that there would be no time for cooking or feasting. I was devastated, but feigning optimism, I called my parents, informed them of trouble and arranged to skype them in between school and practice: a 3 hour window. It ended up perfectly. I talked to my family and they showed me all the great food I was missing out on. Our conversations ended pleasantly, and though I was sad not to be there with them, I realized how happy I am to be where I am, doing what I'm doing.

Friday came and with it, the trip to Alajuela. I was tired to begin with, but after the long car ride and a couple hours of practicing, I was ready to sleep. So needless to say, I was a little irked by the fact that everyone in the house decided to stay up 'til 12:30. Amazingly, I was ready for the day when I woke up. I showered, breakfasted, got in costume and headed to church, which was just 6 houses down. The Sabbath School Service was a play of sorts with special music, scripture and the mission story mixed in. It was the story of the 10 virgins. I was one of the 5 that didn't bring extra oil. My part in the play was to say a few lines and...wait for it...sing special music. In Spanish!!! I sang Solo Cristo (None but Jesus). I was really nervous, but I made it through with only one noticeable squeak. The rest of the service went beautifully. After church, we had a deliciously filling potluck and then nap before evening worship, supper, and evening games.

Supper is back on track with the topic of Thanksgiving. Our group went to PriceSmart, which is the exact same as Costco. It was wonderful. We got pizza and then we roamed the halls of the store and low and behold, we came across a pumpkin pie. I was so happy that I did a little dance. Obviously, I bought it.

After supper and evening games (which I did not participate in on account of being too full), we went back to the house where I was happy to stay up and talk to my new friends from Alajuela. We stayed up 'til nearly 1 am. Next day, we went to some pools where we swam and got some much needed sun. By the end of the day, I was flushed but not burnt. It was glorious. After bidding farewell to everyone, we made the long trek up the mountain to Monteverde where it was raining, per usual. And yet, I was happy to be back in the comfort of this town I've grown to love over the last *gasp* 3 months. I still can't believe it's been that long.

Finally Monday came. This was the day Nate, Calle and I were planning to celebrate Thanksgiving. We used the packet of mashed taters that came from WWU Student Missions, the pumpkin pie I bought in Alajuela, and to this mix we added corn, homemade stuffing, sparkling grape juice and rootbeer floats. It was glorious. We laughed, we listened to music and we took pictures. Then we carefully set up the dinner table, said a prayer ("God on three, 1, 2, 3, GOD!!!") and dug in. We ate soooo much. Many smiles, laughs and burps (kind of a contest) later, we cleaned up and went into Calle's room and watched Psych. I ate so much I couldn't lay on my stomach. I was so happy.

Reflecting back on it all, I don't mind at all that Thanksgiving didn't turn out how I planned. I wasn't home, but if I had been home, I wouldn't have met so many awesome people, I wouldn't be teaching, I'd still be horrible at Spanish. As it stands, everything that happened to hinder my plans of "The Perfect Thanksgiving" just made it better. Just another reminder that God is in control and that his plans are better than mine.

Jesus and the 10 virgins

Clearing my throat before the big Spanish debut

Oh soymilk, how I miss thee

Stuffing in the makings

I dish it out real good.

Happy to the point of squinting

Salud!

Pumpkin pleasure

A visitor

Meh.

Today was a very, Very, VERY forgettable day at school. I don't know what happened to me during the night. I went to bed in a decent mood, but when I woke up, I was grouchy and tired. I got a full 9 hours of sleep and yet it took a good 90% of my will power to get up and the rest of it to pick out an outfit and get in the shower. I was so lazy I didn't even wash my hair or make coffee. Yeah, that lazy. In between classes today, I played sudoku (the one from the wwu sm newsletter) to keep myself awake and in a decent mood. I threatened to kick kids out of my class a little more than I should have, too. I'm not proud of that. Strangely, although I was dead tired and just wanted to call a taxi and crawl into bed (have I ever mentioned that it's a 25 minute walk from my house to school?), the happiest part of my day was during 1st grade Bible class. I let each kid pick a song and we sang. We sang loud and with motions. I don't know what I'd do without my first graders. They motivate me and aggravate me all at once. I fully intend for tomorrow to be a better day. Maybe I'll start taking my vitamin d. I haven't seen the sun for a full 7 days so I'm sure it would do some good. It has been raining for a week straight. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. It's like a waterfall out there. I finally caved and bought galoshes. I need a good plastic poncho. My raincoats are no longer waterproof and are starting to smell like mildew. Nothing ever fully dries here. It's really a blessing that my family has a dryer. They are one of the few families that has one and even then, they are in the minority because they actually use it. Dryers are a miracle invention. Much love goes out to whoever thought that one up.
I've been thinking about how I'll never be back in my home for the holidays. For those of you who don't know, my parents sold the house that I've lived in all my life. I've never moved before and it weirds me out to think that I'll never spend another Christmas morning lounging on the couch, sipping hot chocolate and eating mandarins and panettone like we've done every year since I can remember. Sure, it'll happen again, but it will never be in my childhood home. What has come from all this depressing yet delightful reminiscing, is an idea to make Thanksgiving absolutely grand here. I already want to begin planning my menu because I want to gather all the best recipes. I don't want to miss a thing, and I want it to be doable. For that reason, planning begins now. "Why Thanksgiving and not Christmas?", you may be asking. Well, there's a logical answer. Nate and Calle leave December 11th so I'll be the only volunteer here at that time so it'll be more fun to live up Thanksgiving with my fellow estadounidenses. Wish us luck!