All in the Families

As most of the U.S. American world prepares for Thanksgiving dinner, I'm caught between three thoughts. One, it's very odd to be removed from all of the usual weekly preparations that the whole world seems to be caught up in around this time in the States. Not bad, just odd. Two, it makes me pause to realize how grateful I am for all the magic in my life; the time that I've spent in Alicante has been enchanting, to say the least. And three, family. Blood family and family of the heart and soul. I'm lucky enough to have both.

Monday night has to be on the list of one of my favorite nights here to date. I met Debora and Carla, and we went to meet Carla´s parents at their piso, just above la Plaza de los Luceros. The door to the apartment opened to a whole new world. The apartment, as Carla says, and she is right, "is like a museum."

Bookshelves full of parchment, vintage games, and old trinkets line the walls. An ancient typewriter on the desk. Tiny books, the size of your thumbnail perched on even tinier bookshelves affixed to the wall. Posters of old movies line the hallways (Carla and I share a love of "Some Like it Hot") and cabinets stuffed to the brim with perfectly organized, vintage beer cans. Nooks and crannies everywhere you look. Colorful rugs tracing throughout the corridors. Bright colors and knickknacks that speak to Carla's childhood. Photos in frames of all this family has ever loved sitting happily everywhere. I would liken their house to the Weasley's in Harry Potter. Perfect. Or brilliant. "I think it's brilliant!"

While Carla's dad visited us intermittently and made food for himself, the four of us (Carla, Debora, Marmen, and I) sat around a table overflowing with pastries and sweets, sipped on coffee, and just talked. We discussed health care, weddings, Carla and Debora's time in high school - everything.

Seeing Carla in her family environment (she and Debora have known each other so long, they practically are family) only endeared her to me more. Precious and sacred to see someone I've come to appreciate so much in her natural world, where she can take off her CIEE hat. So special to get a glimpse of all my friend's years, watching her interact with her charming family. So joyful, and in the stolen seconds I got to spend with them I realized how much I was going to miss all of them when I leave.

We left there and I was passed off to Eva, and we retreated to her flat to eat la cena (Spanish dinner) with her mother who was visiting from Sweden for a few days. Now, a little bit about Eva--she´s originally from Sweden and attended university here in Alicante. She had returned to Sweden for a few years before coming back to Alicante this August to work with CIEE.

Anyway, her flat, positively modern and charming. All the lights were off, only candles were lit, and they had Swedish Christmas music echoing from the laptop. While Eva's cat, Lola, playfully scurried about on the floor (so cute!) we talked over candlelight (and an amazing lasagna that Gunn made) about our Christmas traditions and what life was like in Sweden for Eva and her family. Traditions like: putting hints or riddles on Christmas gifts, skiing to school, that magical time on Christmas Eve when Santa comes to your door - no, really, he does! Such a magical evening! They opened a tiny window into their lives and I gazed in gratefulness and awe at the simplicity and love in the pictures that they painted and the stories that they told. I told them that they kicked off my holiday season in the best way possible, and promised to visit them in Sweden if ever I could.

What a beautiful evening with two beautiful families. My time at CIEE in Alicante has been so professionally enriching, that's the truth. I've learned more about this program than I ever thought possible. I will have so much to share with students and with my colleagues. But even more than that, these people have freely opened up a door into their families, and have let me walk inside and just linger for a while. What a gift! Could I be any more enchanted? Or humbled? Not really.