My time in San Félix: El Día de Gracias

**Disclaimer. I wrote this yesterday, Friday, but due to internet problems I'm posting it today, Saturday. So when I say "yesterday" I'm referring to Thursday.

Yesterday was, of course, Thanksgiving. I don't think I'll ever take the day for granted again. Outside of the United States the "día de gracias" is just another day. I always knew that of course, but I guess I never really thought about it or truly realized what that meant. For many of my friends, the week of Thanksgiving was full of travel home from college, anticipation and excitement about seeing family and friends, and the welcome change from dorm food to Thanksgiving feasts. I spent this week avoiding twitter, trying not to comment when people complained about only being home for a few days, and generally missing seeing my family and friends. My big Thanksgiving meal was two ham and cheese arepas, delicious but eaten alone.

However, my Thanksgiving was not all lonely and sad! Re-reading that paragraph is a little depressing. Jeesh. Last night I went to a government-sponsored concert at the Plaza de Navidad in Puerto Ordaz. It was a celebration of the city being 50 years old. There was a full band, with a big drums and percussion section, along with singers and dancers. They played salsa, merengue, and other music typical to Venezuela and this area of Bolívar. It was the kind of music that makes you just want to dance, and many people did. It was really great, I liked it a lot. I was invited to go by one of my students, Jose Daniel. He's a nice guy, a couple years older than me, who really wants to learn English. It was fun to meet his family and do something different. Unfortunately I wasn't able to bring my camera, I would have loved to have some pictures and video, I kept thinking how much Ms. Novey would love it! (My high school band teacher). I was riding the bus alone and at night, and didn't want to risk losing the camera if the bus got held up.

It was a strange Thanksgiving, but it made me realize how thankful I am for my family, and how excited I am to see them one week from today! A week from right this minute I will be in a plane over MN waiting to land. Can't wait!

On a completely unrelated note, I mentioned a post or two ago that there was a new boy at the Casa Hogar named Sebastian. He is Guyanese, and speaks English. Kind of. The other night we were talking a little bit in English, but it was a struggle. He understood everything I was saying, but his responses were just not quite English. I understood some parts of what he was saying, and we were able to have a conversation in English, but it was tough. The Guyanese have almost their own language, and it seems that it can vary from family to family because Jenny, who cooks lunch here, is Guyanese and speaks the kind of English you and I are used to. Sebastian wasn't too happy to be there at the Casa Hogar. I don't really know why he was there or what his situation is. He mentioned his sister who he said is 18, he said he wanted to call her. The few times we hung out and talked I could tell he wasn't too happy about being there. Now I know for sure that he wasn't. Yesterday he and a few of the other boys went to the dentist with one of the women who works at the home. When she wasn't looking, he took off. They have no idea where he is, and probably won't find out. I hope he finds his sister. I told Jose about this tonight, and he said he hopes Sebastian finds his sister as well. "If not, that will be sad." By that he means a 10 year old wandering the streets doesn't have a very good chance of surviving.

David brought the camera to school again yesterday, I'll put up some of the pictures he took.