Thanksgiving week

The flea market was huge. It rained lightly for a little bit and there were tons of people there. There was some fresh fruit and vegetables and nuts. Most of it was clothing of all kinds, scarves, bags, shoes and pirated DVDs and video games, including pirated copies of movies currently in theatres. I’d have to say Lisbon’s flea market had the coolest stuff -lots of old things and collectibles. Anyways, I bought two scarves and three pairs of colorful, striped socks, all as gifts for my family. I have to stockpile small gifts, the 11 year-old, Trini, turns 12 tomorrow and the twins turn 14 in one week. Then there are three more birthdays in December, plus Christmas. I’ll need a dozen gifts for Christmas alone. Plus some gifts for Martha and her family. Martha wanted a red Universidad de Sevilla shirt so I got one today.

I’ve been trying to explore some more. Besides the flea market, I’ve wandered around my neighborhood. There are lots of stores and every single one is really small. It’s interesting how there are so many specialized little stores that repeat themselves. It’s not uncommon to see two pharmacies or two barber shops on the same block. A few blocks from my house there is a supermarket and around the corner there are two more supermarkets across the street from each other. Instead of giant malls or department stores, there are necktie shops and leather shops and little shoe stores. So you have go to four different stores to a buy a tie, a shirt, shoes, and a belt.

On Saturday night Sevilla beat Betis 1-0 on a penalty kick. It was a very close game. I watched the first half at home and the second half at two different bars. As soon as the game ended, I could hear car horns and fireworks and people yelling all over the city. People sang the Sevilla FC song over and over everywhere. A lot of American students have friends or family visiting this week over their Thanksgiving vacation. My program has organized a Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant near the big park in Sevilla. We’ve heard there is free wine and everyone goes out together afterwards. So it sounds like the best of both worlds, an American feast and the Spanish nightlife. I’ll let you know how Thanksgiving in Spain goes and hopefully will have some pictures to post. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US.