Holy Cross Students Celebrate Thanksgiving in Spain

La Voz de Galicia

While abroad, Holy Cross students bring small pieces of home with them and build their own traditions with new friends — an experience that holds especially true for the students studying in Coruña, one of the three study abroad sites in Spain. This academic year, 20 students are participating in an immersive study abroad program in Coruña, in addition to 10 students in León and Palma.

The students in Coruña, located in the Province of Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain, were recently featured in the regional Spanish newspaper, La Voz de Galicia, for what has become an annual tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving.

“One of the great things about study abroad is that it’s not just ‘going’ abroad, it’s truly studying there, developing a rich and ongoing cultural exchange,” says Daniel Frost, associate professor and chair of the Spanish department. “Students and their hosts are always learning from one another, everything from academic subjects to social and political realities to, it appears, Mom’s stuffing recipe!”

Read a translation of the Spanish article below:

“Thanksgiving, Coruña Style”

A group of American students celebrates the traditional dinner here in the city, turkey and all.

Here is a group of Americans celebrating “their” Thanksgiving day. They come from the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and live here with families. “At first I did this event in my house, but now there are too many [study abroad students] and my wife won’t let me,” said a smiling Pablo Martínez de Velasco, director of Ad Astra, an organization dedicated to student exchanges. The 18-pound turkey (stuffing included) was served at the La Plazuela de Ramón de la Sagra restaurant. At the rate things are going, we [Galicians and Spaniards] will soon be celebrating not just Thanksgiving, but, lo and behold, Black Friday.

This “Holy Cross in the News” item is by Evangelia Stefanakos.  

Additional Information