Thanksgiving. A holiday that is as synonymous with America as Christmas and the Fourth of July. Its that time of year we think about the past and the future. We appreciate the people we have and the people we have been lucky to have known while eating copious amounts of food and drinking more than our fair share of wine.
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. It was always the time I looked forward to, seeing some family who I rarely ever saw, eating the delicious food that we only saved for once a year and playing games with my family long into the night. Its the one holiday that makes me nostalgic every time I think of it and the one holiday that makes me miss home the most when thinking about it.
Being in a foreign country that does not celebrate the holiday can be difficult times.At one end, you're enjoying your new life and freedom to escape from the confines and restrictions of your own country, its your adventure to the new and exciting and you're living it everyday.
On the other hand, it makes you long for the comfort and familiarity of home. The foods and the people and the places that no mater how hard you try, are impossible to recreate on the other side of the world. It's easy to get caught in this sort of mini depression, missing the things from back home that used to be such a big part of your life.
However, what people do is create their own celebrations, start new traditions. Share the company with people you've met on the other side of the world and enjoy this day together. You're all in this together, away from home and loved ones so its the perfect time to be together. Lonely people becoming un-lonely togehter.
I was lucky enough to participate in two Thanksgiving celebrations. One of them a large church gathering in Daegu and a smaller more intimate on with friends in my town of Gimcheon. Both gave me time to spend with the people I cared about the most in Korea and also gave me an opportunity to have a little taste of home with generous amounts of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.
I always look forward to gatherings like these. I don't often have as much time as I would like with people due to my schedule and the randomness of other people's schedules. However, its nice to have holidays together, its a time to appreciate the unique situation were in, living across the world and lets us starve off our homesickness for a little bit.
This is post is really short, I wish I had more to say but, my mind is kind of blank today. I had a great Thanksgiving in Korea. I could not have asked for anything better.
Oh, if there was one thing I was thankful for this year, and every year since working overseas, its not having to wake up at the crack of dawn to go work a part time retail job selling cheap electronics to people who are more than willing to kill one another just to get that TV. One thing I do not miss is working Black Friday. It is my sincere wish to never work or never go out on that day ever again. Crazy is what it is. Just crazy
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