Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Since I can't be there with all of you, I figured a blog post is the best I can do. As it turns out, Thanksgiving is a difficult holiday to explain. The first problem, of course, was the language. In trying to explain the Thanksgiving story, I quickly realized that I didn't know how to say "pilgrims", "Native Americans", "pumpkins" and other relevant words in French. But even once those details were ironed out, people don't seem to understand how this romanticized story of friendship has led to what we now celebrate as Thanksgiving. And to be perfectly honest, I guess the reason its so hard to explain is because I don't really know how Thanksgiving evolved myself. How do I explain to the Russian woman in my class that Americans watch football and eat turkey together to celebrate the survival of the pilgrims? Answer: I don't. She told me she'd ask one of her friends who lives in the U.S. to try to explain it to her again.
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| Mountains, snowy and even more beautiful now! |
Now, if you'll pardon my nostalgia and sentimentality for just a moment, what I can tell you about Thanksgiving is something that I assume, or hope at the very least, we all know: that, putting aside pilgrims, turkey, football and pies, Thanksgiving is a day to be grateful for what we have. This year, I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to study abroad and meet so many wonderful people here in France. I'm thankful for my host family, who have been kind enough to welcome me into their home and their life. I'm thankful that my program director organized a Thanksgiving dinner for my group last night. And above all, I'm especially thankful for all of my family and friends. You guys are the best, really. I would not have been able to do something like this without knowing that I have all of you to return home to. Plus, no one would read my blog if it weren't for you. Lastly, despite all the fun, adventures and life experiences I've been enjoying over here, I'm grateful that I'll be home in just over 3 weeks. I hope you all have found things to be grateful for this year, and I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.
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| I didn't have any pictures of turkeys, so swans will have to do. |
As I mentioned, my week was not completely turkey-less. Wednesday night my group all ate a Thanksgiving dinner prepared especially for us. Although it wasn't quite the same (people here just don't get the idea of eating until you can't move), it was really nice to spend the evening with my fellow patriots and speak english unabashedly. As a pleasant surprise, there was even cranberry sauce to go along with the turkey, potatoes and green beans! For dessert we had french-style apple pie with whipped cream and sprinkles. The sprinkles really topped things off. All in all, it was nice to share a little bit of Thanksgiving spirit here.
One last bit of exciting news: my host family got a puppy today! It is absolutely adorable. I'll try to get a couple of pictures for you. I'm looking forward to plenty of fun with it for the next few weeks, ideally something like the Snoopy and the lawn chair scene from Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving.
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