I hadn’t even realized until right now, this very moment, that this will be the fourth consecutive year I’ve been overseas for Thanksgiving. It’s probably the one holiday I miss the most when I’m away. I certainly miss it more than Christmas or the Fourth of July, and I can’t even think of any others that I miss at all.
I don’t come from an enormous family, and since we don’t live in the same area as most of our family members anyway, we typically spend this day of feasting with family friends instead. It always manages to be the liveliest, lovingest, warmest day of the year, at least in my memory.
Warmest in a metaphorical sense, let me assure you. Central Washington at this time of year is typically bitter cold (and this particular year it’s already snowing, so I’m told).
Thanksgivings past, we’d all be together, my mom, brothers and I, and the warmth from the oven and smells of baked goods and a slowly roasting turkey would fill every room beginning at an early hour.
We’d scurry about making last minute preparations until our friends arrived, bringing with them even more delicious food–far more than we’d ever be able to eat. By the early afternoon, beer and wine were flowing freely and the feasting had already commenced.
For my non-American friends reading this, Thanksgiving is an all-day eating affair; the turkey dinner is simply the finale. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
The sounds of NFL commentary, rambunctious four-legged friends, and clinking glasses were only drowned out by the occasional fits of joyous laughter.
The comfortable familiarity of this scene is what I loved so much about my past Thanksgivings at home.
We weren’t the type of people to get mushy and sentimental over the dinner table, taking turns saying what each of us was thankful for that year. We didn’t have to. We were thankful for each other, and it simply didn’t need to be said.
After dinner, it was game time. In the years before my departure, a simple dice game called Mexico had become a Thanksgiving tradition. Not to brag or anything, but I dominated that game year after year.
In my years in foreign countries I’ve had to discover new ways to celebrate this holiday. Of course, I keep expectations low–how can Thanksgiving abroad ever live up to the lovefest that takes place with my nearest and dearest?
My first Thanksgiving abroad, well, it was during my first big move to another country. I was so swept up in the excitement of being in such a new environment that Thanksgiving was merely a passing thought. I spoke to my family briefly via Skype and then happily went out for a barbecue dinner on the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam with a few hostelmates.
The next year, I tried a little harder. A pub in Chiang Mai was serving Thanksgiving-like fare, and even better, Thursdays were trivia nights at this particular pub. I ate and drank almost like I would have at home that year with a handful of other Americans, and even got to indulge my competitive side.
Just last year, my hostel in Cusco, Peru, organized a Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who wanted to join in. The event had a massive turnout of people from all over the world. There was plenty of food and booze to go around; it was the closest thing I’ve experienced yet to the over-the-top eating extravaganzas I’m used to at home.
This year I’m very fortunate to be attending a special Thanksgiving event put on by my friends at Medellin Living (a website geared toward expats and foreigners traveling to Medellín). A local restaurant has created a traditional Thanksgiving menu and will be hosting nearly 60 people between the hours of 5 and 10pm; American football will be on every TV and it’s sure to be a lively and fun evening, not to mention a great opportunity to get to know other Medellin expats.
My family will be celebrating in much the same fashion as described above, though minus a few extra people this year. New life chapters (relationships, marriages, and babies, namely) have begun to spread our little family even thinner. But no doubt the same feelings of warmth and happiness will permeate the house, per usual.
Because I’m feeling a bit mushy and sentimental this year being so far from home, and in the wake of the realization that someone else has taken the title of Mexico Champion for the last four years (I have no doubt it was Wes), I’m going to end this post with ten of the things I am most thankful for this year.
And because I don’t show my gratitude enough.
1. I am thankful for a life of travel.
2. I am thankful for my loving family and their never-ending support of my life choices.
3. I am thankful for my good health and well-being.
4. I am thankful for the friends who still love me even when we don’t see each other for years at a time.
5. I am thankful for the technology that allows me to talk to the people I love most, pretty much whenever I want.
6. I am thankful for the freedom to live almost anywhere I choose.
7. I am thankful for the experiences that I’ve had, both good and bad, that have led me to where I am today.
8. I am thankful for the diverse friends I now have all over the world and the broader perspective they’ve given me.
9. I am thankful for the ability to take pleasure in the little things in life.
10. I am thankful that I won’t be alone this Thanksgiving.
We should really give thanks every day of the year, don’t you think?
What are you thankful for?
Happy Thanksgiving from Medellín!
