My Three Thanksgivings...

Being English, I didn't experience Thanksgiving celebrations until two years ago. It was my first year as a grad student in OUE City and two of my closest friends were from the States. One of their Dads was so upset that his daughter (actually, both of his daughters, as her sister was visiting with us at the time) would be away from home for Thanksgiving for the first time, that he paid for her to take a bunch of us out to dinner. It certainly wasn't a traditional Thanksgiving meal, we went to a French restaurant close by where we lived, but it was really fun to hear about the different traditions that our friends and their families had for this particular holiday. We even played the game that one friend played every single year. We each wrote down two things that we were thankful for (some meaningful, some pretty frivolous), mixed them up, read them out and then we all tried to guess who wrote which one. It was fun, I think mainly because I got to experience a little of a holiday that had never been part of my life before.

Last year was a little different, but I did get to celebrate with my American and non-American grad school friends. Instead of going out, we had an international potluck meal, and everyone brought a dish that was traditional (or at least influenced) by their home country. It was awesome, as in the building I lived in there were 24 students of 17 different nationalities, so the range of food was immense. And, in honour of Thanksgiving, I ate my first and only Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. Ewwwww! It was gross. I totally don't understand why so many people love it. One of my friends literally held a knife to me to make me eat it, and even then I only managed a little. Ewww. Ewww. Ewww. :-(

This year I'm back home with LLH, so not celebrating Thanksgiving in any real way, unless you count the fact that I'm having to watch the Thanksgiving NFL Game (of course, being an Atlanta Fan, LLH is pretty happy right now). But I do feel like I've celebrated a virtual Thanksgiving through many of your blogs. Reading about your plans, your journeys, your food, your families, your stresses and your traditions has definitely spread a little holiday warmth across the Atlantic to the Pink Cupcake House. And so, I raise my glass (yes, any excuse for a glass of red wine!) to all my bloggy pals in the States...Happy Thanksgiving to you all! :)