My Chinese Thanksgiving was split into two parts. I'll start with the part that happened on Thanksgiving day. My first thing that I was grateful for that day was that I only had one class at 1:00 PM, and I had already finished all my homework for the week, so I had a lot of free time to relax and enjoy the holiday. I slept in, watched some TV, read my book, went to my class, and chatted with the other Flagship students all day. In the evening, I went to celebrate with some friends. We got together and headed to the most American restaurant we could find: a burger place called Momentum. It was a little more expensive than eating at the cafeteria for 10 RMB, but I indulged and got the "Hell Spicy Burger." (It wasn't very spicy, unfortunately. I had to add Tabasco sauce.) We sat, ate, and talked for a solid two hours, and it felt great. We even went around the table and said what we were thankful for like true Americans. Even though there was no turkey -- or any poultry at all, for that matter -- it still felt much more like home than China usually does.
The second part of Thanksgiving was on Saturday. Our branch is awesome, and they set up two activities. The first activity was Turkey Bowl in the morning. Even though I am not at all a football player, I headed out to the Nanjing Foreign Language School and played with them. It felt really good to actually be outside exercising; it's been a little chilly lately, but it was a beautiful day. The second activity was the real showstopper. The Relief Society worked with the Nanjing University cafeteria and cooked 13 turkeys, buckets full of mashed potatoes and more than three gallons of gravy. They naturally invited the whole ward, and the ward members invited a lot of people as well, so we had upwards of 150 people there. As is tradition, we stuffed ourselves with food, and then we had a little variety show and spiritual thought. Although the food was plentiful and delicious, I think my favorite part of it all was seeing everyone getting along, members and non-members alike. It was especially great to see a lot of my non-member Flagship classmates there with us. It was a time that will remain in my memory forever.
In conclusion, even though I wasn't in the US to celebrate one of the most American holidays there is, and even though I didn't have roast duck at a Chinese restaurant, this year's Thanksgiving is certainly one to be thankful for.
-小强
 |
| I forgot to take pictures at the Thanksgiving activity, so here are some cool clouds. |
No comments:
Post a Comment