Looking back at Thanksgiving 2008 some day, I will probably find the memory tucked way back in the spot where I treasure all the thrills of roller coaster rides I've ridden.
The day started just like waiting in line for a ride. It was an ordinary Thursday here in Taiwan. All the local kids had school. No one was bustling around getting last minute ingredients and none of the food stores were crowded. Caitlin and I were out and about tracking down the last of our needed items. As we walked down the street I found myself desperately trying to "find" Thanksgiving. At this point I was willing to try catching it in a butterfly net, wrestling it to the ground and holding onto it for dear life. Despite my desperate search for the meaning of Thanksgiving in Taiwan, I was feeling rather confident (for the moment) as we were moving along. There was a cool breeze caressing our faces and wind in our hair. "Ah, now that's more like Thanksgiving." I thought. Yes, it was cool here that day. Perhaps a little under 70 degrees. It actually felt a bit like fall and Thanksgiving is in the fall, so there-mission accomplished! I found some Thanksgiving. Then I started to think about how we were going to celebrate this year and I arrived at a thought that brought me to the peak of my day. (So, if you're on the roller coaster with me, you're out of line, seated, seat belted and have begun to ascend the big, steep hill.) Tradition. What I have with me on this Thanksgiving day is tradition. It may not be MY tradition, but I have the privilege of sharing bits and pieces of traditions of many families from many different places all around one table in the spirit of thankfulness. In that moment I decided that as long as you've got tradition and people to share it with then all is well. And so it was...
On Thanksgiving day we met up with a few families and shared a wonderful meal with all of the traditional Thanksgiving yummies. So many of you were concerned that we would be eating duck and sushi for dinner...rest assured we ate American that night. Turkey, cranberry sauce, ham, stuffing, gravy, mashed taters, salad, bread, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin ice cream pie...ah yes. Pair that with a few glasses of wine and you might even begin to picture my grandmother at the table! But it was missing something...there was no anti-pasta to roll and munch on. No fire in the oven from either sweet potatoes too close to the broiler or a 30 pound turkey over flowing onto an electric coil. No heated discussions between hot headed Italians about the Democrats winning the presidential election. I missed having a conversation with the person next to me and not really being able to hear what they said. No broken wine glasses. No apple cider. I sooo missed my grandparent's 5 loaves of Italian bread. No one snoring at the table. I couldn't hear my mother swearing at her stove/oven. On second thought, I do think that was audible from here...ha! Above all, I really missed my family. I missed seeing my baby brother come home from college for the 1st time. I missed seeing my other brother and having his girlfriend fix my crazy hair. I missed having everyone spoil our Caitlin. I missed my cousins, my aunts & uncles, my parents, my brother's girlfriends' parents, our neighbors, friends, grandparents and everyone else who fills our home each year. I miss the feeling of just when you think you can't fit anyone else around the table, the doorbell rings again. I almost missed the cold weather too! So the ride started down the steep slope of reality. I am in Taiwan for Thanksgiving. It's the first Thanksgiving I have spent away from my family. Ever. Ugh. Truthfully, I was actually happy to see the day end.
Friday felt a little more like Thanksgiving for me. For starters, I got to see everyone I miss so much on the web cam. My mother called around 9am. Everyone was in one room gathered around the computer! It was sooo heartwarming. Plus, by the time they called I had a pumpkin pie in the oven and pumpkin soup on the stove top. Now I can see Thanksgiving and I can smell Thanksgiving. So, my crazy little cart on the roller coaster of life climbed back up the mountain again. I decided that Thanksgiving falls into my new mantra - when in Taiwan, I get to make all the rules!!! Earlier this month, I declared that Thanksgiving should be on Friday. That way no one would have to go to work the next day! So, I moved our Thanksgiving to Friday. We invited expats from Iowa and a few Taiwanese friends who have never celebrated this holiday before. Our goal was to re-create the day for them. We recorded the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Dallas football game and slingboxed it over here to view when our company arrived. Funny thing about the parade that I never realized before - it is soo much about American pop culture. Worst part about that is I am in a pop culture vacuum right now and hadn't a clue who half of the singers/celebrities were! We told them all about the giant balloons and the Rockets and how cold it is there. We talked about marching bands and dancers and Santa Claus. I got all excited when I saw Kermit the Frog (I used to LOVE Kermit the Frog)only to realize that the Taiwanese haven't a clue who Kermit the Frog is!!! Oh well.
For dinner we had turkey, sage stuffing, cranberry relish, golden buttermilk mashed potatoes (which, for some reason the sweet potatoes here are yellow instead of orange. Either that or I bought the wrong ones...not that I ever really know what I am buying), salad, foccia bread, broccoli, pumpkin soup, cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto, pumpkin pie and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Some of the best smells ever came out of this apartment that day. It was glorious.
Our guests were troopers. I don't think that our Taiwanese friends had any clue what they were eating or had ever experienced some of the flavor combinations presented to them that night. I hope none of them felt as panicked as I tend to be when I don't know what I'm eating. If they did, they didn't show it! They tried everything and I think they enjoyed it. At least, that's what they told us. They seemed honored to be invited and showered us with so many kind words and gifts. It was a fun night...one that I might reach back and think about when I grow weary of being here. It was complete with that tingly feeling you get when someone reaches inside of you and touches your heart. The night was all that Thanksgiving is supposed to be and I was thankful for it all. So after this night I can truly say that my cup overfloweth...
Even though there were days of dishes left to wash, the night ended on the upside of the roller coaster. Which is good because I still have to do this again next year...
