Thanksgiving in China

I taught a lesson on Thanksgiving to my students last week, giving them both the holiday traditions (trying to explain stuffing was really challenging!) as well as the history. In each of the classes I asked the students if they knew what holiday was going on. Most classes had to think for a while and usually they gave me the Chinese name first. In one class, when I pressed for the English name, a student replied, "thanks-give-me". Close enough. As I talked about the idea behind Thanksgiving, I really began to think about the deeper meaning of it. I wanted to share how being in a foreign country has given me perspective on Thanksgiving.

On the surface, the warm-fuzzy part of Thanksgiving is the time to spend with friends and family. Seemingly shallower, we eat, watch parades and football, go shopping, and just enjoy a few days off work. All of these “less noble” parts of Thanksgiving, however, are what I see as being distinctly American. I have a greater sympathy for those who move to America and hold on to their holidays because I see now how much a part of one’s life they become. Being surrounded by people who not only don’t celebrate one of the most important holidays to my culture, but don’t even know about it really brought home the meaning of cultural identity.

Cooking has always been challenging here but, I’ve been planning Thanksgiving dinner for some time so I was able to collect ingredients for a good-enough attempt at a Thanksgiving feast. The menu included turkey and stuffing casserole and instant mashed potatoes (thanks to mom and dad), deviled eggs, garlic bread, salad, and oatmeal raisin cookies. Just note that all of the food required ingredients purchased outside of China—even the salad, for which I made a home-made dressing since they don’t have salad dressing here.

Thanksgiving is a day to remember our blessings so at the risk of sounding trite, I want to share the things I was grateful for. I really like the idea of having a holiday to feel gratitude for the things we usually take for granted and if there is one thing I’ve learned here, it is to appreciate things that I never thought twice about before. Things like forks. I only have one fork and while my dexterity with chopsticks has improved greatly, I still think the fork is a superior tool. You can’t eat cake with chopsticks. Reliable electricity and hot water are high up on the list as well.

Probably the thing I have been most grateful for since I’ve been here is the internet and the modern technology that uses it. I’ve been able to keep in touch with friends and family in ways that were not possible during the time I lived in Australia. The contact has really been food for my soul, making it possible for me to be here in relative contentment. I don’t want to imagine how much harder it would have been without it.

And now for the really cheesy part: I know that I whine and gripe a bit in my posts about what life is like here but really, I am thankful for this experience. The value of self-discovery and cultural education gained by living in another country cannot be measured. If this had been all fun and giggles, I don’t think I would have learned the lesson’s I have. We are stronger after facing the challenging times of life for the lessons they have to teach us are more powerful. Good times are sweeter when you have experienced bitterness; the sun seems brighter after clouds. When things seem like they’ve all gone to heck in a hand basket, stop and find something to be thankful for. Ok, I’m done now!