Thanksgiving: what does it mean? What are you thankful for? These are questions that I asked my older students this week. Most answered "giving thanks" or "saying thank you", and told me that they are thankful for their computer, mobile phone, pets, family and friends. I told them that the holiday is important in the US, and that more people travel to see family and friends on Thanksgiving than on Christmas. This was surprising to them, and I tried to explain that the entire celebration revolves around being thankful for what you have; the most important being family. This got me thinking about past thanksgivings with my family, and how much I would miss small things like arm-wrestling tournaments, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, the smell of thanksgiving, and seeing all my relatives on one day.
Today is Thanksgiving and Jeremy and I had our own little Thanksgiving meal, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, crescent rolls, and pomegranate (no cranberries). It was good, and even had the smell of thanksgiving, but it still wasn't the same. It was just the two of us and our families were far away (about 4,325 miles) and all we could do was reminisce about past thanksgivings. However, sitting there, just the two of us, made me super thankful to have Jeremy with me, because without him, living in Polička would be much more difficult. There are still times that we get lonely, even though we have one another, but it would probably be much worse with out each other. I can not imagine living in a foreign country by myself. I am also thankful for this experience, because it is teaching us a lot. Everyday there is something new to learn, be it Czech words or how to be more patient or when to discipline. But I am most thankful for our families and friends for supporting us during our time here. It is nice to know that people are praying and thinking about us. Each time we get something in the mail it is really exciting because it is from home. I hope everyone back home is having an enjoyable Thanksgiving spent with family and friends.
Thanksgiving: what does it mean? What are you thankful for? These are questions that I asked my older students this week. Most answered "giving thanks" or "saying thank you", and told me that they are thankful for their computer, mobile phone, pets, family and friends. I told them that the holiday is important in the US, and that more people travel to see family and friends on Thanksgiving than on Christmas. This was surprising to them, and I tried to explain that the entire celebration revolves around being thankful for what you have; the most important being family. This got me thinking about past thanksgivings with my family, and how much I would miss small things like arm-wrestling tournaments, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, the smell of thanksgiving, and seeing all my relatives on one day. 
2 comments:
Happy Thanksgiving Jamie and Jeremy. I bet it is times like these that make you miss home the most. Love, Sallie
happy thanksgiving!! we missed you both at grandma g's today. i'm glad you had a thanksgiving dinner there..it looked yummy. no one arm wrestled this year. dad wouldn't do it so no one did. maybe they will be up for it on christmas. we are thankful for our "favorite" daughter and son-in law!!! love dad and mom
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