On Thanksgiving morning, normally my sister and I would help clean the house, set the table, and help my mom cook delicious food. Instead, I woke up and went to class. Since I was able to walk outside in a t-shirt and jeans, it definitely did not feel like Thanksgiving. After class, I spent the afternoon doing homework and lazing around. Then Trace took me out to dinner in Tsim Sha Tsui. We went to an American restaurant (I forget it's name) where they served a Thanksgiving meal. I looked at the menu and decided, rather than ordering a meal that wouldn't even stand on the same level of comparison with my mom's cooking, I would just order pasta. Trace ordered the Thanksgiving meal. I am glad I didn't order it since it was mostly turkey and barely any mashed potatoes (for those who don't know, I am not a big meat eater so turkey is not the highlight of Thanksgiving for me). Trace said it just tasted so-so, but the pumpkin pie she got for dessert was good. It was very nice of her to take me out to dinner. She has been such a generous and kind roommate and I have been very lucky to room with her. We walked down to see the Christmas lights at the harbor and then Trace went off to meet a friend and I headed back to Lingnan.
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| Christmas decorations in ISquare (where we went for dinner) |
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| Restaurant's version of Thanksgiving dinner. |
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| Picture taken with Trace's Polaroid camera |
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| Christmas lights in Victoria Harbor |
It was definitely not one of my better days. I guess the fact that on holidays you are supposed to be with your loved ones eating lots of delicious food together and enjoying each others company just made it really hard for me. I felt very alone. My time abroad has definitely not been the easiest thing I've had to face. Actually, I would put it in the top three of all difficult times in my life. I'm very alone in a place where I look different, speak different, and have very different values. However, being alone has given me a lot of time for self reflection and I have started to really solidify who I want to be as a person. Not like that can every be a solid thing because I believe people are beings that are constantly changing. However, there is something at the core of every person that remains the same. It has been a challenge for me to remain true to that part of myself, especially at this age.
From talking to my family and friends, it sounds like everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My family ate a delicious meal with family friends. Kelly made some scrumptious desserts to enjoy with her family. Rachel cooked a fabulous meal to enjoy with her friends in London. Megan was able to celebrate Thanksgiving by cooking and eating a Thanksgiving meal in Japan with the people she lives with. I am really glad she had such a great Thanksgiving since I know she's been having a difficult time being abroad as well. Sometimes, a really good day just outshines a stream of really bad ones and makes it all worth it.
In the light of Thanksgiving, I tried to dwell on what I am thankful for rather than how lonely I am here and what I am missing. I am thankful for my loving and wonderfully supportive family. I couldn't ask for anything better. I am thankful for my gorgeous and spacious home with a rich history. I am thankful for the adorable animals that live with us. I am thankful for my spectacular friends who I know will always be here for me and have always seem to have a ready ear to listen to me when I just need to vent. I hope they know I am there for them always. I am thankful for the opportunity to get a great education. I am thankful for the chance to study in another country so completely and totally different from my own, even if it has been trying. And most of all, I am thankful for the chance to live. I want to live my life to its fullest.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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