November 24, 2008
Reflections of Thanksgivings Past
I am especially grateful for spending Thanksgiving in America! Such a holiday does not exist in Japan. For 10 years, Bill and I spent every Thanksgiving Day in the classroom teaching as usual. I remember feeling such loss because I couldn't be with my family. We had always played group games, talked and ate until we felt like stuffed turkeys. While living in Tokyo for 6 years, Bill and I ordered a frozen turkey from the International Supermarket ($70) and invited some of our Japanese friends to join us for dinner on Saturday. That helped make up for some of our feelings of loss. Most Japanese do not have an oven, so they were amazed at the size of the bird! They had never seen nor eaten turkey. Another novelty was my pumpkin pie. Pie in general is not a usual dessert in Japan. In the years that followed, our friends began bringing their own contributions to the table. It wasn't unusual to have sushi and kaki (sweet permissions) gracing the table alongside the other trimmings. I thank God for those experiences, but nothing compares to being with family and friends in America!