Wah wah wee wah! This holiday season has been jam packed full of excitement and friends. It has left me with no lack of social gatherings, but has significantly decreased time to do anything else. Thus, I have failed at keeping you guys updated - even though I think its safe to say, you guys are fighting through your own holiday battles.
This Thanksgiving was incredibly special to me. It was the first time I've been in a complete foreign surroundings with no relative within reach. I thought the event would make me sad and I do have to say I was a bit nostalgic for Texas, but what I had in exchange was just as heart warming, if not more.
Our hosts for Thanksgiving were two of my good friends Stephanie (American) and Luke (British). After all invitees arrived, the room was comprised of American, British, Scottish, Filipino, straight, gay, you name it. It was truly an international event. The spread was the usual American feast with mounds of potatoes, pie, and casserole that was devoured to the last crumb by all.
I enjoyed every bit of my international Thanksgiving, but the award winning moment was getting to witness how truly uncomfortable Brits are with open and honest emotion. From what was explained to me by our host, Luke, it is incredibly uncommon for the British population to go about expressing one's emotions on any given day, in any given circumstance, to any given person - unless it's behind closed doors in a personal setting. Instead of living all out there in the open like plenty of Americans do, their emotions towards one another are masked in heavy cloaks of sarcasm. If you're the brunt of the joke, it more than likely means you're an alright guy/girl.
Naturally, the American (and Scottish and Filipino) part of the room glided through the verbal professions of Thanksgiving quite smoothly. We all joined hands and laughed as the British half of the room's demeanor shifted from having a pleasant time, to blatant physical discomfort. The nervous tension emitted from that half of the room could have been scooped up with a spoon and served with pie. Side glances, jokes, and anxious laughter accompanied each one of the Brit's speeches, but in the end, they seemed to have been relieved, maybe even a bit proud, to have survived a moment of raw emotion.
What was I thankful for, you ask?
Living abroad is a bit tricky from time to time. One tends to initially endure a period of extreme isolation and loneliness when arriving in a new country. Then one day, it seems you somehow magically trip and fall into a steadfast group of loving friends willing to do anything for you. Bonds made abroad have a bit of a ferocity to them as there is less opportunity to conveniently trade one acquaintance for another. The cheap bull shit small talk is, for the most part, at a minimum. What you view as trivial or important tends to shift entirely.
The bonds I've experienced abroad, albeit transient, have been solid, concrete and have existed in a much more emotionally raw state. For this, I am incredibly grateful. It is not everyday that someone gets to experience these types of friendships or emotions that accompany them. I'd say it's fairly rare, in all actuality.
I'm thankful I have this life abroad which shapes my strength as a human and I'm thankful I tripped and fell face first into a group of people who give wholeheartedly before I even have to ask.
Living abroad is a bit tricky from time to time. One tends to initially endure a period of extreme isolation and loneliness when arriving in a new country. Then one day, it seems you somehow magically trip and fall into a steadfast group of loving friends willing to do anything for you. Bonds made abroad have a bit of a ferocity to them as there is less opportunity to conveniently trade one acquaintance for another. The cheap bull shit small talk is, for the most part, at a minimum. What you view as trivial or important tends to shift entirely.
The bonds I've experienced abroad, albeit transient, have been solid, concrete and have existed in a much more emotionally raw state. For this, I am incredibly grateful. It is not everyday that someone gets to experience these types of friendships or emotions that accompany them. I'd say it's fairly rare, in all actuality.
I'm thankful I have this life abroad which shapes my strength as a human and I'm thankful I tripped and fell face first into a group of people who give wholeheartedly before I even have to ask.
 |
| The Spread |
 |
| The Brits. |
 |
| The Calories |
 |
| Thanksgiving |
