Let
me tell you a little bit about Thanksgiving in my family. We celebrate at my
parents’ house with friends and their families. We have turkey, stuffing, sweet
potatoes, and Indian food. We always play bingo. I’m looking forward to all of
these things tomorrow.
Now,
let me tell you about my best Thanksgiving ever. It was not at my parents’
house. In fact, none of my relatives were there. In fact, it wasn’t even in a
country that celebrates Thanksgiving.
My
best Thanksgiving ever was in Hanham, Bristol, England.
There
was no pumpkin pie, because canned pumpkin was not available for purchase at
any local stores.
The
marshmallows on top of the sweet potatoes turned into rock solid sheet because marshmallows
have a different consistency in the UK.
But
let me tell you why it was the best… Everyone still tried the weird sweet
potatoes. They even pretended to like them.
More
so, it was the fact that my host parents, Peter and Denise, let me host a
Thanksgiving celebration in their home, helped me purchase all of the food for
the feast, helped me prepare it all in their kitchen, and invited friends over
to join us.
The
friends all came, bringing wine and gifts, willing and excited to learn about
my holiday.
They
let me teach them how to trace their hands to make “thankful turkeys,” and they
all made one even if they felt silly doing so.
The
rest of the food was not as disastrous as the sweet potatoes, and we all ate delicious
turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes, and talked and laughed together.
I was
and still am so thankful for those people. I don’t know if they remember their
American Thanksgiving experience, but I will always remember their hospitality
and love, and how at home they made me feel in another country.
