Thanksgiving

Sorry this is a little late. I went to Thanksgiving at the Ambassador's again and I think it was much better than last year in all respects. First the transportation: last year because of training we had to wake up early Thanksgiving day and spend half the day getting there. This year two evenings early I went to the place where it would be convenient to catch the early bus which meant I enjoyed a special dinner and was well rested for the trip. Also it meant that my travel day was the day before so I could sleep in on Thanksgiving. Also last year because of Oral Proficiency Interviews we had to leave Thanksgiving day, leaving little time to enjoy the food and see Dar. In contrast this year we stayed, enjoyed the food, watched a movie and football at the Embassy. Some went out to dance but I rolled to bed not to the club.

However, as we all know the two most important aspects of T-day are the food and family. This year the food was great and there was plenty of it. I noticed two things about the buffet style Thanksgiving. First that even though all of the food is good it never feels special. Probably because you don't see anything prepared it seems like no work and builds no anticipation or appreciation of what is being served. Second, you don't eat nearly as much because the event is about being social so you don't want to be leaving the table every five minutes to fill your plate, and people aren't asking you to fill up. Some people would argue that left overs are an important part of the day, but personally I think if everybody leaves the table barely able to leave the house its better than being able to eat all week. Still, no left overs is a detraction the from T-day experience.

Due to time constraints I am going to gloss over the lack of family presence, but note that they were missed and I am really excited that they will be coming in December. Even my sister from China isn't that amazing?

Well cheers,
T.