Thanksgiving Cometh

I thought it was my duty as a good American to comment on the fact that Thanksgiving is coming. I’m finding it very interesting that no one here seems to have ever heard of the holiday. They’ve all heard of Christmas (the commercialism and consumerism of that holiday seems to have found its way into the hearts of Chinese merchants everywhere), but no one has the foggiest idea what Thanksgiving is. For some reason I find that intriguing. In the end, it’s probably the most celebrated holiday in the U.S., and yet a huge portion of the world’s population doesn’t even know about it. What does that say about our new “world is flat” idea? What holidays do we know nothing about in other countries? How can we ever truly understand another culture if we don’t understand what they celebrate and why?

Ok, I’m not saying most Americans even know what Thanksgiving really signifies other than a big feast with family and friends, not even sure I really do, but at least I know in theory. And I think it is a big part of our culture that we choose to go to crazy lengths through hellish airports and roads to find our families and friends to celebrate by eating a big tasteless bird, gorging ourselves on countless delicious side-dishes, and napping it all off afterwards while staring mindlessly at parades and football. It’s a way to bond with our families that we don’t see very much due to our hectic lives, and a way to force ourselves to stop and give thanks for all that we have amongst the craziness of our lives. The question then becomes, what defines other country’s holidays that we don’t know about?

In true American fashion, I will be taking to the roads/skies this weekend to find some form of comfort and familiarity that is associated with Thanksgiving. Tonight I blow this joint after tutoring and head over to a friend’s house to sleep. Sleep – what a wonderful thing. Then tomorrow I will be gorging myself on good ol’American food thanks to the hospitality of friends of friends, and hanging out doing good ol’American things for the first time in a couple of months. Then Friday morning I head out to Shanghai, again thanks to the hospitality of some lovely people. I’m going to spend a luxurious weekend in Shanghai getting clean, eating excellent food, shopping (only window shopping Doug, don’t worry!), and relaxing. Hopefully I’ll come back recharged and ready for my lasts two weeks!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!