Being away from home this Thanksgiving has been a lot harder than I anticipated. I am going to miss picking my parents up from SeaTac Airport and driving up to Vancouver. I am going to miss doing American Thanksgiving in Canada. I am going to miss the wonderful view from the skyscraper condo that my dad finds on the internet a month before. I am going to miss Skype sessions with friends back home. I am going to miss doing grocery shopping for our Thanksgiving meal. I am going to miss watching a hockey game with my dad while my sister and mom cook our yummy food. I am going to miss sauteing green beans and adding extra garlic. I am going to miss my mom and sister’s yummy pumpkin dessert. I am going to miss the potential for a family snowball fight while on a walk. I am going to miss the snow, and the cold weather. I am going to miss being in the presence of my family.
While I will be missing a lot, the appreciation of these things that comes as a result of being away from them is something to be thankful for.
It is so appropriate that we spend this month and the Thanksgiving holiday in Thailand because blessings have just poured out of this country and we have so much to be thankful for.
First of all, the food here is fantastic and there is certainly no lack of it!
We are spoiled with plates of Khao Soi, Guaytheo, Pad Thai, and fried rice daily.
There are so many fruits and vegetables!
We get to eat the most delicious rotees for dessert (I recommend the banana rotee with chocolate) and shop for snacks at 7-Eleven.
We get to clear and work on 20 acres of land so we never have to feel guilty about the large amount of food we’re consuming.
I get to use a “sickle on a stick” and trim palm leaves.
We never run out of drinking water or water for showers.
We get to sightsee.
We got to ride the elephants!
I got a two hour Thai massage for dirt cheap! And I got to try a doctor fish foot spa (it tickled so badly!)
We get to shop for Thai pants and jewelry and find treasures at huge markets in Chiang Mai (Here we are showing off our Thai pants!).
I got to watch the last Twilight movie at a really nice movie theater in the city (and laugh through it with my teammates and squadmates).
We got treated to a nice Italian dinner and I got to eat spaghetti carbonara.
We get to drink Starbucks whenever we’re in downtown Chiang Mai.
We got to eat at a Thai buffet (with fried banana!) that was surrounded by an orchid and butterfly farm.
We got to attend a cultural dinner and watch traditional and hill tribe Thai dancing.
We get to eat dinner and hang out (I love playing badminton with them!) with children almost every evening.
And, we have American contacts who have invited us to their Thanksgiving dinner.
Thailand is a beautiful country and I am so thankful to be here. Being away from home has made me appreciate the things I’m missing and being here in Thailand has made me thankful for a whole new set of things.
