Thanks Giving

It's hard to celebrate a national holiday when you're not in the right nation. That said, I guess I did as well as could be expected. I spent some time today in the American Store browsing their wares, pretending I knew exactly what I needed for the Thanksgiving extravaganza on Sunday. I surreptitiously checked my grocery list when I thought no one was looking. After returning from the store with pumpkin, yams, and other assorted American-ness, I showered and got ready for work. To give myself the illusion of being on holiday I did as little work as possible, opting to show an old Thanksgiving episode of Friends rather than actually communicate language to the students. The episode unfortunately featured a lot of football vocabulary, and I cringed inside when students asked what a "down" was. I hesitated for a moment before telling them it was a section of the game. Yeah, I have no idea what that means either. After class, I passed up dinner with a co-worker or two in favor of a nice meal with Cathy at our favorite near-the-house restaurant, which felt more thanksgivingy than anything else. My family called during the meal and I got to listen to Baby babbling for a while. Not for the first time, I wished I was somewhere else, somewhere better; but you know, sometimes it's okay when the wish isn't granted.