Amidst all the things which have been happening globally, I thought I would take this opportunity to write about something considerably more cheerful. This would be the holiday season.
It has been several months since I first moved to the United States to complete my higher education. I’ve seen a couple of celebrations and holidays come and go. The first was Labour day, then Yom Kippur and most recently, Halloween. Truth be told, I only took part in Halloween where I dressed in costume as Doctor Who, specifically the 11th incarnation of the character. I personally thought I managed to pull off the look. I was wearing a bow-tie which I proudly tied myself along with suspenders and a sonic screwdriver. It has been almost a month since Halloween. Now I am celebrating what is possibly one of the bigger and truly American holidays, Thanksgiving.
While most international students choose to spend thanksgiving either with friends or back at Skidmore, I was fortunate enough to have some relatives within the US. They were my mum’s younger sisters both of whom reside in the United States in Connecticut which is about three hours south of Skidmore. I stayed with my mum’s younger sister this time who elected to host me for this year’s celebrations. I was also picked up by my uncle who so very kindly drove up to Skidmore just to pick me up. I managed to repay him with an insane number of thanks and the best tour of the Skidmore campus.
After the three-hour drive, I was reunited with my aunt and immediately embarked on the time honored Indian tradition of feeding your guest. After resting for some time, I accompanied my aunt to do some last-minute grocery shopping for the big meal. On the drive to the grocery store, I learned that my aunt finds Thanksgiving to be her favorite holiday. She finds it’s the least commercialized of the American holidays. It is also the one holiday that brings the family close together. She jokingly said one of the best parts is that there is no obligation to give gifts. The grocery store was not as crazy packed as expected and so we could get our groceries that we needed to complete the feast.
This made me think, in retrospect, about the vast number of immigrants who have made America their home and how they have adapted this holiday. I’m curious to learn how people of different nationalities adapt their cultures into this uniquely American holiday. Moreover, how do they adapt their culture into this holiday if there is no such equivalent back home? While my Aunt is Indian, she is an American citizen and takes a traditional approach to Thanksgiving. Sadly, I was not able to see a unique cultural aspect of thanksgiving. Nevertheless, I was gladly looking forward to what Thanksgiving entailed.
Being a vegetarian, I was worried that I would be limited in terms of food I could eat. Thankfully, my aunt had catered to my vegetarian diet and prepared a world of amazing side dishes. I assisted my aunt in the preparation of some of these dishes and they turned out to be quite the success. My other aunt came for dinner with my uncle and my other two cousins. Between all nine of us at this dinner, we were successfully able to finish most of the side dish items.
Afterwards we took part in a tradition that takes place in this house. All my cousins come together to do either some sort of talent show or a performance of sorts. My youngest cousin, aged ten, was our adorable dictatorial director as her word was final. After running through some classic fables such as Little Red Riding Hood, we decided to perform the Three Little Pigs. My cousins played the titular pigs and the “shop keeper” who sold the pigs the material for the houses and yours truly played the “Big Bad Wolf.” To my joy, the performance was recorded to be saved for all time.
After the performance, the food coma was setting in. We all said our goodbyes and I brought myself and my food baby upstairs to have a well-deserved sleep. All and all I thoroughly enjoyed this American holiday. I mean this holiday is about an insane and ridiculous amount of food and sharing time with your loved ones. It’s hard not to enjoy this holiday. That being said, I started to miss my family in Singapore quite a bit. Seeing my cousins spending time with their parents made me miss my family just a little bit. However, it is less than a month to winter break which means I’ll be able to see them soon! My first thanksgiving was a truly enjoyable, and I was really thankful to have spent time with my extended family my wonderful Aunts and Uncles and my cousins.
I can now appreciate why my aunt enjoys this holiday. It doesn’t feel all that commercialized and I love it when family comes together to enjoy each other's company and eat what is truly an unholy amount of food. It is truly something to give thanks for.
