If you weren't already aware, Thanksgiving is an American holiday celebrated only by Americans. This year I'll be spending Thanksgiving in Europe along with hundreds of other American study abroad students. There isn't a holiday so I'll go to school on Thursday like any other day. There aren't any decorations for a holiday that doesn't exist so I haven't seen an animated turkey, pilgrim, or even fall leaves in sight. In fact, I've almost forget that those things exist.
My family will be at home in Texas having Thanksgiving with the family as usual. All of our extended family will come over and we'll have 10 different dishes, too many sides to count, an a variety of pies. My little cousins will sit at the kids' table (from where I have finally graduated) and the adults will huddle in our dining room, all seated on chairs of different kinds because there are too many of us for one set. They'll go around the table and say what they're thankful for and then dig into the food.
Meanwhile, I'll be at home in Spain probably getting homework done or realistically, sleeping (because 6pm in Texas is 1am in Spain).
Afterwards they'll watch football, then go outside and probably play football in the fall leaves.
Although we won't really celebrate Thanksgiving and and we'll miss home a little extra on this day, my American friends and I will probably get together and have some sort of meal.
Ultimately though, there are a few lessons to be learned from celebrating (or not) Thanksgiving from another country.
(1) Not everyone is American. This is obvious but easy to forget when you're stuck in a bubble. Different countries have different celebrations and each is unique and valued and interesting to learn about.
(2) Getting together with family to have a huge meal and be thankful together is important. You don't know what you've got until you don't have it anymore. I never realized how much happiness I get out of a simple holiday.
(3) Friendsgiving can be fun too. At a time like Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my fellow American friends who share similar customs and traditions with me. This also makes me reflect on people who may be alone in another country without anyone to shares these important aspects, even if that country is the U.S.
I"m sure I'll miss Thanksgiving a bit, but I know it will always be there when I come back. Plus, I've gotten to celebrate Spanish holidays that I wouldn't normally celebrate at home!
