We were the only ones left in town out of our "work family" during Thanksgiving Day. Our kids still had school that day as the Canadians see fit to be thankful on an altogether different day, which we found very inconvenient, but classically Canadian. So the kids went to school while Philip and I did some Christmas shopping. One of our favorite restaurants in town (popular with the expats) was purportedly having a bonified American Thanksgiving dinner. They claimed to have real turkey and even homemade dressing. As the other option was to purchase a $250 imported Butterball turkey (yes, you did read that correctly) for t-day at home, we decided to take our chances. We were impressed! The turkey was actually turkey! The whole meal was very good and was complete with oyster dressing and some much-coveted cranberry sauce.
The whole restaurant was full of other Americans that had crawled out of the wood work - where in the world ARE these people every other day of the year? We all smiled warmly and said "Happy Thankgiving" to each other like we were family, and I guess, in a way, we were. It really struck me that none of us introduced ourselves to one another. It was like there was enough comraderie and commonality among us, simply as Americans, to enjoy the "big, extended family" feeling and leave it at that. It seemed as if we were all able to understand that anonymity was needed. Maybe everyone there subconsciously concluded that since we are all daily swallowed up by a culture with no personal space or respect for privacy, that each of us, at least for one night, needed to be with his own.
(Ok, yes, it is highly more likely that we are just Americans who really love anonymity and personal space and were too excited to eat a real turkey to care about saying hello, but the other makes for a much warmer, fuzzier Thanksgiving entry.)
4 comments:
Hey guys, just enjoying looking at your pictures and missing you like crazy! During prayer time tonight with Mae Mae and Carter, Mae Mae asked if India was as far away as heaven. It sure seems like it! Hope you are all doing well. Love, Kingsley
Hey guys!
We think about you often and wonder how things are going over there. I found your blog on Beth and Joseph's blog. Congratulations on little Cubbon! What a CUTIE! We are enjoying our new little one, too. Maybe they will be buds someday. I could have told you the gender of the baby if you would have "stepped into the light". :) Remember that? Lots of love- Chris and Curt
langfords!!!! (lyndsay walker slaten here...) i finally found your blog! your mom gave me the address a few weeks ago and i successfully left it at church and chase just helped me find you. i have wanted to keep up with you guys for SO long, and now i get to stalk you cyber-style. awesome.
i LOVE little cubbon!! and seeing all of the langfords faces is strangely comforting, even though i've only been around you guys a few times. i pray for you often, hope all is going beautifully with the ministry and life. who knows - maybe the slatens will visit one day? :) we have dear friends who help run a fair trade store here (www.worldnextdoormarket.com and worldnextdoormarket.blogspot.com). if you know of any good merchants that might be willing to partner up with them, we could make it a work trip. :)
Hey Langfords! I miss you so much. Eleanor i cant wait til you come to Georgia. I love yall so much.
-Ruth Ann
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