a little different this year

THANKSGIVING

This Thanksgiving i didnt have the rush of relatives through my door, the clanking and clinking of pots and pans or the warm smell of a fresh turkey and stuffing. i didnt have the delicious sweet cranberry sauce, the homemade rolls, or the yummy stuffing.

I didnt get the build up from the plethora of ads broadcasting this holiday... i didnt see the decorations of turkeys in pilgrim hats fill the shelves. I was positive that it wouldnt feel like Thanksgiving at all this year, because after all these things are all I have known for thanksgiving!

This thanksgiving i had a whole new kind of rushing, clinking, and smells.

on thanksgiving day we sat around the classroom with all the kids and their parents making a turkey craft, then that night had a big chinese thanksgiving dinner with all the chinese teachers from our school.

Friday night we planned a big thanksgiving meal with our favorite ILP group in xiolan
we tried our very best to bring an american spin to our dinner. as i sat around the table i smiled as i watched my china family talk and laugh over cute costumes and cold KFC.

Although there was a part of me that was homesick for my mom stressing over a vacuumed carpet, a new tablecloth, and the table being set just right....watching my dad cut the turkey and mash the potatoes in a way only my dad can mash... THIS will be a thanksgiving that i wont ever forget, im in CHINA after all!

i couldnt think of a better place to be to open my eyes to all the blessings in my life.

I had a very thankful thanksgiving

some photos :)

turkey crafts at school

thankful tree

chinese version of thankful tree haha

our chinese thanksgiving dinner.

hahah basicallyyy.. wasnt any different than our normal dinners everynight, they just cooked a butt load of it. they are so sweet :)

mmmmmm and the real food begins! ... kinda

we may not have had fresh homemade deliciousness from our mothers like we normally do... buut boy were we excited to eat some wanna be american food, with some added chinese food for our chinese friends who were joining us!

so many mashpotattoooooooeeessss!!!!

nom nom

i basically love our xiolan group. they dressed up like pilgrims and indians.. it was adorable.

heres us eating dinner

mmm doughnuts we concocted

after din din we went out to a flower festival there town was having.. i didnt think it was that cool, but i sure did have fun with the girls!

i was so sad that i wasnt going to have these things that make it feel like thanksgiving...

but this year i had a REAL thanksgiving.

everyone brought a dish to share.. ending with things like onion rings, dumplings, mashed potatoes, KFC, broccoli, pumpkin cookies and noodles... we gathered around the table; all of us from different part of America and some from China, and we ate a big feast together
and shared with each other the things that we are grateful for.

Now isnt that a true thanksgiving?!