Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the 4th Thursday in November. Grandma (my landlady's mother-in-law) told me to join them for Thanksgiving dinner about a month before that. And Marianne, my landlady, she invited 4 of my friends along.
I got some work done during the day time, and helped Marianne with some dishes in the afternoon. After grandma came with her pumpkin pies, we started chatting - about the history of Thanksgiving day, and what we were thankful for. Marianne told me about the Macy's Parade in New York City, which we got to watch on the TV. And on this day, the guys will be watching football. The day after Thanksgiving, it's called the Black Friday. It's the day where all the stores will be on crazy sales and people would line up in front of the outlets from midnight just to make sure that they got all the best deals they could ever get. That's my Becoming American #118. No, I lost count of my lessons now ;p
We had some pretty good conversations in the afternoon. Marianne shared how this year has been a good beginning to her, and she teared. It has been 10 years since her daughter passed away, because of a kind of rare cancer. If she had lived, she would be in her late 20s today. I am the 4th NUS student she has hosted, and my seniors who lived with her previously were all guys. Grandma told me that I'm the first girl Marianne takes, and it has worked out perfectly for her. She couldn't even get near girls before, because that would remind her of her late daughter. I thank God that things have got better for Marianne, and that she's able to move on really.
I give thanks for Marianne and grandma have been like my family away from home. Before I fly out for vacation or for work, she would say, "Have fun alright?", or she would remind me to bring all the stuff I need . It's simple things like this that makes me feel like it's a home. Though I would try to spend as much time with her, work has been keeping me incredibly busy. I've been getting back from work past midnight, and I havent seen much of Marianne. It hit me when grandma told me how Marianne would talk to her about me a lot, and that she hasnt seen me a lot lately. I felt so bad, the fact that she talks to grandma about me a lot, it means a lot to me. So I promised to stay in more often and we would decorate for Christmas together.
That was a lovely afternoon of sharing. Marianne's friend came after, and the turkey was almost ready by 6pm. We wouldn't start the dinner until 7pm after my friends arrived. Apart from the yummy food, we had lots of laughters at the dinner table. My first American Thanksgiving experience, great indeed.
So Thanksgiving is about the turkey
a lot of food
pumpkin pies
and the loved ones :)
This is the grandma everybody loves!
Jacquie grandma, and Marianne, my landlady
And obviously we didn't quite miss out on the Black Friday Sale? We went to the Gilroy Premium Outlets at 1am, and we didnt get back until 7am. It's my first experience of shopping, seriously ;p
This is the long line that would lead to Coach, apparently there's a 60% or 70% off for the whole store. No wonder people would stand in the line for so long even though it's so cold out there!
It was a great Thanksgiving. More importantly, I give thanks to Abba Father everyday, not only on Thanksgiving day :)
ears breathing Never Let Go by David Crowder Band, Remedy
Oooo...so much yummy food!
Now...let's see some pics from England and Switzerland! :-)