There is just so Much to be Thankful for This Year!

Thanksgiving in Antigua is bound to be different from Thanksgiving at home. The most obvious difference of course being that Antigua doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, so for Antiguans the fourth Thursday in November is just another Thursday. But for me, being an American living abroad, Thanksgiving has suddenly become more important this year than ever before. I’m not exactly sure why this is but I have a few ideas.

First, I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for this year. Joining the Peace Corps was a dream that I had for a long time and to finally be able to do it is an amazing feeling. Granted, this Antiguan Peace Corps experience is not exactly what I imagined my Peace Corps experience would be… I’m not living in a hut in the middle of the bush with no access to electricity or running water. But I’m still doing much of what I set out to do which was simply to live abroad, learn from people whose culture and background were different from my own, and lend my skills and talents to people who might find them helpful. And at the same time as I’m fulfilling the goals that I had for my work as a Peace Corps volunteer, I’m also having a fantastic time outside of work. Where else in the world can you put in a hard week’s work and then spend your weekends snorkeling, relaxing on the beach, sailing, hiking, or just limin’ in town? Yes, I definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year!

Secondly, Thanksgiving feels really important this year because in spite of the great time that I’m having at work and at play, I miss my family, friends, cool fall/winter weather, and American traditions. Since going home isn’t an option, the second best option is to bring as much of a traditional American Thanksgiving here to Antigua. The other volunteers and I have set off to do a big Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday and man ‘o man is it going to be delicious! We’ve invited some of our local friends to join in on the festivities, bought two turkeys and all the fixin’s earlier this week, and I’m hauling out all of the Christmas movies that I brought so we can have those and Christmas songs playing in the background as we spend the day cooking. So even though it’ll probably be 80 degrees outside, inside will surely feel, smell and sound like a traditional American Thanksgiving.

So if our big Thanksgiving is happening on Saturday, what will I be doing today (on the actual Turkey day)? Well I woke up early this morning, not to watch the Macy’s day parade but rather to do some laundry. I turned on the Christmas carols, filled up my buckets and began scrubbing away. It was my first time using my new rapid washer and I’m IN LOVE with it! It agitates your clothes like a washing machine would and you can actually see the dirt and grime coming lose from them. Between the rapid washer and my wash board, I’m in hand washing heaven. My clothes feel super clean and my knuckles aren’t raw from rubbing the clothes together like a mad woman. After I finished washing my clothes, I filled up my mop bucket and mopped my floors while I sang Christmas carols and took in the nice northerly breeze that’s blowing through my house and signaling that it’s winter in Antigua. Later this afternoon I’ll head into town to meet up with some of the other volunteers and then tonight we’ll all be going to the Air Force base for a big Thanksgiving dinner that we were invited to. That in and of itself will be a new experience as I’ve never spent any time at all on a military base and I’ve especially never had a holiday meal with a bunch of air force personnel. =)

So this Thanksgiving will be much different from previous Thanksgivings. I’m in a new place, celebrating with new friends, and making a lot of new traditions. But I feel so blessed to have the chance to be here and I can honestly say I wouldn’t change it for the world.

For all of my family and friends back home and around the world, I’m thinking of you and miss you lots but I’m sure we’ll see each other soon (you’re coming to visit me right?)!!!! And for my mom, whose birthday falls on Thanksgiving once every seven years, HAPPY THANKSGIVNG AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and I wish that I could be with you today especially… feeling extra thankful for such an amazing mom today.