Tis A Gift To Be Simple...

Thanksgiving. A truly American holiday. Something that obviously does not occur in India. They may have their own similar holiday, but not around this time, and not with the same emphasizes. Naturally, I was kind of depressed about my first Thanksgiving away from my family. I was to spend a holiday, which I had always thought of as a family holiday, with a bunch of people who had been strangers four months prior. Some still strangers. And yes, I must admit, it wasn't a traditional Thanksgiving. Especially since the night before there were terrorist attacks in Mumbai. But I'll talk about that in more depth (and once I know more) in a later post.
As a group of American students, we decided to have a little party. It ended up being a big party involving the host families, something we did not expect when we first began planning. But in India, nothing ever ends up as you originally foresee it. Anyway, all of us made some food and we for some reason hired a restaurant on a beach to make some food. And then we had our party on the beach as well. It ended up being a lot of fun.
I made macaroni-and -cheese and my chocolate-chip cookies again. The cookies came out a lot better this time and they were all gone half way through the party, so I guess they were a hit. I personally did not like my mac-n-cheese, but everyone else did. I couldn't find cheddar so I had to use a processed, cheddar, mozzarella mix, which, obviously, did not taste the same. Everyone else made awesome food. One of the SYA students, Quinn, the one who organized the whole hullabaloo, (yes, I just used that word. XD) told the story of Thanksgiving to our Indian host families. She did a really great job and it was a really sweet speech. I had heard earlier, that when Jayshree (One of our Directors, she was the one to find the host families) invited the host families one of them said, "Wow. I didn't think American's gave thanks." And I must say, Quinn's speech must have put this host father's money where his mouth is... if that makes any sense at all. But it taught him that we do give thanks, and not just on Thanksgiving. I don't know whose host father it was but... I'll leave it at that.
Anyway, I really enjoyed myself. Even though it wasn't the classic sit around the table and talk with your relatives Thanksgiving. It was more of a mix and mingle potluck dinner, but... you get what you get, right? At least we did something, if we didn't I seriously would have been depressed. Haha.
Much Love,
~ Jenna