Thanksgiving

So I have tried several attempts at today's post but each time I have felt tears welling up in my eyes and had to stop because in my opinion it is unprofessional to cry at work. I didn't think that it would be that big of a deal to miss Thanksgiving as there are tons of Americans who do not spend the holiday with their families every year. A few examples that I can think of our brave men and women in uniform, business travellers, workaholics, people who are physically but not mentally present, and the millions of Americans living overseas. I am comforted by the fact that I am not the only one who is not spending thanksgiving with my family in the united states of America.

It is early morning EST and plenty of people have been up and busily cooking for a good amount of time. Turkeys are being stuffed and put into ovens everywhere or being prepped for the deep fryer. The rest of the household will be awoken shortly by the aroma of the grand feast that is being prepared right in their very own kitchen - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pies...yum. Later on , long after dinner is finished and people still find themselves hungry, turkey sandwiches will be made and an exciting weekend of college football rivalries will commence. Some may go and see a movie or two and some may even brave black Friday tomorrow - though one never knows with the current state of the economy. For those with likely sticker shock due to the rising prices, a long walk around the neighborhood will certainly suffice.

One of my favorite family traditions, along with talking about the overly commercialized pilgrims who sailed to America on the mayflower and supposedly befriended the native americans (Squanto and friends), has been going around the table and saying what we are thankful for (sorry about the preposition at the end of this sentence). If no one minds (If you minded you would have stopped reading by now!) I would like to share a few things that I am thankful for:

1. For my health and the health of my friends and family
2. For the unconditional love of my friends and family
3. My loyal readers of this blog
4. Urban Meyer
5. Tim Tebow
6. The Gator Nation
7. The opportunity to live and work in Mauritius
8. The state of Florida has yet to be underwater
9. I have my basic needs covered
10. My safety and the safety of my loved ones
11. Facebook
12. CNN.com
13. Everybody that I have come to know in Mauritius (See "Cast of Characters" Post)
14. Email
15. Text Messages
16. The opportunity to pursue a masters degree
17. All of my worries and fears that I have overcame this past year

Anyway - as you enjoy your hearty meals today eat an extra piece of Turkey for me so that I may live vicariously through you!

On the Mauritian front, it has been a relatively few days. The office has been uneventful but was tired nonetheless yesterday as I went home and took a quick nap. Audrey didn't feel like cooking so we all went out for chinese (different place than normal) which was fabulous. I had a quick lunch with Alex today as he had to go and get a haircut. Unfortunately, he was unable to get his desired haircut even after waiting for 45 minutes! It will be time to head home shortly and I seriously doubt that there will be a sparse of turkey on the table. I miss you all and hope I hope that you all have absolutely wonderful thanksgivings!!

Some little things:
-Thanksgiving is just not understood here no matter how much I try and explain it - to the rest of the world it is just an excuse americans use to gorge themselves
-My british friend Toby told me recently after a he had had a bad day that he could see the silver lining in the cloud - some imagery
-I saw a street the other day called Kalee street (Yes I pretended that it was pronounced like my name)
-We were discussing a former french presidential candidate the other day (Le Peine) and communism - I said that I found communism scary and was told that I was "so American" lol. Luckily Audrey backed me up and said that no communist country had ever prospered for long

More later...