First off, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year! Mine was a bit out of tradition since I am living on another continent for the first time ever on this great American holiday. As expected, I was a bit homesick when I first woke up Thursday morning. I reminisced in my head about big parties we used to have on Thanksgiving Eve when all my childhood friends were back in town; then sleeping late all day only to wake up to large quantities of the best food ever. Next, all we were expected to do was sit back with family and friends while watching football. I also remember times in my childhood when we would go visit family in New York or New Jersey and would always end up in a late afternoon football/basketball game. I really have great memories of this holiday. :)
This year, as I expected, would be a bit different. I had the option of traveling to spend time with other American friends throughout Ukraine but decided on a different approach to celebrating. I really wanted to share this holiday with the wonderful people whom I have met in my city. I decided to stay local and threw Thanksgiving parties in my Beginner and Advanced English Club Thursday night. We began by sitting around a large table and talking about the history of this holiday. Next, we went all around the table and spoke about what we were thankful for. I was very impressed by the participation in this exercise. My friends were very pleased to learn about this holiday and even expressed a strong desire for such a holiday to exist in Ukraine. We concluded by completing some art projects which included what we were each thankful for and then watching the Thanksgiving "Friends" episode while eating cake and drinking tea. Afterward, while reading some of the projects, I noticed that my students said they were thankful for me; thankful that I came here, thankful that I want to teach them and hang out with them (and also learn about their own culture/language), thankful for God and thankful for our "Shelter Plus" organization. For the first time I realized, this holiday is not about the parties, the food, or the football games... its really about the people whom are placed in front of you throughout your life. I'm forever thankful for the people whom I have met here in Ukraine. Though I have only been here for 6 months now, I know that they are lifetime friends.
**This is a picture of me and some of the girls on my soccer team!
This year, as I expected, would be a bit different. I had the option of traveling to spend time with other American friends throughout Ukraine but decided on a different approach to celebrating. I really wanted to share this holiday with the wonderful people whom I have met in my city. I decided to stay local and threw Thanksgiving parties in my Beginner and Advanced English Club Thursday night. We began by sitting around a large table and talking about the history of this holiday. Next, we went all around the table and spoke about what we were thankful for. I was very impressed by the participation in this exercise. My friends were very pleased to learn about this holiday and even expressed a strong desire for such a holiday to exist in Ukraine. We concluded by completing some art projects which included what we were each thankful for and then watching the Thanksgiving "Friends" episode while eating cake and drinking tea. Afterward, while reading some of the projects, I noticed that my students said they were thankful for me; thankful that I came here, thankful that I want to teach them and hang out with them (and also learn about their own culture/language), thankful for God and thankful for our "Shelter Plus" organization. For the first time I realized, this holiday is not about the parties, the food, or the football games... its really about the people whom are placed in front of you throughout your life. I'm forever thankful for the people whom I have met here in Ukraine. Though I have only been here for 6 months now, I know that they are lifetime friends.
**This is a picture of me and some of the girls on my soccer team!
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