感恩节快乐！

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Wednesday was Carey’s 21^stbirthday so we went to Maya bar to celebrate. We spent the night talking and enjoying our margaritas and nachos. This night wouldn’t be noteworthy except for the fact that we saw a football game. Yes, in China, at a Mexican bar, we watched an NFL football game. Someone had got a recording of a game from last week and they played on the projector screen. It was the Carolina Panthers versus the Detroit Lions. Now I’m not a big fan of football—I never watch it or get excited about it. The only games I have watched all the way through were when the Hawks played in the Orange Bowl and the Superbowl. And even those I was more excited about the party and food we had to go with it. But I was legitimately excited to see this football game. I guess it was the best reminder of home because what’s more American than football?

The football game got me more in the mood for Thanksgiving too. We couldn’t watch a game after our dinner, but the day before was good enough. Thursday after class, we had to get all the food ready for our Thanksgiving feast. Let me just say that I am so impressed by anyone who has to cook for a holiday. It takes so much work and planning; I never realized it until I had to do it myself. We had quite the menu to prepare. The chicken was easy; we could just call and have it delivered, but we had to make sure it was ordered at the right time so it wouldn’t be sitting and getting cold while everything else was cooking. Carey and I were the cooks, and we had to figure out when to start the mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, grilled cheese sandwiches, and pasta. I also underestimated how convenient it is to have four cook tops instead of just two; and a full set of cooking utensils. We had to use a rice cooker for one of our pots, and it took forever to boil the water. But everything got done at the right times, and we made a big table out of our desks to sit around.

Since it’s a day of giving thanks and we had to show our Chinese guests the stereotypical activity, we all went around and said what we were thankful for. I was thankful that we could still celebrate the holiday by making a few changes. And those changes—the fried chicken, potato chips, chopsticks, and grilled cheese sandwiches—made this the most special Thanksgiving I have had.

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