Thanksgiving Thoughts

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Well here I am at the end of a great Thanksgiving Day Weekend. Highlights included my sister’s pumpkin cheesecake, getting to see all my friends as they returned to my hometown, the chicken parmigana at Roma’s, and sleeping until 2pm for the first time in too long. The lowlights included, eating way too much on Thanksgiving, stuffing my very drunk friend into a cab at 4am, and the Giants blowing a chance to win the game against Seattle on three separate occasions.

Thanksgiving weekend is always a great time. To me it is the official start of the holiday season. Everyone always comes back, which is not the always the case. You get to find out what everyone has been up to and where their future lies. I heard stories about my friends’ past travels to places such as Bulgaria, Iraq, and the crazy left coast. I also heard of their future travel plans to different faraway countries, from Argentina to China. I definitely enjoy charting my friend’s and family member’s progress as they live their own lives.

One thing that is cool about it is that it gets me thinking about my own journey. Right now I’ve got all my initial materials in and I will soon be taking the next step in my international job search. I am focusing on Asia and South America. I’ve already lived in North America, Europe, and Australia, so those continents seem to be the logical choice. Wherever, I go I would have to sign a two-year contract starting August 2006. I want to go somewhere exotic and learn all about a new culture from an insider’s perspective. I don’t want to just limit myself to the experience of living in my own country. Sure, I will return here to settle down, but in the meantime I want to be part of something different. I also would love to live in a tropical climate where I could savor the hot days and languid nights.

This year I also have two spring breaks. I have a week in April and two weeks in May. I am trying to decide where to go. Of course my job search and its schedule will have a big impact on this. Right now I am pondering the following list, Malaysia, Morocco, Tunisia, Philippines, Ghana, India, Sri Lanka, and Brazil again. It would be a big notch on my belt if I could step foot on African soil. I also have a strong hankering to go back and reconnect with Asia. I feel that I am now ready to return now with those three crazy trips to Thailand in 2004 safely behind me. Who knows what will happen. I guess that is what makes life so damn fascinating. You never know how things will turn out. But something always does…


Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Photos

Thanksgiving Dinner
This is the damage that Tommy No Papers can do to a plate of food.