Wednesday, November 21, 2001

From: Meg Thomsen meginchina@yahoo.com
Subject: Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Everyone!

Right now, you're packing your cars, getting ready to return to your homes all over the country. You're throwing a duffel bag in the trunk, running back inside for that stray pumpkin pie that you baked using Great-Aunt Tilly's recipe, swearing at the traffic, kicking back to some good tunes as you drive down the long country roads to your town. Or you're awaiting the friends and relatives that will come to visit you. One by one, they pull their Saabs, their Hondas, their mopeds, or their hoopties into your driveway. You hug everyone, and everyone's happy to see you.

Thanksgiving's not an easy time to be away from home. I remember my first Thanksgiving at Moravian. Heidi and I took the 4 AM bus for the long journey home. The trip took an eternity, and seemed especially hellish, probably because we had followed the old college wisdom, "It's so early, you may as well just stay up until then!" But as soon as we crossed the border into Massachusetts, a gentle snow began to fall on the ground. The billboards on the Mass Pike began to look beautiful. The "Traveler Food and Books" had never looked so beautiful. Home had never seemed so sweet. I will truly miss being at home this Thanksgiving. I'll miss the conversation over the mashed potatoes and the Big Game (Hamilton vs. Ipswich) which we always lose, and never end up going to because it's too darn cold and early. I'll miss the morning-after cranberry sauce, and deciding to give the crowded mall a miss. And most of all, I'll miss you.

But we'll be celebrating the holiday in Sichuan. Legions of Peace Corps Volunteers will descend on our Zigong neighbors this weekend. Bob McCracken is planning on chasing and killing a turkey, then cooking it in the fireplace (keep me far from that scene, please! I'll be busy mashing the potatoes.) We'll make a gigantic meal, and we'll eat it among friends. We'll stay up until 5AM playing the guitar and singing (By the way, I can now play "Dear Prudence" and "Uncle John's Band", as well as a horrid rendition of "Closer to Fine".). Julie and I will gossip for about four hours. We'll bed down on a cement and tile floor in our sleeping bags. The students will have a drama competition, and will eat their first Thanksgiving meal.

On the home front, we're celebrating, too. Tomorrow, I'll teach the students to play football, if I can track one down. If I can't find a football, it will be Frisbee. If it's raining, it will be Charades. Surprised that I know how to play football? All those years in the Marching Band might pay off. I didn't spend the whole game playing Battleship with Rachel (smuggled in the bell of my saxophone.) Now this valuable knowledge will pay off.

Wherever you are, I hope that you have a very happy Thanksgiving. Of course, I'd rather be on that ubiquitous Greyhound coming home. But the holiday will be special here, too. You know why? Because I have a lot for which to be thankful. The 5 pounds of coffee that arrived in a care package for Molli. My journal. Guitar music. New CDs. And the important stuff. Fabulous friends, and a wonderful family. And the chance of a lifetime to be in China.

We'll celebrate well in 2003. But have a great time in China.

Love, Meg