To Be Thankful

Two years a go I experienced my first American Thanksgiving with a good friend and her family in Tennessee. Tomorrow I will be celebrating my second Thanksgiving and cooking a feast with new friends in Mississippi. I am thankful to those people that have taken me in on this holiday and allowed me as an expat to be part of these celebrations.

Today has also got me thinking about how I am thankful that I am in a position to be able to fly home in three weeks time to see my family and old friends. I spoke with a friend a few weeks a go who is from Ghana. He told me that this summer he had been home to see his new nephew, who had just been born. I asked him how often he had been able to go home while studying in Mississippi and he said that this summer was the first time he had been in four years. I am thankful that I am in a position to be able to go home after only four months away.

I am also thankful that I get to study and live in another country, an opportunity that is not available to everyone and that I have been fortunate enough to experience twice. I am thankful that I can embrace all the traditions that America has to offer, while still retaining a strong sense of national pride for the United Kingdom.

Happy Thanksgiving!