Mmmmm... turkey!

The French do not celebrate Thanksgiving. Seeing as Thanksgiving is a more or less fake holiday in the US, I didn't think I would care. It's just a day people cook and eat a lot and then everybody else (i.e. Leigh) likes to watch football except for me, so I have to find something else to do for the rest of the day. So it's not something I consider to be a big deal.

Then this year I couldn't go to my Dad's house for a long weekend, help with the cooking, enjoy a few days in the country and sleep in. That's when I realized that I like Thanksgiving and I want to celebrate it, even if it is a fake holiday. It's a break in the work/school schedule a few weeks before Christmas madness starts, a time to eat good food and relax with family. So even if the Europeans did infect the Native Americans with Small Pox and then slaughter them in their sleep, I can appreciate that I have the opportunity to celebrate "the harvest" by being thankful for my family and my good fortune.

I was very lucky this year though because my supervisor here in France is from Tennessee and celebrates Thanksgiving. This year neither of her adult children could make it back for the holiday so she invited the four of us living in my apartment to enjoy a meal at her house. Obviously we all had to work on the actual holiday, so we celebrated last night (Saturday) instead. It was really nice to sit at a table with friends and eat familiar foods. We also talked about Christmas plans and lifestyle differences between our various countries (USA, France, Germany, and Canada).

Since Leigh was my date, this was also a sort of coming out experience for both of us to my supervisor at work. I normally don't share much at all about myself at work out of the principal of maintaining my privacy and keeping work separate from my home life. Luckily this was a good experience for both of us. My supervisor and her husband didn't bat an eye when the conversation turned toward legal issues in the States that are negatively affecting Leigh and I right now and they seemed to regard our relationship with the same respect they would of any other young, married couple. I can't say that I was surprised, because this is France and conservative Americans don't usually migrate to here, but I was a bit relieved at any rate. It's always scary letting your guard down in front of people with whom you have a professional relationship.

Anyway, today is Sunday so everything is closed plus it's raining outside. I will most likely spend today getting motivated to finish filling out my CAF forms (I need money!) and watching TV online. Soooooo laaaaazy!