Thanksgiving Day: Family Gratitude

Hey folks,

I'd like to share my gratitude this Thanksgiving day here on my blog. Living far away from home for a year was an amazing experience and I'd like to send words of love and encouragement to everyone who wishes to live a similar experience, or whoever is living abroad right now.

My first year in Argentina allowed me to see myself more clearly, and become more attuned to the clockwork of my mind. Many problems and difficult situations presented themselves, and without the proximity of family I found it could be quite difficult to fight through some of them. I believe, however, that the challenges I encountered during my first year abroad have given me a sharper understanding of who I am as a person, including my beliefs and values.

Beautiful golden bird looking mighty fine in the oven!

Missing Thanksgiving last year placed into focus the very real importance of the holiday for me. I recall cooking up a few chicken breasts with apple and caramelized onion, a delicious meal but not quite up to the standards of a turkey, stuffing, and copious amounts of gravy. But the best part is being surrounded by a loving family and seeing the expressions of joy that everyone gives.

This year we all pitched in to make the day a successful one, and in doing so it helped strengthen the family bonds, bringing all of us closer together.  For example, my sister Heidi prepared a homemade pumpkin pie out of a real pumpkin. Nancy, my mother, prepared the turkey and marshmallow salad. I helped out with the cooking and played football with my brother and dad, while my dad helped manage my super energizer little brother.

I'll finish with my gratitude for all the love and joyful expressions given on Thanksgiving. I realized during my year abroad just how important family is in my life. The eternal love expressed by friends and family is a strong foundation which everyone should have the opportunity to share in.

I like to think of every good act, whether towards friends, family, or complete strangers, helps to build and strengthen this familial foundation that continues to bring joy and light, even as the autumn days darken and winter knocks on the door.

Nancy preparing the finished bird!

Heidi working at the homemade mashed potatoes. Mash 'em up bunka!

Aiden, my brother, smiling oh so joyfully as he stirs the gravy!

I got to carve!!!

Playing a little pigskin in 20 degrees (-7 celsius). Brrrrrr.

The future football star and his favorite person.

back left = key lime pie. front = pecan pie. back right = pumpkin pie

I tried all three!!!

Love and gratitude on this special day

un abrazo

Left Argie, life back in the states

Bienvenido amigos, 

I have returned at last to the land of my roots. Ahhhh. Good old Vermont. A land I know. A place where the buses run on time, every retail item has a price tag, and one has the sense that things "generally work." 

I think for me returning to Vermont has acted as a form of therapy. I've found myself reconnecting with my deeply entrenched memories of this place and this has allowed me to regain a sense of balance, which I know I started to lose after being away for so long. 

I was blessed by the visit of a very dear friend of mine, who I met while doing the TEFL course last November. I think the best way to describe Jess would be the very first memory I have of her. I recall sitting in the TEFL classroom, the course had just begun, yet we were still waiting for one person. About 10 minutes into the first class Jess walks in, trying to be unobtrusive, and sits in the empty seat next to me. She calmly, and with a carefree demeanor, explained in reasonable terms that she had walked to class from Palermo (probably several miles) and had gotten a little lost. Well, now that I know Jess a bit more, I realize that getting lost is probably her specialty. Not lost in a negative way, because for her, and as her blog attests, the journey is the destination. For her getting lost is a way of discovering.

Here's Jess's new home she found hiking up Ascutney Mountain.

  

Jess is one of those upbeat and inspirational people who has the amazing ability to stay lighthearted even when confronted with difficult circumstances (to see what I mean check out her blog here) - I found this to be a great counterbalance while she was visiting VT to my often pessimistic and cynical views, and helped us to bounce ideas off each other and take a few inspiring dips into the deep end of the thought pool.  

Showing Jess all the sights and attractions in VT helped me to reconnect with many of the places and activities that are important to me. We went hiking on one of my favorite treks, Ascutney Mountain. We savored the unforgettable Burdick hot chocolate, a yearly - sometimes twice yearly - tradition for me. We were witness to a quintessential American football game, Dartmouth versus Princeton. It'd been a long time since I'd watched a Dartmouth game. I used to go all the time with my dad when I was younger so attending this football match helped reopen those old childhood memories. This game in particular, with white-out conditions caused by the snow storm in the last quarter, made it perhaps the perfect American football game to watch for a Brit (Jess is from England) who's never experienced the sport before.

Here is a wonderful photo Jess took that captures the character of that game. 

    

I also had the opportunity to reconnect with my little brother Aiden. My parents didn't tell him I was coming home because the excitement would have been too much for him. So imagine his surprise and the look of joy on his face when I just show up. His happiness was overwhelming. Well, he introduced me to a new game he invented and I'll admit that despite it's simplicity it was surprisingly enjoyable. All it entailed was running over cardboard boxes on bicycles. I had a grand time until I tried to run over an empty cat-litter box and ended up eating dirt and cold hard earth yet the box was unchanged.

Long live the box destruction game. Awww, and look at that wonderfully happy smile! Who could resist that? 

So many boxes. In the end they all looked like pancakes.

My mom Nancy tries out the game with little success

Overall it has been a wonderful first week back in Vermont. I'm looking forward to catching up with more friends as they return for Thanksgiving and the holidays. I miss Buenos Aires, but I could use a little Vermont country atmosphere and some family time.

Cheers y abrazos