Thanksgiving from Taiwan

Living at an international school has its advantages. For example, tonight we had a live football game and we had Thanksgiving dinner! We still had to teach today and will have to teach tomorrow, but all of the students had to get dressed up in their nice uniforms, there were tablecloths on the tables, catered food... mmm it was delicious.

And the bar was set pretty high. My family knows how to do Thanksgiving dinner- two turkeys (one oven-cooked, one deep-fried), two kinds of mashed potatoes, two kinds of stuffing, two kinds of gravy, cranberry relish, seven-layer salad, applesauce-jello... I'm forgetting something.

So when I heard we would be having Taiwan's version of Thanksgiving dinner, I died a little inside.

But it was actually pretty great. Especially the pumpkin pie. I had two slices. My students were disgusted. The idea of having sweet pumpkin anything grosses them out because they're used to having hot pumpkin soup. So when they see a cold piece of pumpkin, they think it's going to be nasty. Their faces were really funny when I made them try the food instead of playing with it and shoving it front of the person sitting next to them. They were good sports about it though. I told one that it was in fact a delicious dessert with lots of sugar so it's sweet! His response was, "Well I'd hope so!"

While we were eating dinner, I asked each of them to share what they are thankful for. I went first to give them an example.

"I am thankful for my family for supporting me and loving me every day. I'm thankful for my  new friends here in Taiwan and my friends back at home. And I am thankful for my students who teach me patience and many other things every day. I am very happy you are my students."

Then it was their turn.

"I'm thankful for my cat, my dog, and my fish."

"I'm thankful for my parents for giving me a good education."

"I'm thankful for my friends because we always have a fun time and for my teachers for teaching me and putting up with me!"

"I'm thankful for my family and my brother and my teachers and my friends, Tony and Beckham and Jay and William and Adam and Jeffrey and Kevin... they are my brothers."

It was so sweet! I made the rest of the boys say thank you because what Isaac said was so nice.

It was a very lovely evening filled with football, good food, amazing conversations with students, and laughter. So much laughter.

I thought today was going to be a lot harder than it turned out to be. I miss my family dearly but this experience, and being able to share a wonderful family tradition with young people, is exactly what I needed.

I am thankful for so many things in my life. I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world to have such a wonderful support group back at home.

I'm thankful for my family: mom, dad, and E. I love you so much and miss you more and more every day but I know that if things were even a little different, I wouldn't be here. Thank you for always supporting me even though it means I'm 7,000 miles away during the holidays.

I'm thankful for my friends in the States. I don't know what I'd do without your support from afar. Thank you for making this experience so much more meaningful with your kind words.

I'm thankful for my friends here in Taiwan. As this week proves, when it rains, it pours. Not only is the professional support wonderful, but the friendships we have formed on top of that are each amazing in their own way. No matter what is thrown our way, we will be there for each other and that's how it should be. It's much harder to get by in a school when you're an island. I'm learning something new every day. In your own way, you are each helping me become a better teacher, a better friend, and a better person. I still have a lot to learn, but I know that being here working with all of you is helping me become the person I'm supposed to be.

Finally, I'm thankful for my students. It's because of them that I love it here so much. They push my buttons and make me want to scream, but through those times they are teaching me patience and understanding and empathy. Those are skills that are not taught in college education classes or even during student teaching. Those are skills that are learned when you are in your own classroom with your own students overcoming your own challenges on a daily basis. When I'm having a bad day, they can tell and they try to make me feel better. They ask me about my family all the time and remember everything I tell them (one student remembered that today is my dad's birthday and started singing "Happy Birthday" at the top of his lungs! I had to stop him though because he was in fact yelling the song. I think he wanted my dad to hear him in 'Merica.)

Basically I love it here. What's new, right?

Happy Birthday pops!