A Very Thai Thanksgiving or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Eat a Ton of Food Anyway

“I am a foreigner in a foreign land.” – Moses, Exodus 2:22

Last week marked the beginning of the holiday season with Thanksgiving. Or so I hear, as no one in Thailand had any idea what it what it is. It also didn’t really feel like Thanksgiving because it’s 70 degrees and sunny every day. I also had to work on it as well. Very surreal.

Many teachers at the school would ask me what Thanksgiving is. I had never really thought about it before.

“Well, it’s a great holiday. Families and friends all get together to celebrate everything they are thankful for. You eat tons of food the whole day. You just eat and eat. Football is on all day as well as Star Wars/James Bond/Band of Brothers TV marathons.

The premise of it is kinda BS though. It initially began as a celebration for a great harvest and friendship between the colonists and the Native Americans. But the colonists sort of killed most of the Native Americans and stole their land. So yeah. It’s come a little ways since then.”

Homesickness hit me a bit knowing that all my family and friends were back in Evanston. But whatever, it’s Thanksgiving. It’s the holidays wherever you are.

I started out by just stuffing my face with food the whole day. Extra rice at breakfast. A snack of potstickers. Some green tea with lunch? Why not!

I had plans to meet up with some other Americans to get Western food but they fell through. So I turned to the most American place I could find- KFC. I loaded up on fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and French fries. I got a Blizzard from Dairy Queen for dessert. Fun fact: the “Large” here is like a “Small” in America. I debated getting the largest size, “Take Home,” but figured I’d feel completely worthless if I ate it all by myself. Got home and skyped the parents. Boom. Thai Thanksgiving completed.

Thankfully Thais are as crazy about Christmas as Americans are. The mall next to me was completely decked out in Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. It was very comforting to hear the Thai version of “Jingle Bells” as I bought my laundry detergent.

All in all, a very different but enjoyable Thanksgiving. Christmas music is blaring in the apartment and I’m on the prowl for a Christmas tree. I’ve finally learned my lesson not to listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. I started two days before Halloween in the fall of ’10 and peaked way too early. Like Orson Welles.

Anyway, here’s some other stuff going on.

Trouble in the Streets

Some of you may have heard about the anti-government protests that recently turned violent in Bangkok. Most of the stuff you read on CNN is fairly accurate for what’s going on. The protests are pretty isolated and in downtown Bangkok, near the government buildings. I’m not near them and don’t plan to go near them, so don’t worry. The US Embassy Twitter is keeping me in the loop.

Runnin’ Down a Dream

As I’ve mentioned before, exercise is a foreign concept here. My apartment is located right on a highway, so I didn’t really have any place to run. I had resorted to running around my parking lot since I wasn’t aware of any other options. This gained me some notoriety in the neighborhood. When I went to the local market the other day, the woman who owned it smiled and pantomimed running motions. I’m Usain Bolt baby.

Another teacher told me of a good route I could take. I ran down a road near me, Sai 5, which had roads open enough for running. Every person I passed would turn their head and stare as I went by. It’s pretty funny; they’re just not used to anyone running. There’s also a bunch of shops, restaurants, and bars, so I’ve found a new area to explore.

School Dayz

Today at the morning assembly, I found out it was National AIDS Awareness Day. I don’t remember ETHS observing this day when I was in high school.  Students carried banners to the stage and held cut-outs of cartoon condoms. I can’t make this up.

Once on stage, a girl sang a song to the school. It had to do with AIDS I’m assuming. After that a small skit was performed. I couldn’t understand what they were saying but it was hilarious. It showed the negative effects of AIDS- from teen pregnancy to eventual death. That sounds very morbid but it the acting made it very humorous. Following that was a lecture from the director about the disease.

It was fascinating seeing the frankness in which the school talked about sex and AIDS. STI’s are a huge problem in Thailand, so the school deals with it head on. I’m sure this would never fly in an American school. If people are upset about the Common Core Standards, I highly doubt a dancing cardboard condom has a chance.

Well that’s all for now. Davis is in the midst of Cambridge finals, so he should have a monster post soon. Do it Davis, or I'm not getting you that Nimbus 2000 for Christmas.

Mark