By nlgyon
This year was the first time I spent Thanksgiving with people other my my family members. We wake up and run Parkersburg's annual 5k Turkey Trot. My hometown is one of those nice places where everyone knows everyone so the finish line turns into a social gathering, after which we return to our house in the woods and begin preparing our Thanksgiving feast, and it just so happens that my preparations comes in the form of a post-race nap. You don't want too many cook sin the kitchen, ya know? My family is relatively* small, so the day is relaxing, spent in good conversation over the sound of the television, which switches between dog shows and football games.
My experience here was completely different. Instead of Turkey Trotting, I spent my morning half following along to a business conference in Arabic, aimed at addressing challenges facing Jordan's transportation sector. There were two other Americans in attendance who jokingly cursed me for holding this conference on Thanksgiving. After the conclusion of the meeting I traveled, still in full business attire, to the UJ campus to attend a CIEE-sponsored Thanksgiving luncheon, at which I was to deliver a short speech about what Thanksgiving means to me, in Arabic. The delivery was mediocre, honestly, but hopefully someone got something out of it. I was just happy to do something new. I'd never spoken in Arabic to a group of more than or 8 or 9 classmates. Afterwards, my friend hosted just about all the kids (there were about 15 people there) in my program for a homemade Thanksgiving dinner, which was delicious despite the scarcity of options for traditional holiday dishes. While we all felt strange being away from out families on the holiday, we made sure that no one felt sad. It was a delightfully raucous occasion. At one point during the feast we each said what we were thankful for, but with each small toast everyone had a joke or comment or story to add so the activity lasted a comically long time. It was a great atmosphere. Everyone was energetic and loud and happy, which I peg as a result of reflecting on the multitude of blessings we all had. After dinner my roommate busted out his guitar and we all sang and talked into the late hours of the night. I have to say though that one culturally-relevant moment is the one moment that will stand out the most from this Thanksgiving. One of my Jordanian friends attended the party, and it was his first Thanksgiving. Just before leaving, he got everyone's attention and said something along the lines of, "I just want you all to know that hearing you all talk about your families, and everything you're thankful for makes me really appreciate being here in Jordan, and I'm really glad I met you all." I was so happy to see someone open his mind to my culture and gain something from it. While I had experienced first had how taking in foreign cultures can be rewarding, I had never thought about it going the other way.
*HA. See what I did there?