edensgarden's Diaryland Diary
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Thanksgiving 1995
"Hurry up Eden, we've no time this morning!" "Fine, fine, I'm going." I said back. I hopped out of bed and pulled on a sweater and hat. This morning there would be no Macy's parade, no pies baking in the oven, and no football. My roommate and I ran down to the corner and flagged a taxi. In our hands was a large round container of bread stuffing. As we sped across the River Maritza, I began to feel the excitement of Thanksgiving well up inside of me, I was actually glad about that. This was my first holiday away from home and my family traditions, and I thought I would be sad and lonely, but I wasn't. This was an adventure! We arrived at Stewart's house anddelivered the stuffing. He and his roommates were in charge of the bird and had to deliver it to the public oven by 8 am. It had taken them 5 days of searching all of the villages around Plovdiv to find a turkey that would be big enough to feed 20 people. Years of Communist rule in Bulgaria had left not only the people in an underfed state, but turkeys as well.
It turned into a bright and crisp morning as I set out for work that day. I wanted to tell all the people I met about our holiday. "Today is the day we celebrate our blessings!" Each time I proclaimed that statement, I was met with curious stares and eyes filled with questions. "How can you have such a holiday?" one old Baba asked. "All we have is misery and the old Communists. There is nothing to be thankful for!" "Sure there is, you can be thankful for your house. You can be thankful that you can put your icons up again, and that you can watch Western TV." "Oh, yes, I suppose so." she replied, but she didn't believe me. Others I met during the day were not so skeptical, but rather amazed that Americans would set aside a day to be thankful. One man told me this was the reason I was so happy, because I remembered the things I had been given.
Later that night as we gathered with friends around a table full of traditional Thanksgiving foods, we each took a turn to express what we were thankful for. It came to me, and I had to hold back the tears. "I'm thankful that I'm here in Bulgaria, because it's made me realize how good my life is. I'm also thankful for my family at home, who sends me letters and packages. I'm thankful for my roommate, she is such good friend, and I feel like she's my sister, and I'm thankful to be here with all of you." As the evening progressed, the food disappeared. It was 9 pm and my roommate and I stood on a deserted street corner, bundled up waiting for a taxi to take us home. "It was a great day, wasn't it Eden?" "Yes, it was."
I think Thanksgiving 1995 was the first time I'd been truly thankful on Thanksgiving. In years past it had just been a day to eat, and play, and a day out of school. This season, I am having many of the same feelings that I had in 1995. I know that the current world situation has made it so. This season, I have so much to be grateful for, family, friends, life, employment and so on. But more importantly, I feel much more grounded in my life and my beliefs than I have ever felt in my life. I'm thankful that I can say what I want, and go where I want to go, with out fear. I'm thankful for a great nation that has put aside differences and pulled together in a time of crisis. I'm thankful to see the smiling faces of Afghan women and children, who for the first time in many years have hope. I'm thankful for the beautiful earth that I live on, and the things that surround me, like trees, mountains, sunsets and the moon.
It's a great time to be alive, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!
10:58 a.m. - November 21, 2001
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