I know I am late posting this, but given that Thanksgiving is just a regular Thursday here, and I had to sacrifice a lot of my Saturday to decorate my school for Christmas, I hope you will forgive my tardiness. But even though Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here, this was the best Thanksgiving I have had in a very very long time.
Since I have been here, I have found something everyday to relish, and actually give thanks for. Whether it is something as small as getting half price chocolate croissants or something as big as realizing that my life is actually really amazing, I wanted to take the time to make note of some of the things that I am thankful for this year. I'll start small, and work my way up to the big stuff.
1) 1/2 price doughnuts after 8pm- On days that I have classes with the girls, I don't get home until almost 8pm. I am fairly beat, given that I had 24 screaming 3 year olds to deal with all day, and then a half hour moto ride in rush hour traffic, each way. I love the classes with the girls, but everything around them wears me out! So when I get home, I don't want to cook, or even think about what to eat, and 9 times out of 10, the noodle lady is not around. So Jaxon and I will walk to Lucky's, and pick up cheap pastries. They make me happy. And I am thankful for them.
2) My moto driver, Mr. Lo, is someone who although he doesn't realize it, makes me thankful for things that would have driven me into a rage six months ago. At first I would get annoyed with the fact that he is a cautious driver. In my head I would think, we could get there so much quicker! But in the chaos that is the traffic here, he is unwittingly a zen guide for me. One night we were headed back to my apartment, and he stopped at an intersection that of course had no lights or stop signs, to let the traffic cross. Because none of the other drivers around us would do the same, we were stuck with a Toyota in front of us and no where to go. I realized that although it can be annoying, it is also a nice and safe thing to do. It's like letting that car in your lane. You don't have to, but every now and then you should. So I am thankful that I have a kind moto driver, who keeps me safe (which is really hard to do the way most everyone else drives here) and is also kind in the small ways that are easy to overlook.
3) I am thankful that the Christmas show my school was planning is postponed until June. That will be a separate post all on its own, but worth it, trust me! For those of you not on Facebook, the day that I have to get up and sing Michael Jackson's "Heal the World" is now in the distant future.
4) I am thankful for the friends I have made here. They rock, and make me miss my friends back in the US a bit less. But I do miss everyone back there, but am glad that the internet exists to make keeping in touch a possibility!
There is so much more that I am thankful for, but I think you get the gist of what I am trying to say. I am so glad that I made the scariest change I could make, leaving everything I know and own behind to come over here. I work with some pretty adorable kids, I have made some wonderful friends and memories, and I get to teach some amazing girls. They say that happiness is a choice, but I would also argue that unhappiness is also a choice. Which one will you choose today?
