Thanksgiving...french style

Well, first let me apologize for my slackness in keeping up with my blog. I will have to blame that on the difficult month I've had. Not that I didn't have access to the internet, just that I didn't have anything particularly positive to write about.

Not to focus on that, but to recap the last month: I'm having major issues with my paperwork. The French government has decided to take their sweet time with my "carte de sejour" (residency card), which I need to do everything. Most importantly, which I need to get my handball license. So, I haven't been able to play any "real" games since the season started- a major bummer.

But anyway, I find myself here, on Thanksgiving Day, after a really rough month and it is hard not to be a little bit sad (or a lot, really). France has been on strike for the last 8 days, so the trains are running sporadically and the university is closed. I have one American friend at school, but haven't been able to get in touch with her to find out if she has plans today and/or something I could invite myself to. Additionally, I've tried to explain the significance of the holiday to my French friends, but they just don't get it. And no one has an oven, and turkeys are hard to find.

And even though I shouldn't dwell on the fact I'm far from home, this is the first time in my life I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my family, and it is making me ridiculously sad. Every year the number one thing I am always thankful for is that our family can be together, no matter what else is going on. I am missing that a lot right now.

I guess everyone comes to a point where they don't spend Thanksgiving at home, but I feel like most of the time, you are at least spending it with someone. I went to school today, but it was still closed because of the strike, and then ended up coming downtown to the internet cafe. I thought maybe I would check out the French-American Center to see if there was something going on, but when I went there, it was closed. A guy came riding up on his bicycle, and was like "It is closed today for some holiday." I was like "Yeah, Thanksgiving...that's why I came."

It was definitely a little Oliver Twist-ish of me just to show up like some orphan at the door, but in my fantasy, someone would have opened the door, said "Oh no, a poor American student all alone in France...come home with us and eat Thanksgiving!" But sadly, just a French guy on a bike informing me of "some" holiday. So, then I walked back to center-ville to try to at least make myself feel better by having noodles at my favorite Chinese place.

Sadly, the walk was longer than I thought, and by the time I arrived at my favorite noodle place, it was 1:55pm, and they told me they were closing the kitchen. So, I found some Chinese place that is open all day and bought myself some chicken lo-mein, and ate by myself. I would have probably broken down at that point, but I thought about that movie "A Christmas Story" when the dog ate their turkey and they had to eat Christmas dinner at the Chinese restaurant. It made things seem a little better until I realized that at least they were together as a family.

When I walked back onto the street, it started to rain. Out of nowhere, a torrential downpour...I was soaked. Then I just laughed, thinking about how ridiculous my whole day has been and that seriously, my life must be some kind of real-life French farce.

Since then I've been online, trying to avoid people's chirpy "Happy Thanksgiving" messages and keeping myself afloat with the schadenfreude of knowing that at least my friend Kathy (one of my friends from the National Team playing in Bergerac) is just as depressed as me. We both agree that the coke we drank at lunch was the highlight of our day.

Soon I will be off to practice, trying (unsuccessfully) to explain to my teammates why I am depressed and what makes Thanksgiving so damn special. No, it isn't like Halloween or Fourth Of July...it is a time to be together with people you love, to share a meal and take a moment to be thankful, not just for the things you have, but for the people. I definitely am thankfully for a lot of things, but being alone at Thanksgiving reminds me that what I cherish most- my family and friends- are far away right now.

So, Happy Thanksgiving...