Although I celebrated Friendsgiving with my JET friends on Monday, and yesterday was the last Thursday of November for me, at home my family and friends are currently stuffing their faces with official Thanksgiving dinner. In the spirit of things, I decided to make a list of things I am thankful for at the moment. I could go on forever because I have an insane amount of gratidude for the life I lead, but living in Japan has made me feel grateful for the following things in particular:
- mashed potatoes (the one dish you can't screw up because you don't have the exact ingredients you need)
- the Internet
- Japanese elementary schools
- Zicam (I've had 3 cold since being here, all killed quickly with this miracle drug)
- parenthetical statements
- turkey (can't find them here)
- hugs (I used to average one a day, now I'm down to about one every two weeks)
- Skype
- my parents' belief in orthodontia
- Shutterfly
- patience (for myself and for others)
- Hulu (oh, the simple things I took for granted!)
- Bernoulli's principle of flight
- the gift of sight
- chocolate
- love (this should have been first, I know)
- past experiences and opportunities (which have molded me in countless ways)
- California
- open-mindedness
- Snuggies (I shall bring mine back when I go home)
- family
- babies
- adventure!
I hope everyone ate a ton, felt sick, laid down, and then got up for round 2. That's the spirit of America! :-)