It's Turkey Time

It is officially Thanksgiving in Korea today but you wouldn't know it by the looks of things. Although that is to be expected, it is still very hard to adjust to when you have celebrated it every day of your life with family until this point.
They are making us a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and mashed potatoes which is really a big deal here. No football, no leftovers, but I am sure it will be a memorable evening with staff and friends. It seems so very odd to be at school on this holiday, to have a "normal" day.
I do think much more of family and friends today and how I am thankful. I am thankful for this opportunity in Korea, even though things are bit of a struggle right now. I think I finally am starting to understand the feeling of being in the place and time where you are and being ok with just that.
It isn't an easy thing I promise you. But this journey is one that never stops. It is an ongoing process good and bad.
With all of the people I have met now I see more than ever the differences and similarities in who we are. Maybe we all don't share the same customs or traditions. It must be quite hard to understand why this is such a special time for US citizens if you aren't from there. On the flip side, I can't believe some of my new friends have never had a piece of pumpkin pie in their entire lives. So many differences.
But then I have experiences like last night when talking to one of my friends. We have the same saying in two different languages. As she was explaining it I knew what she was saying. This was in reference to our current school situation.
It was something along the lines of "if you have one person to steer the boat, all will go well. If you have too many people steering the boat, you will land on the mountain." A different way of saying "Too many chiefs and not enough indians." The most fascinating thing I am finding in this entire process is that I stop and just listen to the person next to me. We are really not so different. There are boundaries sure, but the core of who we are is there. It takes patience to listen to not only the words that are said but in watching how they are said or by whom. So those of you who think by my recent adventures that I have become some sort of social butterfly, fear not, I have become much more of a listener as well. I just have learned many new ways of being that listener, that watcher.
Definitely something to be thankful for in my book.