Turkey, Pie and Hello Kitty
Happy Thanksgiving.
Many of you will be in the midst of the gathering of friends and family for the food-fest we all love so much and hoping you are not so bored that you are reading my blog until tomorrow. It is the day after Thanksgiving in Vietnam and it is the same as yesterday. As much as I would like to be with my family I have my little family in Hanoi and we celebrated with leftover Mexican food on an unseasonably warm day of 86 degrees.
It is at this time, living abroad, that you realize how important friends and family are. All of the food is good, but secondary. Christmas is around the corner and that will be much more difficult. I do not miss the madness of the dinging bells, the heavily marketed profit business called Christmas, aggressive shoppers, bad traffic, etc. etc. etc. One of the benefits of living abroad is that you become very aware of the importance of the holidays and what is so ridiculous and unimportant.
Speaking of Christmas, Hanoi is in full swing of décor. The Vietnamese like Christmas though it is not as important or celebrated as the huge local holiday called ‘Tet’ in February. It is my observation that many Christmas trees stay up for many months to celebrate these two holidays. Looking around me I am not sure if all the exaggerated décor is for the foreigners or they truly love celebrating Christmas/Tet for over three months. One of the biggest displays I have seen so far was heavily advertised by one of the larger banks here and sadly focuses on spending money and a false idea of what Christmas should be. Imagine the big holiday tree in your city with ornaments, banners, signage pushing Christmas with all bank logos. Riots in the street I am sure.
Will we celebrate Christmas? I am not sure. We are still adapting to new and very different jobs, a new apartment, a new life in a foreign country. There will be many moments of sentiment and sadness of the longing. I am so afraid of accumulating too much stuff after purging (at times painfully) of so many things. Also, life is so unpredictable and unsure of what the future holds. I am sure we will find some glitter and spread it around.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are a time that should be a focus on what is most important. Spending time with friends and family, the joy of giving and yes, even the love of the sparkle and magic. At this time with so much anger and frustration in the world, please remember what is most important. Michael and I are glad to be where we are and want you all to know how much we love and miss you. Eat some pumpkin pie and hang that shiny ball while thinking of us. Xoxoxox M & M.
