Día de Gracias

Thanksgiving... one of the few days of the year when I actually miss not just "Home," which no longer exists for me, but physically being in the USA. Of course the British all know about Thanksgiving, but the typical reaction is probably most accurately described as, "Oh that's nice." There's just no way to transfer the historical, social, and cultural knowledge, understanding, and implications associated with this uniquely American holiday. (I obviously don't really consider Canadian Thanksgiving the same thing bc it came about in a different way.) But I really appreciate that they try.

So tonight for dinner my housemates and I went to the pub down the road from our house, which none of us had ever been to before.

We were entertained by the musical stylings of some cliché American music during dinner, namely the Backstreet Boys and Hilary Duff. Classic.

I got the closest thing to a Thanksgiving meal as I could: Sausage and Mash with Red Onion and Gravy. Yeah I know... not at all like Thanksgiving. haha

The "Let's pretend otherwise" face

 I was so hungry after spending all day on campus sans comida that I really didn't care what I ate, as long as it tasted good. Check.

Sarah and Chloe both opted for burgers, which of course as a Blackburn I found a perfectly appropriate Thanksgiving meal.

Chloe was in some serious pain after dominating her double decker...

...which obviously is all par for the course on Thanksgiving. As a neophyte to the holiday, she's now experienced the consequences endured by millions of Americans today. haha pobrecita

Sarah, however, was still going strong. She decided to celebrate Movember AND Thanksgiving all rolled into one. Victory.

Of course no Thanksgiving would be complete without dessert, no matter what form it comes in.

 After a slight mishap from the kitchen, we ended up with this delicious dark chocolate hot fudge cake with vanilla cream. Bliss.

Total Domination.

#nevertoofullfordessert

#icecreamfillsinthecracksofthesoul

Of course before we ate I made us all go around and say something specific and recent that we are grateful for, since that IS the whole point of the holiday... I shared a few more specific ones with them, but the overall theme is that:

This year I'm grateful for living the dream. MY DREAM, in fact. I really can't imagine how my life could be any better or how I could be any happier right now. But God keeps surprising me, and my life continues to become more incredible. Thanks to all who have helped me make the UK my new home. And thanks to all who have supported and encouraged me to help me get here. My life is so much richer because of the wonderful people in it. So Thank You!

And Happy Thanksgiving! Feliz Día de Gracias!