An interesting thing about Chinese cuisine is that it is completely devoid of turkey of any kind. Nowadays in Shanghai there are plenty of restaurants that specifically cater to the foreign palate, so turkey isn’t all that hard to come by. This was not always the case, however.
The youth leader at our church told a pretty funny story that happened a little while back in Shanghai. Some missionaries were coming through around Thanksgiving time, and they really wanted to have a traditional American turkey dinner. The family that was hosting them, however, hadn’t the first idea where they could track down the desired main dish.
They thought long and hard about where they might find some turkey meat, considering all the foreign pockets and markets they knew of. Finally, they were struck with a brilliant idea.
They headed over to the zoo.
They found the turkeys.
They bought them.
They had an amazing, traditional American Thanksgiving dinner. Now that is dedication!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! It was of course a bummer not eating delicious sweet potatoes and turkey with my amazing family this year; but that considered, Thanksgiving in Shanghai was actually super fun. Some 20+ of us threw on our freshly made, fitted (and incredibly cheap) shirts and suit coats/dresses, then headed over to the Big Bamboo sports bar and grill where we had a whole room reserved for our group. After some fantastic Western food, passable Carlsbergs, nice cigars, a McFlurry for dessert, and overall great times and conversation we finally took the sixty-cent subway ride back to our dorm just in time to cram for our quiz this morning.
At some point last night, Vince asked me the requisite “what are you thankful for?” question, adding that he was looking for an unusual answer. I immediately thought of my awesome family, and how great it would be to be home with them for this meal. But then I thought I would answer differently: I told him I’m thankful for the opportunity to miss my family. For one, because it signifies their value to me, but also because my inability to join them this week means that I am somewhere far from home; I had been blessed with the opportunity to explore new places, meet new people, and allow my perspective to be molded and influenced by a new section of the Almighty God’s beautiful creation. As the conclusion of this trip draws nearer, I am recognizing more and more just how priceless of an experience it has been; and for that, I am extraordinarily thankful. Happy thanksgiving!
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