Missing Thanksgiving

It's an odd feeling coming to work on a Thursday. I mean that generally speaking since I'm a mathematician and most of the time my schedule is a MWF. Actually that's not true. Our work never truly stops and our hours are as flexible as possibly imaginable except for teaching. This Thursday is slightly more different. Back "home" in America all my friends and family are celebrating a joyous occasion. Here, in India, it's Thursday. It's hot (about 90F) and humid (80%+) and I just hung a load of laundry out to dry in the tropical sun. The meal for lunch today was several different types of curries and fruit, nothing special. It's an odd feeling since I've been streaming NPR from Philadelphia here. I listened to Marty Moss-Coane tell me all about the different ways people are celebrating and the methods for cooking turkeys and all the wonderful vegetarian options available these days. And it's a little difficult to let that go in one ear and out the other. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for the sake of the fact that it has transformed from it's original form to a day that we set aside for many purposes. But to me, it's nice to have a day in which Religion, Race, Economic Status and all the ways in which separate ourselves daily take a smaller role and we can just relax. In some sense it's a day in which families are rediscovered. I don't exactly mean that in a pejorative way, but take it as such if you wish.

My "mathematical brother", a russian, has made some very astute comments about thanksgiving over the years I've known him. Once, he said "Isn't Thanksgiving the day when you Americans cook for us foreigners?" And just this year he said, "Don't worry, Thanksgiving is the day when Indians welcome newcomers." If only...

So for now it's a surreal experience to be surrounded by foreign people in a foreign land which tropical heat and no celebratory meal on this average thursday. I don't think there are enough Turkey's in India to go around, but that is a different story for a different time.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating it today. I'm not missing it entirely. I'll definitely catch up on my football scores and eat a big meal of something fowl.