An American Thanksgiving

This last Thursday was weird and natural at the same time.  We along with many families that live in the US were celebrating Thanksgiving.  Since Krista and I have taken over my parent’s house, we got to host this grand event. Ok, let me rephrase – Krista hosted the event and I stayed out of the way.  We started the day (or I should say, I started the day as Krista was already up getting the turkey cooking) with the Turkey Trot 5K – a running event.  (I’m pleased to announce I wasn’t last in my category or overall and even did a personal best – Krista and my sister both beat me which they should have – they’re awesome).  Afterwards we all met up at IHOP for breakfast – small breakfasts because we knew what was to come.  Then it was back home where Krista finished up preparations and I set the table.

The part that got a little weird was when I was carving the turkey.  All of a sudden, I got the sense that this was right; that it was normal.  I felt like an American again.  I know that sounds weird, but living in another place for even a few years that when you come back to your home culture – you feel out of place.  Everything is familiar but its not the “normal”.  An example was when we knew we could go to the bank and to cash a check but couldn’t remember how to do it (in Germany, we don’t have checks).  But as I was carving the turkey and anticipating the time with our family and a friend (a German friend who was experiencing her first American Thanksgiving), there was this peace and I felt just “American”.

As I talked to a long time missionary today and explained the feeling, he told me that at some point, when you live between two cultures, you find a way to live naturally in each one separately.  I think I’ve just experienced that.