American Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
This was my first Thanksgiving after returning from my year in China, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. In Shenzhen, I forgot about Fall. I forgot that leaves change color and fall on your lawn, so I nearly drove off the road seeing a neighbor's yard covered in bright orange leaves. I never realized how much I missed the colorful leaves.
Luckily I remembered the American Fall, so the actual holiday was not too shocking. I watched the entire Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with all the balloons and pretty floats. Then, the more unofficial celebration, the Purina dog show. My family and I commented on the dogs, especially the bulldogs.
As with every other American holiday, Thanksgiving revolves around food. My family is no exception. The only difference is that we do not bust our butts attempting to create a spread that would make Martha Stewart jealous. I feel that one should always be allowed to relax and ‘let one’s hair down’ when surrounded by family. Within reason, of course. The best part was Grandma’s sweet potatoes. Even though my Chinese Thanksgiving was fun, nothing can beat an American Thanksgiving. Food and family can be present in any country, but what China lacked was the atmosphere. Around Thanksgiving in the United States, we all emit good feelings about the upcoming holiday, which changes the mood of everyone around. In China I failed to discover a mind-control technique to make Chinese about me to feel the holiday.
Now it’s time to get ready for Christmas. Thanksgiving was not even over before I saw my first Christmas ad (during the Macy’s Parade no less).