Happy Thanksgiving from Shanghai...

So Thanksgiving is around the corner. As you can imagine, it is not celebrated in China – no days off from work, no “Black Friday”, indeed pretty much nothing more than a passing nod from the locals. “Yeah, I think I’ve heard of that holiday in the US”. For families from the US, on the other hand, it’s one of those holidays we try to make happen just to keep some semblance of our “Americana” while away from home. It’s not easy. Turkey? Fish heads yes, but they don’t eat Turkeys in China. (Our Ayi has only seen a picture of one once, never seen or tasted a real one.) Cranberries? Nope. Pumpkin Pie – well, they have pumpkins, but not the easy canned filling stuff. Mashed potatoes? Why would you spend so much effort mashing those things up?

This coming Sunday several US families from our church congregation will gather to share a Thanksgiving meal. Since we have an oven (lots of homes don’t have ovens – the Chinese can’t figure out how or why we’d use them) we offered to supply and cook one of the Turkeys. Keep in mind, this is our first Thanksgiving here – we didn’t really know what we were getting into.

Six months ago we found a meat store that supplies imported sausages and hard-to-get meats – mostly from Germany. While there, we discovered a single Turkey hidden at the bottom of a deep freezer. From the amount of frost on the thing, I suspect it had been there a looong time. We sorta decided then and there that come November we’d try to find a Turkey elsewhere. This week Monique went out scouting for a Turkey and eventually found one at a store where we can sometimes get stuff you can’t normally find in China. Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. We were grateful to be able to find a Turkey. Once found, we were grateful to be able to afford it. This little 12 pounder came in at a whopping USD $71.00 – ouch. For those doing the math, that comes to about $6.00 a pound. How much are Turkey’s going for in the US? Isn’t this something like 6 or 7 times the going rate?

So get this, when we’re trying to find the weight of the Turkey, what do we notice? Old Tom Turkey comes all the way from . . . Moroni Utah!! Almost our backyard! Small world.

Every food item imported into China has to have a Chinese label slapped on it, showing ingredients, chemicals, country of origin, etc. Unfortunately, the label was placed right over the tag that shows the weight. Since the new label is in Chinese, and since they use kilograms, of the 5 or 6 sets of numbers, we couldn’t tell exactly which was the weight. So how did we know it was actually 12 pounds? We asked Xiao Ni, our Ayi, to come read it for us. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it out either!! But, she came to the rescue – she had a scale! Of course we expected her to produce the square thing you stand on in the bathroom. Nope – check out the attached image.

She comes in from outside with an antique spindle balance scale, complete with soapstone weight and carefully inlaid silver gage markers. It’s been in her family for at least 3 generations. She remembers her Grandmother taking it with her when she went shopping oh so long ago. Now how cool is THAT!?!?! She never ceases to surprise and amaze us. Some things in China aren’t “backward”, they’re brilliantly simple.

Putting this unusual, uniquely China weird event aside, we’re grateful for a number of things this year. We’re grateful for our large family who, like many of you, have experienced some significant challenges this past year, but continue to plug away. We’re grateful for healthy grandchildren already part of the family, and healthy additions soon to join us. We’re grateful for our own health, as well as for the improving health of friends and immediate family members who have struggled mightily recently. We’re grateful for employment. We’re grateful for our numerous Chinese friends who continue to prove to us that despite what the news may report, or what our two governments may say about each other – we’re all pretty much the same with the same desires for our families and future. We’re grateful for the conveniences of life that allow us to stay warm (or cool, depending on the season), to get around this enormous city, to fly back and forth to the US when needed, and to easily talk or email or Skype with our family at will. And we’re grateful for you – our friends and family who add beauty and meaning to life.

For us, this Thanksgiving is somewhat more poignant than past years. Our time here causes our numerous blessings to be illuminated like never before. Here’s wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving from Shanghai. Please take an extra moment this year to count your blessings too.

Jay and Monique