“Now That’s the Thanksgiving Spirit”

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year for 4 specific reasons

1. The entire point of the holiday is to be grateful for what you have
   
2. The entire holiday is centered around family, food and hanging out
   
3. There is no stress of shopping for gifts
4. Football, parades and getting excited for Christmas
   

The only thing missing from Thanksgiving is music and for all the crappy music Americans are capable of writing, performing and producing, I’m still shocked that Thanksgiving still remains carol-less. It maybe be something I need to change someday.

Regardless, of all the times I really miss home when I’m traveling abroad, the first is Thanksgiving and the second is Christmas. They are sad days to be away from the family – especially all the tradition that is Breitenberg holidays. And you best believe that my family loves it some tradition (ask my mom about the time she tried to change the recipe for the stuffing). I even had to fight a bit to bring in Cousin’s Chris’ Famous Pumpkin Bisque onto the menu.

Anyway, I digress. Obviously I love Thanksgiving, so I’ve been planning my Thanksgiving feast in India almost 6 weeks in advance of the holiday itself. There are three young women at Asia Plateau that coordinate the interns here, so we decided to get the AfL core team together to dinner with them. I suggested Thanksgiving. It turned out we would need to go out a week in advance. Celebrate Turkey Day twice…don’t torture me!

So we set off for Rainforest, a kiff place tucked into the plateau-side. Peerless view. My surrogate parents here, Leena and Suresh, and I ordered an epic spread. Chicken and mutton curries, tandoori chicken, chala masala, paneer tikka, mutter paneer and more garlic butter naan than you could ever want. Topped off with a round of fresh lime sodas

Before we devoured, I made sure to slow everyone down to share on the Breitenberg family tradition of passing the thanks around the table. As we gave thanks I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude for the support of my family and friends while I’m on AfL. I feel an incredible joy when I think of you all. I also feel incredibly thankful to be in a place where I can do important work for people while using my skills and natural talents. Thankful too for all of the money received by AfL. We’ve covered over 80% of our budget and are in good position to cover our needs by May. Lastly, I feel hugely grateful for the chance to be working with and around people who live their lives with faith and integrity. It’s an indescribable blessing.

After we gave thanks we dove in and I just sat in awe of the glory that is Thanksgiving (no matter where you have it in the world). People you love eating more food than they should, laughing and enjoying each other. Everyday should be thanksgiving! The conversation opened up for me to speak about the holiday, I limited the history of “Pilgrims and Indians” to focus on “The Thanksgiving Spirit”.

So much of the rest of the night turned into a judiciary review of whether actions or words were either full of “The Thanksgiving Spirit” or not. It turned out to be a really fun exercise. For instance, saying that one is “too full to eat anymore” is not in “The Thanksgiving Spirit”. While quietly taking an extra scoop of curry is. Turning down a piece of butter naan is not in “The Thanksgiving Spirit” while using your finger to scrape up the leftover minced garlic and butter is. Saying something like “I could stay here all night” is in “The Thanksgiving Spirit” while talking about responsibilities you have after the meal is not. Picking at the last spice on the tandoori chicken bone is in “The Thanksgiving Spirit” and talking about dessert when you’re stuffed and still eating the main course is too.

After the meal (10 people aching-full on good food for $30 [I’m also thankful for Indian cost of living and the strong dollar]), we went back to Panchgani town and got ice cream (definitely in “The Thanksgiving Spirit”) and went to work. I even tried green chili ice cream, which is an absolutely stunning culinary treat (also in “The Thanksgiving Spirit”). It heats your tongue but cools your throat and tastes of smoky chili and sweet milk. Impressive. I only sampled it before heading on to my favorite Hilltop combo of peppermint and choco chips (which is what Indians call chocolate chocolate chip).
Bellies overwhelmed, we arrived back at AP just in time to see the whole community cranking out a dance party. Folk dances from all over the world (probably some 35 countries represented here). What an event!

But wait…what to do? The most unbelievable of Thanksgiving Spirit dilemmas: Is dancing after being totally stuffed (to the point of pain) at the Thanksgiving dinner table in “The Thanksgiving Spirit” or not?

Ukrainian folk dancing in India on Thanksgiving with 60 people from all over the world. Seriously, is there anything more in “The Thanksgiving Spirit”?

And what a dance it was…