Thanksgiving Day reminds me of the First Thanksgiving Day in the US that I have experienced. I am reposting my memories of that day as follows:
It
was on November, 1960 when Macrine and I and our oldest son,Dodie(who was
only 2 years old then) experienced our first Thanksgiving Celebration in
the United States. That year, I was a graduate student at the
University of Illinois at the Medical Center in Chicago. The Chicago
Hospitality Center along with YMCA and CFM invites all Foreign students
in the area to spend a Thanksgiving weekend to the homes of volunteers
in small towns of Illinois away from the crowded city of Chicago. Some
of my foreign student friends were reluctant and did not accept the
invitation, but I had an adventurous spirit so with great anticipation,
Macrine and I along with Dodie went with 12 other foreign students and
their families to Central Illinois. Our host for that weekend was Mrs.
Johnston, a widow from Danville, Illinois. She lives alone and her
beautiful bungalow house right in downtown Danville. We left Chicago in
the morning, had thanksgiving dinner ( turkey and all its trimmings)in
late afternoon. This was followed by a program in the evening at a local
community center, where all the Hosts met and socialized with other
invited students from Korea, Iran, Mexico, Japan, Chile, South Africa,
Egypt and the Philippines. Macrine, Dodie and I represented the
Philippines.
The next day we had a grand tour of the area, the farms
and then to Springfield, the capital of Illinois. The tour of the area
and Springfield was the highlight of our 2 days break from our hectic
schedules as a graduate students.
So, did I like the roasted
turkey? Nope, that was first time I had turkey. In the Philippines we do
not celebrate Thanksgiving and I had never tasted turkey before. I did
not like the pumpkin pie either. What I enjoyed was the oyster
stuffing,ice cream and the cranberries sauce.
So why do I write
this post? Well, to thank the Lord for all the good things and the past
49 years
(61 years update this year) of Thanksgiving Days, He has given me and my family so far
here in US. In addition our visit to the “real” Americans ( not the Ugly
ones) that Thanksgiving day in 1960 prompted me to write an article of
my impressions of the US at that time and has remained in my memory
until today:
Our Impression of America"
During our first year in Chicago, we never received an invitation to
participate in the hospitality program. Our name was probably buried in
the list of foreign students or perhaps our foreign student adviser was
sleeping in her job. During these first year of adjustments to the
American way of life, we formed a very wrong impression of Americans.
Asides from our daily contacts with fellow students in the school rooms
or dormitories, our only other social contacts were people in the
streets, subways, buses, department stores, supermarkets and other
public places. These were all artificial contacts, giving us an
impression that Americans are unfriendly, artificial, insincere,
apathetic,intolerant and above all ignorant.The latter adjective was
quite true, since the ordinary or typical American does not have the
vaguest idea where the Philippines, Japan or even Puerto Rico is located
in the map.
" However, in our second year, we began receiving
invitation to spend a weekend in suburban homes as well as dinner
invitations in city homes. At first, we were reluctant to accept the
invitation, however with our adventurous spirit, we said yes.
From
then on, "we have the whole world in our hands". We are thankful to CFM,
the YWCA and the Hospitality Center of Chicago for making our stay
filled with pleasant memories.
"On the other hand what
impressions could we have brought back to the Philippines, if our stay
was limited to one or two years ( true for exchange visitors). How many
visitors and exchange scholars brought home with them the wrong
impressions and attitude towards the American people in general? I knew
there were a few foreign students in the dormitories who were
disillusioned about the United States. One of them was a former dorm
mate from Chile. He received an invitation, but never did conquer his
apprehension of accepting one.
" At present as couple leader of
the first interfaith group in our diocese, we will do our very best to
reciprocate, promote, and encourage hospitality programs to foreign
students and scholars in our area. We believe that opening our homes and
our hearts on weekends and holidays, is one of the best ways of
promoting world peace and understanding. Let us then make it possible
for foreign students and scholars get the true picture of America and
its people. Let us give them the opportunity to share with us our way of
life. Let us get busy as a group or perhaps join other groups in order
that we can show to the future leaders of the world, how sincere,
friendly and aware we are of other human beings in other parts of the
world. This is one of the many ways we could be more Christlike, we
believe".
This letter was published by CFM in their monthly magazine, ACT, for all their members worldwide.
I also would like to dedicate this poem to all my readers in this blog.
Thanksgiving Every Day-By Karl Fuchs
The table is brimming with good things to eat;
We're surrounded by family and friends; what a treat.
The feelings that fill us today can’t be beat;
It’s Thanksgiving Day, and it all feels complete.
But other days, sometimes things don’t seem so fine;
Those days are not polished and don’t seem to shine.
It's then in our minds, we forget all the good,
And think of the things we would get, if we could.
On days when our thinking causes us dread,
If we could remember, it’s all in our head,
And not let our minds take our gratitude away,
Then we'd make every day like Thanksgiving Day.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL! What are you thankful for this year?
Are you fully vaccinated? If not, I hope Covid-19 does not catch you for good!
Meanwhile enjoy these photos from my garden this week
My Tangerine fruits this year ( harvested one the other day).
Cacti and my rose last bloom for this year
