Thanksgiving

2 weeks before exams, 5 weeks before Christmas, and only 4 weeks after the previous holiday, it was Thanksgiving. And boy was it welcome! An opportunity to recharge the batteries, I headed north to Greenwich, Connecticut to family friends, a change of pace, and my first experience of this American holiday.

Like most historical American traditions, Thanksgiving Day traces its roots back to Britain. Under the English Reformation under Henry VIII, the vast number of religious holidays were moulded together and significantly reduced. Some wanted to reduce these days even further, into a couple of significant Days of Thanksgiving. These English dissenters (sometimes referred to as Puritans) could not change the Anglican church from within, not least due to a strong Catholic opposition and an unstable transition to King James I in 1603, so many emigrated either to the Netherlands or later to America. They brought their ideas and values with them, setting up their own church and religious ceremonies, and the Pilgrims would undoubtedly be thankful for surviving and prospering in this new land.

Things have changed considerably since then. More food, more football, more family - less stressing, less religion, less risk of being attacked by natives. It is a holiday where most people return to their family, and thus a lot of events are based in the neighbourhood: cocktails, meet-and-greets, touch football + lunch, and a trip to the local bar. When I was not eating and drinking, I found myself with a book on the sofa, outside in the awesome sunshine weather on walks, or playing pool, trivial pursuit, or Blokus in front of a fire or a Patriots game. And four happy days passed by in an instant.

2 things were especially striking. My bus ride back and forth operated out of Chinatown. It was a cheap $60 each way (a third of the airfare), but apparently they had safety concerns, were notoriously unreliable, and had a reputation for being pretty sketchy. I didn't realize this until I actual got on the bus, which was 75 minutes late, but the 8 hour overnight ride was uneventful. The seats were (naturally) Asian sized (Hong Kong busses also had seats designed for people 5 foot 8"), so I didn't get much sleep as resting my head was equivalent to staring straight up in the air. Going back, however, was considerably more pleasurable, especially since I had been packed a hearty late-night snack of fruit, crisps, cookies and turkey sandwiches!

The second thing is Paddle tennis. Played outdoor on a enclosed miniature tennis court with paddles rather than rackets, the rules are pretty much the same as tennis, although the ball is rubbery, the paddles are solid fiber (rather than strings), and if it hits the back / side walls you may hit it, similar to squash. It is thus a game of tactics, vision, and positioning rather than a game of technique and power, since a hard shot simply bounces back onto the court. This also means it is a game for all age groups. We played doubles, 3 close sets, experiencing my first snow of the year, and headed back for a cup of tea as the winter sun was setting. First Thanksgiving, and I wouldn't wish it had been any different.