My last thanksgiving

I have celebrated Thanksgiving Day for 3 years on Saipan. The first time I celebrated was one month passed from the day when I came to Saipan at the first time. Since I have stayed with American Family, celebrating Thanksgiving Day is different from the way I used to do it in Korea. I was expected to celebrate it because the culture is totally different and I have never heard or seen before. Last year, I stayed there with one Korean girl, So-Yeong. She was my roommate so we shared all the things each other since we know each other when we were in first grade. That year was my second time to celebrate Thanksgiving. So-Yeong was looking forward to celebrate it as well.

Two years ago, the theme of Thanksgiving in my house was traditional American style. We had turkey, fruit punches, jellies, and their traditional dishes. Last year, the theme was Thai style since Mrs. Villegas loves Thai food. As I and So-Yeong had never tried of Thai food, we agreed with that idea. On Thanksgiving, everyone in the house got up earlier than before and helped one another. Some arranged the dishes and table set and some cook with the help of a lady who is from Thailand. Mrs. Villegas used to go to Mai Thai restaurant so she bought some sauces from there. The smells of food were so good that I could not concentrate on setting the tables. With the continuous music, everyone was in a good mood. A big table which has a capacity for 15 people is decorated with a red tablecloth and candles. Chairs were covered with black clothes. The plates, forks, and cups were arranged. I was really hungry since the food was not ready on time. The kids were so excited that kept singing and played a Nintendo while we were waiting for our food. Eventually, the plates of food are all set on the table so that we can sit and dip what and how much each wants. After sitting on the chairs, we took a family picture. Mr. Villegas grabbed one article of today’s newspaper and read it which is about a Thanksgiving, thus appreciating something to whomever you feel valuable. Consequently, one by one, we said something that we are thankful to. After we prayed, we started to eat. There are cashew chickens, lumpia, pai-tai, Thai fried rice and fruit punches. Since it’s my first time to try Thai food, I just loved it, especially cashew chicken. After we enjoyed the meals, we helped out clean and played games.

This is what I did on my last Thanksgiving. Since I have stayed with Americans, this comes to new to me and became such a great experience. However, since I move to another American family, I am really looking forward to celebrate this coming Thanksgiving.