My Time in Kurdistan: Thanksgiving Abroad

Holidays are a time to be spent with loved ones. Regardless of whether you talk to family members every day or on that one day a year, there is a comfort in knowing that you are with your family on special occasions. Today, which happens to be Thanksgiving, is my first holiday abroad. As Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Iraq, what goes unseen or unheard can easily go unnoticed. For much of the day this was the case; business as usual. Facebook having a scattering of holiday messages reminded me of the festivities back in the US, and this started to make me miss home.

The invention of Skype is truly a saving grace for people in my situation. I am able to talk to and “see” my family, at least for a few minutes. For this I am incredibly thankful. But no amount of time in front of the camera can replace the actual sense of togetherness on the holidays. A holiday is only a holiday because of family. Without family celebrating a common cause, it is just another day in the year. I have a strong feeling that being here will make me appreciate the holidays much more when I go home.

My biggest fear is that some members of my family won’t be there when I return. This was something I considered before coming here, but I could not ultimately let it sway my decision. Papa is 96 years old and is probably in as good of health as a 96 year old can be. However, it is obviously a tenuous situation and anything could happen at any time. This holds true of my other grandparents as well. I desperately hope and pray that the inevitable patiently awaits my return to the US, but these things are entirely out of my control. For this reason I want to seize every opportunity possible to talk to them. Days like today are tough and are slightly more emotional because of this.

----Addition - I just got to Skype with Papa and it lit up my night. Thank God for technology and these otherwise unavailable opportunities. I have to say that Skyping with him is the absolute epitome of a "feel good moment" if there ever was one. Thanksgiving is now complete. :)

Regardless of what happens, there is no direction but forward. I have to make the most out of whatever comes my way and trust that, guiding power or not, everything happens for a reason. I have plenty to be thankful for and absolutely no reason to complain. I feel that after a fairly solemn post, it is important to reflect on the true meaning of today: gratitude.

Things I am thankful for: Skype, my family, the ability to read and write, food, steady income, a computer, electricity, a warm bed, the ability to run, my vision, washing machines, refrigerators, hands, the sun, friends, power adaptors, sneakers, my education, opportunities in life, all of my past experiences good and bad, and my favorite prayer, the Serenity Prayer, which I say every day…

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life