Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was the Canadian Thanksgiving. Being here in London at this time of the year I miss certain things about home, pumpkin, spices, pies and red orange tree leaves. You feel autumn in Vancouver. It seems as if autumn has't really arrived in London. It's just rain and rain and rain. Speaking of the rain, I thought as a Vancouverite rain wouldn't be an issue in London, but the rain is different here. It's so wet. I don't know how else to describe it. It penetrates and soaks you wet from head to toe *sigh* I'm still adjusting. Anyways, back to Thanksgiving. There are probably 8 of us Canadians here at my residence. Most are from Toronto and Montreal and McGill grads. I am the only one from Vancouver and Western Canada (though my Saskatchewanian friend considers herself Western Canadian but that's up for debate in my opinion :P ). It was wonderful! We gathered at 7 pm at our residence common room for a Canadian Thanksgiving potluck. I had class till 6 pm so didn't get a chance to cook. I searched around on my way back home from school to find an apple pie and finally discovered it at M&S Foods. Here in London when someone says pie people automatically think savoury pie. It's not difficult finding a chicken or beef pie here but finding an apple pie is certainly a challenge. Don't even think about pumpkin pie. Oh, pumpkin pie! How much I love it. See, if I were in Vancouver I could easily find it at my local Save-on, but here in London there is no pumpkin pie. In fact, one of my Canadian housemates searched around London for pumpkin and finally managed to find it at Whole Foods on Piccadilly Square. She made delicious pumpkin cupcakes. Despite all challenges the food was great. We had store-bought chicken instead of turkey, no stuffing and no cranberry but a lot love for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed laughters and made fun of each others Canadian-ness. It was fun, a little piece of home, some delicious food and genuine laughter and something to be thankful for. So what am I thankful for? As always, thankful for my health (I said this to friends a couple of years ago at Thanksgiving and they laughed at me, well, haha, what? I am thankful for my health!). Everyday, I consider myself one of the luckiest people alive. Life sure hasn't been easy but I've had amazing people beside me to support me through it all. My parents have been there no matter what. I've had inspiring mentors. My friends are incredible and the loves of my life. Ultimately, I am thankful for today, for where I am, who am I and who I want to be. I am thankful, because I can think about these things while so many out there can not even imagine the thought of being someone other than what others want them to be. Let's cherish this very moment and think about all the beautiful things in our lives. We are all lucky in our own ways. We all have something to be thankful for, sometimes we have to search for it, but it is there, just look carefully. Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Health & Happiness