A Happy Thanksgiving to all, firstly. Trying to think of what I am thankful for this year…perhaps the fact that I’m living overseas and meeting all kinds of new, wonderful and interesting people from so many different places with various perspectives on life. I could say I’m thankful for being at university, but after spending about 10 hours, on and off, sitting at the computer yesterday working on my sustainable tourism essay, I’ll hold off on that. Maybe I’ll be able to say I’m thankful when the degree is complete and I can just kick back for a while.
My Thanksgiving meal consisted of McDonald’s for lunch and Subway for dinner. I’m always amazed when I go into fast food restaurants here, McDonald’s in particular, that people do not clean up after themselves. Trays, wrappers, and coffee cups are littered all over the tables, and the staff have to go around and clean up, despite the fact that they have the same rubbish bins around that we do in the States. I would never think to leave my garbage around for someone else to pick up after there, but it seems commonplace. Ate my Subway in the kitchen here at the residence hall. Joy, one of my fellow ‘housemates’, was cooking dinner, so we had a conversation about Nigeria, where she is from—the people being disadvantaged due to the corruption of the country’s leadership, running water and electricity not being taken for granted as it is not always available, and the difference between how both white and black people are treated in Africa vs. the USA. Another housemate, Hati, who is from Turkey, came in to have me spell/grammar check her assignment for tomorrow which is a paragraph on a past leader in Turkey, named Ataturk (never heard of him). She is a language student and is slowly learning better English. Was hoping to get someone to go over to the bar at the residence hall with me for a pint tonight, as I haven’t checked it out yet, but no takers as of yet.
"Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than the next, moves slowly, over periods of years from one part of the earth to another." -Paul Bowles
1 comment:
There are restaurants here, not McDonalds, more like Wafflehouse, where people arent expected to clean up after themselves. I dont get it either, pick up people! I would think it would be habit to throw your trash away.
BTW, my Thanksgivining meal consisted of Thai food. 3 weeks before Thanksgiving, one of our favorite restaurants let it be known they were open and delivering on Turkey Day, and it became a done deal.
Commented by kivadiva on December 1, 2005 at 7:23 pm
That reminds me of ‘A Christmas Story’, the movie.
Commented by Suzer on December 2, 2005 at 11:28 am
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