Thanksgiving day passed without much "to-do". It was a normal work day. My family may have suspected I was a little homesick after I spent 3 hours on the phone with them, talking to nearly every person who was there. Hearing the background noise of a full house made me feel a little closer to home. In the absence of a Thanksgiving meal. My next door neighbor (Emma) and I packed dinner and had a picnic by the ocean. We watched the sun setting over the Ghanian coastline and discussed some of the things we were thankful for. It was unlike any Thanksgiving I have ever had, but I realized Thanksgiving is so much more than a big meal, good smells, and a gathering with family--it is an attitude of the heart.
Tonight we had a special ship-wide Thanksgiving celebration complete with table clothes,centerpieces, dinner music and the works--cranberry sauce, mashed potoatoes, pumpkin pie and stuffing. We didn't actually have turkey because the turkeys that were shipped in from the States were being held held hostage by the port officials. Sometimes we are delayed in gettting our containers becuase we refuse to pay bribes to the immigration authorities. After a couple of weeks they realize we are not going to pay the bribes and usually give us our stuff. After the meal, we had a special Thanksgiving service, several people offered prayers of thanks and we sang all the traditional Thanksgiving hymns. Even though Thanksgiving is an American holiday the ship is going to begin recognizing the holiday.It's definitely a holiday that should be shared.
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