Hue for the Holidays

This Thanksgiving was my first Thanksgiving away from home. Admittedly, I was a bit homesick at the beginning of the week. Around this time, I usually create a lesson around giving Thanks and a brief hystory around Native Americans and the colonization of the United States. Then, before we head out for our brief vacation, we reflec ton what we're thankful for, share it with each other, and make paper turkeys out of our hands and feet. In San Jose, I usually have potlucks with friends, where we share memories and food, and when I come home to L.A., I eat a giant meal with my small family of four, along with any other friends who may not be able to go home for the holidays. The rest of the week is spent reuniting with close friends from high school. There was a routine I was used to, and I tried to relive that routine as much as possible by scanning through past pictures throughout the week.

However, I picked myself out of the slump by choosing to share these activities with my students and friends. For my speaking students, I mixed test preparation and Thanksgiving by introducing the holiday to them, and I prompted them to talk about the Thanksgiving pictures they were comparing and contrasting -- some of which where Thanksgiving pictures from home:

With these pictures, they compared and contrasted using conjunctions "and" and "but." They definitely found it hard to recognize me with a can of whipped cream and a giant turkey in my face. We also went around and asked each other what we were thankful for by using "Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up." (Thank you, Kagan Win-Win!)

For my Friends of Hue students, I created an easier version of the lesson that focused more so on the progressive form of the verbs within the pictures, and they used their creativity to create stories about how they were connected. At the end, we made "ga tay" (Western chicken = turkey) using our "tay" (hands). I always love seeing how creative students get with art:

I also repeated the same lesson with Thanh, who I tutor privately, but scaffolded it to better fit his needs. While working with Thanh, other youth from the shelter was curious about what we were doing and they joined in with us.

Thereafter, I left the shelter to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends that I met through our ex-pat crew, which consists of Vietnamese and Foreigners alike since we all do similar work (teaching, NGO work). The food was AWESOME. Jared prepared a lot of dishes, while other brought their own. I was missing pumpkin pie, and Jared made a dish that was pretty much just as soon as it; it was sweet potatoes, yams (or taro), mixed with condensed milk and all other wonderful goodness. I could've died happy, but there was so much more good food to consume.

Omnivore and vegan options!

Chef Jared!

The picture where my hair didn't cover Jenelle's beautiful face.

The whole crew! (minus Vicky, who is taking the picture, and Taiki, who came a bit later)

Also, Thao (my friend from FFAV, not my sister) made "thach dua," which is coconut jelly. I used to eat thach dua in Hanoi every other day, and Thao knew that I would be one of her biggest fans. I gave her a great big hug before she could set the thach dua down. (I actually am still working on finishing the leftovers!)

Thank you, Thao!

The next day, since Nhuanh (my friend from the Bay Area, who is living in Hue now) and I had separate plans on Thanksgiving Day, we met up and ate her leftovers (and Thao's thach dua). Her food was so delicious! Especially her canh (soup)! But as a Viet-Am with high expectations for her cooking, she was quite disappointed with it. (Whatever, chi, you can cook for me any day.)

Chef Nhuanh!

Overall, it was a great Thanksgiving week. I got to celebrate with Vietnamese and Western friends alike, and I got to talk to some friends and family from back at home. I actually received an e-mail from my mom, telling me that she was at first relieved that she didn't have to cook such a big meal, but then eventually feeling sad about missing her two daughters this season. =( I wish I was home with her, too, but I will get to see her in January when she comes to visit for a month! =)

As we get deeper into the holiday season, I hope to remain as optimistic, and I believe I will. I've been staying put in Hue for the past couple weeks, and I have finally felt at home as I continue to get to closer to the friends who I consistently hang out with. I miss my family and friends at home, but I'm also creating a new home here in Hue, and I'm growing to love it.