Stick figure Pilgrims and how I got fat

I stepped back from the chalkboard and was a little surprised at what I saw. A group of sloppy stick figures wearing either huge hats or gaudy feathers on their heads were standing near an amoeba-like map of the U.S. with the date "1620" scrawled close by and the word "Thanksgiving" stretching endlessly above. It was seventh period and I was teaching about Thanksgiving. Back at my desk in the staffroom, all of my bags were packed and ready and waiting for me to bolt out of school as soon as class was over. It was Thanksgiving Day back home in America and I was ready to go and celebrate with some other gaijin.

My destination that day was the inaka town of Bizen up on Honshu in Okayama-ken--the place my dear friend Betsy Herzog calls home. As soon as 4:30 struck, I dashed from school to the train station and took the shinkansen (bullet train) up to see her.

While I was unsure how the Thanksgiving celebration would go since I'm living in Japan, I knew spending time with Betsy and her JET friends would be cool. A group of us foreigners had rented out an "International Villa" (a fabulous house with a large kitchen complete with ovens) for the holiday and all met in the coastal town of Ushimado (which by the way means "cow-window"). Below are views from the villa's surrounding area--a very nice place up on a hill near the sea (in the first picture you can see the villa...curved building on the left).






With the combined efforts of twelve JETs originating from four western courtiers, we managed to put together a Thanksgiving feast worthy of any family gathering back home. Behold!





I didn't even include the dessert table because I don't think Blogger could handle it. After this meal I could happily proclaim the simple phrase that I utter so rarely here in Japan, "I'm full!" Over the last few months, I've been slowly losing weight and appearing more and more wraith-like since my diet here in Japan doesn't consist of all the processed fats found in American cuisine. While looking more like a super model is great for summer months, the cold winter of Japan is better survived by having some organic insulation (fat) to keep one's body heat close to vital organs. So on this celebratory day, I ate and ate and ate and then ate some more. Perfect.

As I sit here now writing this post, I still feel full. In part because I had chocolate cake and pumpkin pie for breakfast and then ate cookies and doughnuts on the train ride home. But hey, this weekend was my holiday. I can eat healthy tomorrow at school when I order a bento full of fish and rice.