I had the good fortune to live and work in Bangkok many years ago. I was the only American in my office, and of course Thanksgiving is not a Thai holiday, so when Thanksgiving came, I took the afternoon off to go have dinner with other Americans.
That morning at the office, before I left, I was chatting with some colleagues. In an attempt to bridge cultures, I joked, “Even though this is an American holiday, we can all take a moment to think about all the things we have to be grateful for. For example, you can be thankful that the pilgrims didn’t land in Thailand!”
Everyone laughed politely and I was congratulating myself on the success of my cross-cultural humor, when several people asked at once, “What’s a pilgrim?”
I knew then I had a lot to learn!
No matter where you are in the world, Happy Thanksgiving!
I've hopped over from the Friday Follow over 40 and am smitten by your blog. I have just signed up to follow you and am looking forward to finding my happy place by reading your lovely posts. Nice story. I worked in Morocco for the Americans years ago and was fortunate enough to experience Thanksgiving....we sure could do with a day like that here. :)
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Nah, THEY have a lot to learn!
ReplyDeleteThey should know what a pilgrim is. Half of their country is over here now.
Geez, could you imagine if you called it "Turkey Day"? That would have mystified them completely!
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!
Thanks for stopping by my blog! Love yours as well!
Well, I don't know about that! In the three years I lived in Bangkok, I assure you I learned much more from them than they did from me. Ironic since part of my job was to train my Thai colleagues to deal with "Western" clients. In fact, I spent much more time teaching our Western clients to appreciate the Thai way of doing things!
ReplyDeleteMy time in Thailand was years ago, but what I learned there shaped who I became both professionally and personally.
Good story - maybe they would have understood if you said 'displaced person'!
ReplyDeleteHi, I am a new follower from Java's 40+ Follow. Great blog and I will come back to visit often.
ReplyDeleteShawn
What a great story! I love your 10 steps and really need to practice them just a bit more!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to be a new visitor and follower via Java.
http://doreenmcgettigan.blogspot.com
Hi!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping my blog and visiting!
I would like to invite you to join the Over 40 Bloggers!! Take a look an join in the fun!
I'm now following you!
Be sure to come by on Sunday for the Meet Me On Monday Blog Hop!
Have a great day!!
Welcome to new followers and thank you! I will be visiting your blogs soon, if I haven't already!
ReplyDeleteGreat Story!! I know we have a lot to learn about the culture in Belize... and I am sure we will have stories to share like yours soon :-)
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping by my blog. I am your newest follower from the Over 40 blog hop!
Hi, Alida. I traveled in Belize years ago. Beautiful place.
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