Things Learned from Turkey and Sushi

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A Brand New Worldfood with text

I married into the coolest family. Not many people can say they like their in-laws or they look forward to the family dynamic of Thanksgiving. I am blessed to claim both.

As a small town girl (cue Journey ballad), I was strictly a cheeseburger and fries connoisseur. This country girl had to change when I met my husband, who boasts a wide variety of nationalities and a love for all things edible. I taught him to shoot and fish; he taught me to eat sushi and wear something other than flannel.

Our first Thanksgiving as a couple proved a cultural event. Food binds his family together like a love language. Greetings involve hugs and lists of who’s cooking what family favorite as they exchange tasty gifts (packed on ice and flown in suitcases).

As the newbie, I got to sample all the Chinese noodles, Japanese sushi, Nashville Barbecue, and Hawaiian delicacies a girl could want — all before the Thanksgiving feast! Still, nearly 10 years later, they giggle at how I called a favorite dish (Chow Fun) “Sin Poo” because, well, country girl.

Dreams Change

As a youth, I dreamed of travelling the world doing missions, writing people’s stories, and engaging in the richness of their cultures. As I settled into marriage and raising children, I felt as though my dreams had been pushed aside. Yet, each fall, when I sat down to a plate of spring rolls and turkey, I couldn’t help but see my reality anew.

You see, in marrying my husband, the world was brought to me.

Changing Times

Fulfilling my dream of sampling the sweet and savory of culture took on a different flavor altogether. Gathering with my in-laws, who are a beautiful combination of Thai, Chinese, Portuguese, Latvian, Cuban, and Japanese (to name a few), allowed me to see the unity of diversity in all its glory.

This Thanksgiving, I anxiously await piles of Chow Fun and gravy-soaked dressing. I’m still the country bumpkin attempting Tai Chi in the kitchen with Grampa (Grampa, whose laugh is contagious and Hawaiian accent surprisingly enhances his Portuguese and Chinese background), but I am so much more.
I see now that I don’t need to leave to find adventure and diversity. I see the beauty of it as I cradle my children, their olive skin next to my pink and freckles. I celebrate that we are different and yet so intimately the same. They will grow up with a natural appreciation for the world because it’s who they are.

Lessons Learned

Whether your holiday is marked by family drama or you are grieving over the bigger picture of a nation divided down political, racial, and religious lines, it’s easy to forget why we celebrate. However, if I have learned anything from a plate of noodles and turkey, it’s this: Thankfulness, like food, is unifying.

Abraham Lincoln called for the American people to come together with the purpose of remembering what they had, even in a country divided: “It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People” (Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation of Thanksgiving 1863).

Lincoln knew it, and plates of turkey and sushi confirm it. Our differences can be polarizing — unless they are approached with gratitude. You don’t have to order-in sushi, or pack Cuban pastries in your suitcase to find it (though I highly recommend both). Simply take a moment to appreciate that what makes us different also makes us fascinating.

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