The last Thanksgiving I spent in the US was in 2004. Since then, Thanksgiving day for me has been celebrated in different locations: Camp Taji, Iraq; Zagreb, Croatia; Prague, Czech Republic; Nimes, France; and Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. This year, it is planned for Vienna, Austria.
In 2005 at Camp Taji, my Resident Office passed up on the magnificent spread of traditional Thanksgiving food served at the dining facility. Instead, we cooked and grilled our own food and invited members from our major contractor (a Turkish company) on base. We all enjoyed the dinner, although limited and lacking in variety compared to the dining facility. We also had a chance to just sit down and talk, and reflect on the time we have spent in Iraq. In 2006, while in Bosnia, I had the opportunity to take a long weekend to Zagreb for a break. For Thanksgiving dinner, I had the best Chinese food ever. It may have been because I got tired of eating dining facility food at Eagle Base. In 2007, a nephew visited me from Boston during his Thanksgiving college break in Germany. On Thanksgiving morning, we took the train to Prague. We arrived in Prague later that evening, in time to find a nice restaurant in the city and had a great full course dinner. In 2008, a friend and I explored southwest France, cassoulet country. Thanksgiving dinner in Nimes was obviously cassoulet, the specialty of the area, that was sumptuous. In 2009, I took a day trip to Luxembourg City. Thanksgiving meal was a late lunch at a French restaurant in the city center.
I hope to have a nice experience in Vienna for this upcoming Thanksgiving. I am thankful that I am able do what I enjoy doing, traveling, and to have enriching experiences such as these. To all of you, best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving holiday.
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