Weekend So Far…

It has been a great weekend so far, and a great week to be building up the hype for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because I really feel this is when we appreciate the life we have.  There is no obligation to exchange presents and everything is literally celebrated with food (conclusion: I like food a lot).  It’s as if people are completely content to celebrate eating a giant bird (aka Turkey) with as many people as possible.  I’m glad I’ve been able to spend the favorite holiday with the most important people in my life – my family.

Last night, me and friends in the Master’s program celebrated our version of Thanksgiving. We drank wine, enjoyed food that people brought, and played Catch Phrase. I’ll never become good at this game.

This morning, I treated myself to a 60 minute massage, first time I ever did in my life, and it was absolutely wonderful. My chronic tension on lower back and shoulders cleared away instantly, and I was a much happier person physically. In the afternoon, I joined a couple of friends in attending a craft show in downtown Dallas. There were more than 90 booths presenting jewelries, antiques, clothes, arts, photographs, and many other interesting things that aren’t really seen elsewhere in retail stores.  What I love about the craft show is that they are all unique and creative; I enjoy seeing all the different inspirations put together for hours, days, and months by local artists. It’s really their moment to shine, and I always admire their passion.

Afterwards, we walked around the Dallas Farmer’s Market that were filled with fresh local produced-goods and flowers. It reminded me a lot back from Korea where I used to hold my grandma’s hand while running errands. She didn’t go to places like Wal-Mart or Kroger; it resembled so much of the farmer’s market. It brought back some good old memories, and it felt rather relaxing knowing that grocery shopping can be done in a non-stressful way. I could see why people would enjoy coming here. I hope to come back here with an actual purpose (we just roamed around today).

For dinner, I suggested my friends to go to a Korean bbq restaurant so they could experience an ethnic food. I showed them a Korean grocery store where they happened to host the Asian Food Festival. I bet my Caucasian friends have never seen so many Asians in one place – they admitted it was a good culture shock.  Yolanda also joined us for dinner and we all enjoyed some of my favorite Korean dishes.

Again, I love the week leading to Thanksgiving. But I’m especially thankful that, even far away from home, I still have an opportunity to count my blessings.