Thanksgiving

Yesterday my American friends and I celebrated Thanksgiving together and although I missed my friends and family back home, I still must say that it was one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had.  The day began with an event that I had been looking forward to for a long time. Since meeting our Australian mates Andrew and Rutty, we had talked several times about having an Australia vs. US cricket match. We had scheduled the game, unknowingly, for the same day we had decided to cook our Thanksgiving meal. While this added a bit of time related stress to our Turkey Day plans, I would not give up the cricket morning for all the food I ate later in the day. The American team, comprised of Adam, Andrew, Jon and I had decided that morning that we would need jerseys to represent ourselves on the pitch. What we came up with was four navy blue lax pennies (Andrew shares a high school background in lacrosse with me) which we altered by adding names to the back with tape. We also added some American tats to our arms since we were already showcasing the guns in an attempt to intimidate the Aussies into submission. Needless to say, we looked pretty good. While preparing for the game came as a no-brainer, the game of cricket itself is not as easy as it appears... Team America took time before the Aussies arrived to attempt to bowl (pitch) which by rule, does not allow you to bend your arm at any time.  This proved difficult to the four of us who found this pitching style unorthodox and simply "lame". As the day progressed Andrew had the quote of the day saying, "As I learn more about cricket, the less similarities it has with baseball..." 

As the opposition rolled up to the pitch, I realized that what we were about to undertake was a tradition that was purely Australian. Andrew, Rutty, accompanied by their friends Duruf and Kingsley, came to the field with bats, wickets, balls, and an eski filled with XXXX (Four X Gold) beer. Andrew assured us that when playing a friendly game of cricket, 4X is the ideal beer to bring along due to its "Bogan" (Australian redneck) reputation.  We spent the day trying our best not to make a fool out of ourselves while taking Ken Griffey Jr. style cuts at bouncing leather balls that were (at least for me) exceptionally hard to hit.  We actually played decently well. Even drawing a couple looks of surprise from the other team who were very kind in not smoking us on the rules or pitching too fast. One of the best moments for me was getting two wickets (strike outs made by the batter missing and the ball hitting the wicket) and then giving the ball up to Adam who immediately did the same to the next batter. We all decided that cricket is a lot of fun to play and we came out with a better knowledge of the rules. Hanging out with the Aussies was a ton of fun as always, with them all cracking jokes at each other and us.  The Aussie sense of humor is dry and easy going with a sense that you have to be able to laugh at yourself as well. We all enjoyed talking a lot of trash throughout the game. 

After wrapping up the match, we all took a bus to the Broadbeach area where our friend Connor was letting us use her place to have dinner. We had run late with cricket some when we arrived, the food was already prepared and people were ready to eat.  The food was amazing and by far the best cooked meal I've had since I've been abroad.  The menu was very traditional with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry, and gravy on everything.  It was absolutely delicious and Conner and Fink, Steven and Chris who all helped deserve a huge thanks for making it seem so much like Thanksgiving back home. I was able to contribute upon my arrival by saying an inspiring opening Grace and making sure that everyone around the table said what they were thankful for. I also made it in time to make the two boxes of Kraft Shapes that my lovely mother mailed me. Obviously they were a huge hit depsite throwing off the traditional Thanksgiving vibe. As we all sat in the apartment overlooking all of Broadbeach and Pacific Fair, I realized through the haze of my impending food coma that this was one of the best Thanksgivings I had ever been apart of. In summary, what I am thankful for is the great friends I have made over here and the support of my family back home to make this amazing experience possible. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home from us in the Gold Coast! - Jeff