YuYuan Garden and Thanksgiving at the Marriott

Thanksgiving day, Debbie and I took a taxi downtown to the Old City, or the Yu Bazaar. It is an ancient (by US standards) part of the city which also has a preserved area called the YuYuan Garden, which was built in the 1400's by a son for his parents. I hope my kids will build us something nice when we get old!!

I thought about our cultural differences.

Our architecture looks nothing like this, and yet, the son who built this wanted a place where his parents could find peace and tranquility in their old age. Is that not a wish we all will have as we get older?

Last night we tried to hail a taxi during rush hour to go to the Marriott Hotel for a "traditional Thanksgiving Dinner." It was very cold. It took us a half hour to hail a taxi that was empty, however, once we got there, the setting was beautiful and the turkey delicious!

We had reserved a table a few days ago. When we arrived, there was a large placecard on a table with our name on it. As I turned to my left, only about two feet next to us, was the pastor of the church we attend! What luck - or was it? He and his wife are from Ohio (my home state), and in fact, lived in two of the cities we had lived in early in my adult life. Go figure!

We talked and enjoyed each other and our neighbors for Thanksgiving dinner, then took a taxi home. It was 8:30 p.m. and I realized that our driver had probably been driving for 16-18hours today. He was a pleasant, hard working (hard driving) man, who probably had a wife and child at home. If he complained about his hours, he would be unusual for people here. They work very hard, long hours usually without complaint.

They have hopes and dreams like us all - without thinking that they ought to be handed something
free.

We got up at 3 a.m. to Skype the kids and Deb's parents who were eating together. We had a great conversation and they showed us several different kinds of pies they had not yet finished off. It was a good day.

I am thankful.