When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Turkey
Frozen turkeys are on sale at supermarkets across the US, family recipes for sweet potatoes and pecan pie are being prepared while swarms of people make cross country journeys home to take their place around the table for Thanksgiving Dinner.
Yes, it is Thanksgiving Eve! Notoriously the biggest party night of the year, since it is the prelude to the only 4 day weekend on the calendar, a full blown vacation by American standards.
Unfortunately, on my Thanksgiving agenda this year, is a business function that does not involve turkey or pumpkin pie. A Turkey Dinner with friends is planned later in the weekend, but I don’t want to postpone the most important aspect of Thanksgiving, (besides food, family, and football); which is of course gratitude.
I’ve had gratitude on my mind all week, since surviving a treacherous drive back to the Netherlands from Strasbourg, France on Sunday evening in a snow storm. The road conditions were extremely hazardous through Luxembourg, and the Ardene in Belgium with nowhere to wait out the storm and our two bundles of precious cargo strapped in the back seat. There were several fatal accidents and the lucky to be alive feeling that my husband and I shared that night has not faded. Continue reading »
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Election Euphoria
Once in a lifetime…
This photo was taken by photographer Daphne Johnson as we entered the Kurhaus Hotel along with my friend Lisa for the “Who’s the President?” Breakfast just before 5:00 a.m. CET.
At that moment, it felt like a dream. Unfortunately, once inside, the mixed crowd’ s level of enthusiasm was a buzz kill; mild, not wild. I had expected more from the crowd of over 1,000 extremely early risers. We were among the last to leave, unsure what to do next? What to do with yourself when your dream has come true? When the world has changed? When everyone else is going on about their business, to work, to school, etc.?
I would have given anything to experience this momentous occasion at Grant Park. (I had been sulking in the office the day before when Barack didn’t call to invite me). The big screens in the hotel showed people filling the streets in cities across the US. It was a movement and I longed to be part of it. Unable to assemble enough people for a street parade in Scheveningen, despite having some big decorations from the event in our possession, we proceeded to our office for a Champagne toast. Even with a nice bottle of Gossett, it was difficult to entice people away from their Wednesday morning work routine.
Going through the day in a daze, I ended up spending a lot of time in the car. Wanting to be in motion, I called the babysitter to say I’d pick up my son from school and offered my husband a lift to the airport. Proudly sporting my Obama Gear and tireless grin, I encountered the change on the streets. People were making eye contact and even smiling. This is not done in the Netherlands! (Maybe it was my cheesy plastic stars and stripes hat that made them smile?)
The biggest and most surprising response came from the parents at the French school. As a group they are not overtly friendly, but there were cheers and congratulations all around from people I’ve never met before! It was electric and it seemed that just by seeing me (a token American) there at that moment, they felt connected to the day.
One mother told me that she had watched the election results that morning before school with her son instead of cartoons. She was explaining about Barack Obama during his speech when the boy suddenly got very excited and said, “Mama, look he smiled at me!” When a five year old French boy who doesn’t even speak English, sees Barack Obama for the first time and believes that Barack Obama is speaking directly to him, it makes perfect sense. Barack Obama has broken through the noise and reached people of all races and nationalities in a way that no one else has ever done, not in my lifetime!
The Ballot Box & Election Predictions
Signed, Sealed and Delivered?
Today is the day we have all been waiting for…nearly 150 million Americans will cast their ballots to elect their next President while the world watches and waits. If you were to ask more than 50 Americans living here in the Netherlands how the voting process works, you could easily get more than 50 different answers; depending on the state in which they are registered to vote and how confused they are about the process. Each state holds its own election and makes its own rules; which can lead to absurdities (Florida) that you would never expect in a developed country.
It is estimated that 2 million Americans living abroad have already voted in this election. My vote counts! As a former resident of Missouri, I am registered there and it is one of the critical swing states. As you can see from the photo, I have cast my absentee ballot with the assistance of my 4 year old son. He asked if he could write Barack Obama’s name on the ballot, but was less interested in the various propositions on the ballot covering everything from gambling, alternative energy and sales tax. There were also candidates for MO state officials and the re-election of 18 judges. It is a challenge to get voters to the polls, so they are bombarded once in the voting booth with issues they often are not prepared to decide. Imagine the famously undecided voters we hear about every day; if they are still undecided at this point about their vote for president after a historic two and a half year campaign, they couldn’t possibly make twenty or thirty additional choices on the same day! This is one of the factors leading to extremely long lines. Luckily, early voting has been legalized in 35 states, with an estimated 24 million voters participating.
Many people are simply anxious for the election to be done and over with. My French husband may fall into this category. He is extremely interested in the election and very supportive, but he will undoubtedly be relieved when I stop dressing the entire family in Obama gear, take the campaign signs out of the windows (we live on a high visibility street) and stop pulling all-nighters to catch the convention and debate coverage. He used to refer to me as a Europeanized American, but has been a little surprised how publicly I have “come out” during this campaign. I know that I am not alone among Americans Abroad in my excitement about the prospect of being represented by a leader we can be proud of instead of ashamed of. My husband may also be concerned that I am overly optimistic, but I hope he has not made an appointment on my behalf at the French Consulate for a passport just yet, because I believe that Barack Obama has connected with Americans in a way that will not only deliver the votes, but inspire the nation beyond the election.
P.S. Every day the pollsters call Missouri a different shade of pink or lavender, but I even believe that Missouri will go Blue!! I am extremely proud of my Mom who has been volunteering and working hard going door to door for Obama in St. Louis- Shirley Faust is a true Obama Mama!!
Escape from Samaria Gorge
The Samaria Gorge is 16 km long and 500 meters deep and runs from the White Mountains to the Southern Coast of Crete. Our trek into the Samaria Gorge began with realistic expectations. According to the website (my husband checked) the hike was not difficult and would take three hours, four hours with frequent stops and six hours for the slowest people on earth, so 4 hours was our target. The same source said 3.000 people hike the Samaria Gorge on the busiest days of the summer, so it sounded more like a superhighway than a challenge. Continue reading »
