Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my most favourite of American traditions. Food, family, friends and fankfulness, what a great combination! Lyndi and I have celebrated it in style in Wellington, tables out on the deck, all our American and part American friends, my mother would come and a few extras picked up at the last moment. Lyndi would spend the day cooking the turkeys and people would bring their favourite sides. A feast of epic proportions was had.

This was my and the boys first Thanksgiving in the motherland. It started with a couple of days off school in anticipation. A promise of fine food and football. As it happened we had a lovely meal with Lyndi's parents and sister and a older couple (our neighbours which Lyndi has become quite fond of). It was nice, but very small in comparison to what we have been use to over the years. I think the boys missed the excitement and bustle of our Wellington thanksgiving.

One of the great things about thanksgiving is that it is the only one of America's celebrations that hasn't been hijacked by wanten commercialism. It is still mostly about family. Oh how naive I was... For weeks I had been hearing about black Friday and was so confused as I couldn't find a Friday that fell on a thirteenth. Thursday while watching TV at Lyndi's parents it hit me, it was referring to the Friday after thanksgiving when huge deals were being offered. Some of these sales were massive, starting at Midnight or 5am in the morning! With a few super deals to entice thousands through the door, the Christmas panic buying could begin.

So glad our capitalistic society did not disappoint!

Climbing Mountains

As Autumn wears on the mercury quickly falls. Sub zero temperatures greet us each day, hopefully peaking into the positives sometime during the afternoon. Fahrenheit starts to take on some appeal, 32 degrees sounds much better than Zero!

The bright colours of the leaves have given way to browns. Large deposits collect at tree trunks and swirl around the neighbourhood in the wind. Snow has fallen on the surrounding foothills and you can tell it is only a matter of days before it makes its way into town.

I had planned to hike the local natural icon Heart Mountain for my birthday, but I caught a nasty cold and then it snowed. Friday I decided to take a look and see how much snow was on the mountain and if it was still accessible. So I rocked up there in my jeans and track shoes and went for a little walk. The snow was heavy but walkable and so I kept on going and going and three and a half hours later, trekking through heavy snow, I ended up on the summit.

Its a beautiful view! You can see the Big Horn mountains in the distance and the badlands in the foreground. The Beartooth mountains on the other side and Cody township nestled in the valley. Powell township is isolated with a huge flat expanse all around it.

Getting down the mountain was much harder, should have brought a sled. My old knees playing up every step a little jarring. Towards the bottom I got disorientated (could of been lack of water or food which I failed to bring with me), I lost the path. I could see where I needed to get to, but not the way to get there. After awhile of retracing my steps I realised that I needed to take some action. The light was fading and I wasn't keen to be alone on the mountain in the dark. I knew I needed to make a decision.

So I left the track I was on and headed for my goal. The snow was heavier and the terrain unforgiving on my sore knees and hips. I realised 10 minutes into my diversion that I could get myself into some trouble. There were a few moments of concern, how close should I get to being desperate before I asked for help. I determined that I would for this time in my life seek assistance a little earlier. So I used the last remaining battery on my phone, and called a local who would know the terrain and find me if I didn't make it back to my car.

Fortunately a few minutes later I found the path and everything was ok. On my return Lyndi was pretty worried, friends told her about the bears, wolves and mountain lions that frequent the area and as it got late she couldn't get me on the phone. She was even less impressed when she found that I had not called her with my last phone call. Whoops!

Climbing mountains can be dangerous, especially if you are a bit impulsive like me, the weather can change without warning, fatigue can skew your perception - you have to be prepared. But it is life affirming. Mountains get you a little closer to heaven, and give you a different perspective. The effort to get there rewarded with a view to inspire. I think we all need to conquer, its part of the reason for living. Hopefully we wont die in the process!

Halloween

Americans know how to turn everything into a celebration. Halloween is no exception. I love dress up and so it would seem does most of North America. People really go all out it is a lot of fun.

My boys especially like the variety and volume of all the sweets. Some of them ventured out for hours scouring the town for the best treasure, coming back home pillowcases filled with their abundant loot. It would be fair to say Halloween combined my boys two greatest desires Free & Candy. They were in heaven, literally on a sugar high.

I brought my Arab headset with me from NZ. (A souvenir from Dubai). I thought it might be fun to dress up as an Arab for Halloween. One because the costume is so great, two because I get to grow a beard and look really authentic, but also I wanted to see others reactions about it. In jest I knew that I would be linked to terrorism, it is Halloween after all and the lean is toward the untoward. But it also gave me an opportunity to discredit some of the negative stereotypes that exist here (and around the world) to Arabs, the Middle East and Muslims in general. It prompted several great discussions.

I find Racism and prejudice in general are really strange things. We like to believe that in our enlightened, intellectual, informed world we are above such thinking. But without warning we find ourselves embroiled in it all over the place. It begins with an us and them mentality, maybe a fun rivalry and then extends to bigger and more complicated things. It could be based on where you grew up, or where you went to school, a sports team, a political party or ethos, a religious difference, or national identity. It could be a class distinction or a occupational choice, a consensus of what is right or acceptable and what we think is wrong. It could be the colour of your skin, the accent of your words, the language you speak, the clothes you wear, your gender, your age, your hair colour, your family background, your relationship status, your sexual preference. Its endless.

We make jokes about such differences, we tease each other, we separate ourselves, we give labels, we call names, we fight, we even go to war.

Everyone has been a victim of some form of prejudice, and everyone has been the perpetrator. Likewise we have all been advantaged by our difference, given special treatment, applauded beyond our real ability. So it is a strange leveling field we all play on.

I wonder how best to make a difference in this area. I realise I must start with myself. I have been guilty of such terrible prejudice for which I am so embarrassed, and I continually find myself caught in bad thinking.

One example that I am willing to share: A few years ago Lyndi and I went to Samoa, it was a wonderful experience, what great people. I had expected it to be good, we have many Samoan friends and I grew up in several of their fantastic homes. But I wasn't prepared for the great cultural and religious heritage that was there. I cried when I thought of all the families from the Islands I knew who had left that strength to come to New Zealand, worked extremely hard often in menial jobs, to offer their children and family back home other opportunities. How I was blind to their great sacrifice, dedication and love, and under appreciated them as a result.

Travel has helped me to be more open to other people, but it has not eliminated my poor judgements yet. I hope I can offer others a different perspective that will help, and be appreciative of them in the process. I know there is so much more to understand than I can possibly get on my own.

Maybe events like Halloween allow us all a glimpse into another life. To dress up and pretend to be something different - remove some of our stereotypes. Or maybe we just reinforce them!