Gluttony and Gratitude

Thanksgiving Day epitomizes the paradox of American culture. It’s a mix of being thankful and being gluttonous, a blend of humility with oversized celebration, a day of rest and unending commercialization. While traditions vary from household to household, illustrating the melting pot of immigrant-ancestry, certain themes exist all throughout the United States: food, family, and festivities.

Thanksgiving falls on the 4th Thursday of every November. It is slightly odd, landing anywhere between the 22nd and the 28th, but it is certainly a festive day. While traditions change, a few more recent events highlight the American spirit of it all. The Macy’s day parade, for example, consists of immense floats (balloons) in the shape of anything from a giant turkey to a larger than life version of Charlie Brown. The parade shows off customs unique to the country such as marching bands, while offering a platform for companies and shows to market their products to America. Imagine a symbol of community and education followed immediately by one of capitalistic tendencies (not that that is a bad thing in itself, but still a little ironic).

Another aspect of this holiday is sports. Football and basketball dominate the day, providing entertainment to millions at home, and thousands more in attendance at the stadiums. Sports bring us together, they are filled with passion, grit, and excitement. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, grandparents and grandchildren all root for their favorite teams, sometimes with one another and sometimes in opposition. Overall it is an uplifting experience, just not for the athletes, coaches, trainers, and other employees who are required to work rather than spend their time at home with family or friends. Sure, some of them enjoy it, but surely not all of them. Besides, what purpose does a holiday hold if it is not “holy” in nature? Why should we be required to work if it is nationally celebrated? And, it is nationally celebrated since 1789. However, even more aware of this are retail workers.

The third activity, and second most popular part of Thanksgiving, used to take place the day after; however, now it seems to start at the beginning of the month and go on all the way to Christmas, only sneakily changing its disguise. This is Black Friday, a nightmare for those working in retail and a fiasco for those who participate in its sales. Every year the day of grace is followed up by the day of greed. We have a passion for more stuff, gullibly falling into the tricks and traps of so-called sales that typically are a result of stores marking up prices the week before so that they can label their products as a bargain the week of. Cyber Monday (the online version) isn’t much better in this regard, but at least it limits the violence and wreckage of those rushing and raging in the stores to obtain all that they so desperately desire.

Yet, the final and most popular tradition is the most iconic in showing American contrast. The Thanksgiving meal is one of abundance. We go all out. Mashed potatoes, turkey, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, fried oysters, chocolate chip cookies, and on and on. Depending on the region and origins of a family, the foods may vary, but one thing does not, the amount of food is simply staggering. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like there is anything wrong, and if done correctly there isn’t. However, due to the grandness of this get together, it inevitably ends in drama or horror for many families. Tales of familial dispute and not to mention catastrophe caused by drunk behavior (such as fatal car accidents or arguments leading to fallouts that are never repaired) litter the holiday season. Therefore, a peaceful day in essence often falls short of its intended purpose. Then again, was it ever pure in truth?

In summary, Thanksgiving is a chaotic day, but it is representative of a paradoxical people. Americans, as our country shows, are a people diverse in culture and still widely wild in our nature long after the end of the Wild West. We, as all people, are flawed, thus a holiday unique to our country is surely reflective of this fact. Yet even still, millions of families all around the US hold tight to the values and importance of the pinnacle of our Fall season: thankfulness, fellowship, family, and joy.

Thanksgiving Day: A Tradition of Family

For me, Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday. It is the week after my birthday and it involves my absolute favorite dish, pumpkin pie. I consider it the peak of the Fall season since it is right around the time when all of the trees’ leaves turn from green to yellow, red, and orange. The sweet smell of pumpkin paired with the beautiful fall colors give off a nostalgic feeling everytime.

My family and I always have Thanksgiving together, my brothers and their wives, my parents, my nieces and nephews, as well as friends who have become a part of our extended family. We have plenty of food thanks to the tireless work of my sisters-in-law and my mom. Every year we have a large turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, oyster casserole, rolls, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, molasses sugar cookies, and chocolate chip cookies.  

Leading up to the meal, the day is calm. In the past, my brothers and I played soccer, basketball, football, or baseball together until it was time to eat. We also watched the Macy’s day parade on TV with our grandparents. But, now it mostly consists of us playing board games or video games, or watching a movie while the others prepare the feast.

We share memories of the past and hopes for the future. A tradition that we have is saying something that we are grateful for right before the meal, then my father says a prayer. Finally, we all eat, chat, and laugh together; and when we have finished, everybody goes home and relaxes until it’s bedtime.

‘If we are honest with each other, nothing can break us’

He thought about it; it seemed to make sense. Transparency as a shield; one that could make them unbreakable. No matter how much they hurt each other, they would have the truth.

Those had been Gabi’s words, words she had uttered a few months ago. Just a few months ago. But it seemed like an eternity.

They were trying to make sense of the world. To reconcile their unflattering desires and impulses, with the equally raw love they felt for each other.

Maybe they were just scared. Scared they would cause each other pain, disappoint each other, or simply – get bored of one another.

Have you ever thought about why people are unfaithful? Are they looking for someone else? Or are they looking for another side of themselves?

Are they running away from their partner? Or from who they themselves have become?

With their youth, ingenuity, and defiance, they refused to accept what society had told them. They set out to shape their own rules.

He thought about the past few months. Their open relationship – a label that hardly captured the complexities and elegance of their experiments. They had tested each other’s limits, in pursuit of newness.

Now Nicolas sat enveloped in the silence of the apartment. It helped to quiet his own racing thoughts. Gabi had never lied, as far as he knew. He knew exactly where she was, yet the truth wasn’t working like he thought it would. In loving her, he had given her the autonomy she so craved. But had it been at his expense?

Gabi lay on the other side of town, next to a man who had opened the doors for her to discover other facets of herself. Who she was with him wasn’t who she was with Nicolas. With every moment she discovered something new about herself and lost herself in these facets. Gabi craved to live out all her truths, all her selves, and to surprise herself with who she was and who she could be.

Gabi was soaring high; Nicolas was crawling deep underground.

She knew she loved him, but she also knew that love shouldn’t and couldn’t limit her. Part of him knew she was playing with fire. Had he gone along with this purely because he loved her? Did she know this? Or had she fooled herself into thinking he wanted this too?

How much is one willing to sacrifice for the one they love?

*This story is heavily based on and inspired by the film ‘Newness’ (2017) – it is the author’s interpretation of the movie, with embellishments added. Yes the movie is on netflix 😉

Are you often told that your obsession with your feline friend is…unhealthy? Too intense? Just plain annoying? Well it happens to me all the time, and I couldn’t care less!

I profess my love for my beautifully fluffy, cloud-like, heavenly, majestic, and surreally stunning kitten.

(Obviously I had to include a picture)

Okay now onto the article…

Here are 10 signs you are too obsessed with your furry soulmate:

1. You refer to them as your son/daughter, and take your responsibility as a parent very seriously.
2. You sing songs for them, about them, and directly to them. Usually in a religious chant sort of way.
3. You miss them while on vacation. This helps overcome post-holiday blues because you have a reason to go back!  
4. You always think of them whenever you open a can of tuna. That smell though…
5. They are the most important guest at your birthday party. Can we get a bow tie for this cat please?!
6. When your sister claims ownership you gently remind her: ‘this kitten is NOT the family kitten. It’s MY kitten.’
7. You let them climb onto your expensive new duvet (we are talking feathers here) and make biscuits.
8. You always, without fail, say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ when entering and leaving the premises (usually in a loud cooing voice  – all your neighbours know when you get home).
9. You become a pro-bono masseuse on demand – kittens want massages, and they want them now. They pay you back by biting you when they’re suddenly and inexplicably done with the massage.
10. You bore people to absolute tears telling them about your kitten – and feel zero remorse.

Are you a cat enthusiast? What others signs can you add to the list?

The FIFA World Cup (A Timeline and a Bit of History)

The FIFA World Cup is an international event that has a lot of followers throughout the world. It started in the year 1930 and only thirteen teams that were invited by the organization competed. Since then this event has been held every four years and has only been interrupted twice due to the first and second world wars in the years 1942 and 1946.

However, the first official match was held many years before, in the year 1872 between Scotland and England in the largest Scottish city known as Glasgow; by that time, this sport was not popular out of the United Kingdom.

The sport started to be popular in the twentieth century and in 1902, Argentina and Uruguay were the first countries out of the Great Britain to play the first official international match, this match took place in Montevideo in the year 1902. Two years after, The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded.

The FIFA was founded in Paris, the capital of france, and this is why its name is in French.

Before the year 1930, all the international football matches had been staged by the International Olympic Committee but in the year 1928 FIFA decided to stage their own competition. The first World Cup took place in 1930; Uruguay was first host country and also the winner of the Cup this same year.

Then, in 1934 Italy hosted and also won the Cup this year, being the first European country to win the competition.

Afterwards, in 1938, the competition was held in France, but the winner was Italy again, retaining the title by beating Hungary in the final.

Then in 1950 (after the cancellation of the event in 1942 and 1946 due to the World Wars) it was Brazil’s turn to host the World Cup, but the victory went to Uruguay that year.

Afterwards, in 1954 the host country was Switzerland. This World Cup was the first one to be broadcast on TV and the winner of the tournament was West Germany.

In 1958 the World Cup was held in Sweden and the winner of that year was Brazil.

In 1962 Chile was the host country and the winner was Brazil again, beating Czechoslovakia 3-1.

In 1966 the host country was England, who was also the winner of the tournament. This was the first World Cup that featured a mascot and an official logo. The mascot was a lion because it is a typical symbol of the United Kingdom.

Later in 1970, Mexico was the host and the winner of the tournament was Brazil, becoming the first nation to win three World Cups.

In 1974 West Germany was the host country and also the winner of the competition by beating the Netherlands 2-1 in the final.

Then in 1978 there was a really controversial World Cup, it was celebrated in Argentina, which was under dictatorial rule. In the end, Argentina was the champion for their first time.

In 1982, Spain hosted the event and Italy won the competition thanks to the great performance of its top-scorer Paolo Rossi who scored six goals against Brazil.

In 1986 Mexico hosted the World Cup for second time. Argentina won the Cup for its second time also beating West Germany 3-2 with a great performance from Diego Maradona.

In 1990 the World Cup was held in Italy and the champion was West Germany.

In the year 1994, the host country was the United States, and this was the first World Cup in which the final was decided on penalties. The winner was Brazil.

The next World Cup was in 1998 and this year the host country was France, who won it all by beating Brazil 3-0 in the final.

Then in the year 2002, the World Cup travelled for the first time to the Asian continent. It has been the only World Cup hosted by two countries: South Korea and Japan. This year, the competition was won by Brazil for the fifth time after beating Germany 2-0 in the final.

In the year 2006 the international competition was held in Germany and the champion was Italy. The Italian team beat France 5-3.

Four years later, in 2010, the competition was held on the African continent for the first time, in South Africa. This year the competition was won by Spain, which defeated Netherlands 1-0.

In 2014 the World cup was hosted by Brazil for the second time and this year Germany won the cup by defeating argentina 1-0 in the final.

The World Cup has been an important event since its beginning, notwithstanding its importance has increased with time. The history continues to be written and this year 2018 there will be a new champion that will be in the list of the victors of the World Cup History.

My future? I am not really sure.

I am always thinking about my future. It can be about what will happen in one month, one year, maybe five or even more. 

What do I want? My plans are changing every day. Especially now with COVID-19 and the quarantine which helped me think about whether I am happy or not with the things that I am used to doing. The only things which I know are: I want to change my job, travel more and become vegan.

1. Living and working abroad – Looking for my happy place.

I want to work abroad for a year or more. I would like to go someplace where English is the first language because I want to practice and improve it every day. My first option is Australia and the second one is Denmark, though I know English is not the first language there. My partner in this adventure (aka. the boyfriend) and I will wait for a couple months to decide the place where we will finally go, once the current situation is better. Also, our plans are to travel more once we settle. I am hoping to find my happy place to live and work. 

2. Changing my job 

This is the only thing I am really sure about. Covid-19 started when I was looking for a new job and in fact I had had some interviews, but the pandemic stopped it all. I will continue my search when the lockdown and quarantine finish as it is not the best moment now. Also, I am doing a postgraduate degree related to climate change. I would like my future job to be related to this. 

3. Becoming vegan

I have always wanted to be vegetarian. Over these last few months, I was able  to do it; I learned a lot. I want to be vegan in some years. I think it is my way to contribute to helping our planet which has several problems caused by the animal industry. It is an option to live without animal suffering and being friendlier to the environment.  This problem needs our intervention and it is time to act now and not when it is too late.

I don’t know if in some days I will change my mind about my plans, or how long it will take me to accomplish them. What I do know is that I will put into practice what someone once said to me: “Make it happen”. It depends on me. Don’t you think so?

Contributed by Sabrina Kossak

Narration by Mariana Herrera

The beach is a beautiful and peaceful place. You can always connect with nature. I’ll tell you my experience the very first time I went to the beach in a foreign country. 

At the beginning, my family and I were at our hotel room ready to go to a beach nearby. The view was amazing and the horizon looked good. We were at the beach when my parents bought me a great sandcastle bucket and I was very happy about that!

A few minutes after walking, exploring the city and enjoying the beach itself, I asked my parents if we could eat something after swimming, they said yes!

Later, I was very scared and happy at the same time when we arrived at the beach. Some minutes later, I got it: I had nostalgic feelings because it was the first time I remembered a beach at all! Because I’m from another country.

When I touched the sand into the salty water, I was very cold, but my parents encouraged me to keep going and that really helped me to get more into the water, but I knew I couldn’t go so far. Then, I saw that my parents had a surprise for me… It was a surfboard!

I wasn’t dreaming but we stayed for hours and spent a wonderful day enjoying the water, the surfing board and the sandcastle.

An hour later, it was time to go to eat. I wanted to stay more time, but I knew that we had to go. We went to a beautiful restaurant and the food was very delicious! It was definitely a memorable experience. 

How about you?

Have you ever had a great day at the beach?