Strangest Thanksgiving

When I lived in Rome I wasn't really ever homesick, I certainly missed little things like Mexican food, driving, a proper queue.  And of course I missed big things, family and friends.  But I wasn't really homesick.  But there are 2 days that an American living abroad feels a little more homesick than normal - Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

My funniest, saddest, and strangest Thanksgiving ever was that year living abroad.  My English friends had gone back to England, my American roommate had gone home, my other American friend had to work (being a Thursday and all), and my Irish roommate had a date.  I was sad that I was all alone, and wasn't going to be feasting away.

That afternoon when I got home, feeling down, my Irish roommate had created her version of "American night."  She cued up all of our Friends DVDs to Thanksgiving episodes, went to the store and bought "American food": Peanut Butter (which is expensive and hard to find in Italy, so a rare treat) and Peanut M&Ms.   Her "American drink" was to my surprise Heineken.  When I asked her why Heineken she said it was bottled by Anheuser Busch.

So I sat there all by myself, watch 4 or 5 Friends episodes and eating my M&Ms right out of the Peanut Butter jar.  To this day, I can't think of Thanksgiving without that memory.  She turned a sad day, one of my funniest and most memorable days of the whole experience. 

In her honor, here is my favorite Friends Thanksgiving episode.  Enjoy.