Living abroad, I find myself pretty immune to the hype of most American holidays. In the States, there's endless chatter about classic Thanksgiving recipes and new takes on these recipes before the holiday and at the same time, a million and one different articles which focus on creative things to do with leftovers from the holiday. Thanksgiving is an eating holiday.

So abroad, the holiday is more holiday and less hype. Surprise, surprise. It turns out that when you live in a country that doesn't celebrate a specific holiday the focus shifts. Last night, we had a big Thanksgiving party at school. We made tons of food, our Bulgarian colleagues came, we ate dinner together and socialized. It was great fun.

For me, last night was Thanksgiving. It turns out that the calendar doesn't have to dictate when I celebrate. The only thing that is a little disorienting is the fact that no one else has really celebrated the holiday yet. It's a little strange to read the Style Section of the New York Times and realize that all of the articles are about what to cook for Thanksgiving.

I mean, I've already moved on to eating my leftovers. <!--more-->

In the States, the day after Thanksgiving is a day of shopping. There are huge sales, long lines and crazy people. I've done my utmost to avoid these sales for years but for most people this day marks the countdown to Christmas. <em>The countdown to Christmas</em>.

Right now, sitting on my couch in Mladost, it's hard to imagine that Christmas is around the corner. Heck, it's hard for me to get in my head that it's actually the end of November. Funny how that works some times.

Sure, I got an email on Friday establishing the days that we're meeting to practice our Balkan Dance for the Christmas Concert at school. I know that next week, I am going to Vienna for four days to celebrate Thanksgiving for a second time. I know that next month is going fly by but today, it's pretty hard to imagine all of this.

So I am sitting on my couch, drinking coffee, reading the New York Times, planning for Christmas/New Years and generally procrastinating. I should be finishing my Bulgarian homework. I should be doing some housework. I should run to the grocery store. I should respond to some emails. But I am not and today, I am okay with this.