Our First Thanksgiving as American Expats

We have celebrated our first Thanksgiving outside the U.S. So what is that like? I believe it can be said that it is what you make it wherever you are. 

Our family is spread out literally from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Big family gatherings don’t happen often. Adult children with school, careers, and family schedules of their own have always been a challenge. Holidays have changed in our family over the last two decades. This year, we enjoyed phone calls, FaceTime, and text messages with our adult children. We are grateful to know that our kids and their families are well, growing, and following their own path. This is a comfort as we explore new places and experience new cultures, living the life we have dreamed about for so long. 

Since moving, we have met and become friends with a wonderful group of expats here in Panama. We attend a weekly lunch gathering at a local hotel restaurant and participate in a WhatsApp group that shares information and checks on each other. We are currently a mix of Canadians, Americans, Panamainians, and a couple from Scotland. This group hosted a fundraiser to spay and neuter cats and dogs in our area this past summer. We recently started a weekly card game. So far, we have enjoyed playing Kings in the Corners (a game based on Solitare), 500 (a Rumi-based game) and Cribbage.

Our weekly lunch actually fell on Thanksgiving. The leader of our group, Bob #2, arranged for a special menu for us to enjoy. While we ate, we enjoyed conversations about our extended families and all our different holiday traditions. A group member has led a children’s Christmas fundraiser for the past four years, and he spoke about this year’s plans. Last year, they raised enough money to provide a Christmas present for 250 children. This year the goal is to provide a present for 300 children. Christmas is a big holiday in Panama. After our big Thanksgiving meal, we enjoyed a card game before going home. 

According to Google, Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil, Germany, and the Philippines. It is also observed in the Dutch town of Leiden and the Australian territory of Norfolk Island… Panama doesn’t celebrate it, but it is aware of it like most of the world. 

Fun fact… Black Friday was coined in the U.S. in the 1960s and has since gone international. Panama does participate in Black Friday. 

This past week, we have noticed Christmas music playing in the stores. This is normal where we used to live in TN. The weather there is typically cold, and depending on the year, there may be some sprinkles of snow. It feels like Christmas. Panama is a tropical country with hot and humid weather. Feeling like it is summertime and seeing holiday decor make us pause for a moment, but we are adjusting. It is interesting that some classic Christmas music in English is sprinkled in among the Spanish versions of others. We love discovering all differences and similarities. As we walked through our neighborhood, we noticed a few more homes with Christmas lights on rooflines, garlands, and wreaths decorating doors and windows. We might even start to play our favorite Christmas music.  

This holiday season, we are grateful for this time in our lives and hope that we will always be able to see life from other perspectives and appreciate the beauty of it all.