Before I came to the United states, I had no clue what thanksgiving was. During my first year of study here, I was exposed to thanksgiving concepts, foods, and ways of celebration. For a foodie like me, it is a grand fiesta. There is literally soooo much food around. And it sounds all delicious!

For us, in India, the only time we truly celebrate together with so much food and lights is Diwali (I mean it’s called the festival of lights). Diwali for us is like celebrating thanksgiving here. Good food, great clothes, so many gifts! It’s a crazy time for the females considering we get to eat and shop a lot! And who doesn’t like sale and discounts! I remember last year, me and my group of friends were sitting in my room, not talking to each other and just shopping continuously for hours. This was because all of us didn’t want to tackle a crowd. It can really get messy during this time. I, once heard that people could die in this stampede (So much for being a shopaholic, huh?).

Since I don’t have my family here to celebrate thanksgiving with, I will be enjoying every moment I can with my friends who are my family. I will spend most of my time eating and shopping (And hoping that the winter storm isn’t too bad). I remember, my first storm I witnessed here was Sandy. Ah! those days without electricity, a week of being nomadic and wishing to be back home. Sure don’t want anything close to that! I hope and wish, all of you are warm and safe with your kith and kin celebrating this holiday with a lot of love and happiness.

This year though, with yummylicious food, I will try to thank every person who made a difference in my life at some point. It sounds sweet, doesn’t it? You guys should try it too!

But trust me when I tell you this, I haven’t tasted the traditional baked or roasted stuffed turkey. Can you believe it! And you would think I go all out for my food, right!? (Any volunteers to feed me delicious turkey this year?)

P.S: Thank you dad and Payal (sister) for always being there and witnessing my success and failures; for lifting me up every time I fell down. I miss you guys!

Thank you Pia for always being there; taking care of me, an entire week, while I irritated you with my sickness. Thank you Manali and Neha, for always being there and handling my idiosyncrasies well.

A very big thank you to all my friends, all over the world, for making the slightest difference in my life and also for being a part of it. I miss you all. Hoping to see you all at some point, very soon.

Enjoy giving thanks using the new KRDTS app available on Google Playstore and Apple Appstore.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!