The Spirit of Thanksgiving

The United States has an image problem.  No, not the obivous one thanks to the current president, but the cultural one.  People all over the world think of Americans as materialistic, greedy people who, as a by-product, generally manufacture holidays in order to bolster consumer spending through gift-giving.  While that may be true in general, there are some notable exceptions to these materialistic holidays.  Thanksgiving is still one of the purest holidays which revolves around the simple pleasure of just spending a full day with family and friends while focusing on food and television and understanding what things you are thankful for.
The Chinese seem to understand this once you connect it to their Mid-Autumn Festival.  This festival is the one festival of the year where everyone struggles to be with family and friends (or at least, wishes strongly that they were).  In many ways, it's similar in theme and execution to Thanksgiving.
Europeans?  For all of their high-and-mighty, we-are-cultured attitude, their faces go absolutely blank when faced with the concept of Thanksgiving.  Common responses, "What, no gifts?" "But then, why do you have the holiday?" "What are you supposed to do all day?" "It's just about hanging out with family and friends?" "I don't get it." "But... what is it about?"
Attempts to explain are usually lost until it finally dawns on them that ... that's it.  There's no more to find out about.  It's just about enjoying a day and giving thanks (to any diety or just your visible companions) for what you have.  I, for one, have come to feel a stronger connection to Thanksgiving as my time away from the United States has increased.

... and Sadness

I saw a man die on Tuesday night.  I think it was the first time in my life.  I didn't realize that until the next morning.
I'm going to the St. Andrew's Ball on Saturday night.  I'm not sure who St. Andrew was but I do know that he's Scottish enough for the Beijing Scots to throw him a formal ball every year.  Since they actually expect you to dance Scottish line/couples dances, the organizing committee is cool enough to hold a few practice dance sessions.  Last Tuesday was my first session.
The dance practice had been on for about a half-hour and I was started to get worried that I wasn't in the right physical shape to last a whole night.  Then, suddenly, the crowd seemed to react at once, hushed up and everyone turned the same direction.  The leader of the organizing committee had just hit the floor and blood was starting to pool under his head.
We found out later he had suffered a heart attack; and not, as everyone thought, slipped and hit his head on the floor.  I'm not sure why, but me and several other people were slightly comforted by this.  It doesn't make sense, but it was true.
Several people had already started examining him to determine if they could roll him over, start CPR, etc.  Not wanting to join the melee, I decided to call the International SOS to get an ambulance over right away.  After all, I had an emergency number specifically designed for clueless expats to get immediate medical help while living in China.
I was stunned with the response.  First, I got a couple of recordings (not sure what they were but they didn't order an ambulance automatically).  I quickly summed up the situation (and location) to the operator and she said,"Okay.  Now what's your name?"
Me: "Uhh... Anuj Goel. Is the ambulance on it's way?"
SOS: "Okay, is the man a friend of yours?"
Me: "... Yes.  Is the ambulance on it's way?"
SOS: "Okay, hold please while I connect you to the doctor."
Me:"No, wait.  I don't want"  "... to talk to the doctor."
After getting her back on the line, I kept asking about the ambulance and she finally told me that she was going to connect me to the chinese 119 hotline.
Me:"No, don't connect me.  You talk to them.  That's why I called you.  I can't tell them anything."
SOS:"... Oh.  Okay.  Let me check with them."
... minutes pass
SOS:"Sir, our ambulance will be there in 20 minutes."
Me:"What?  Why 20 minutes?  You're less than 2 kilometers from here!"
SOS:"We have only one driver and he was sleeping at home.  He has to come in to the hospital to get the ambulance."
Me:"You call that an ambulance service?  Call the city's ambulance dispatch!"
... minute or two
SOS:"Sir, someone else from your location called in Chinese and said that the ambulance was already there."
Puzzled, I looked around.  I was on the ground floor on one side of the building and could see straight through to the other side of the building and the street opposite.  No lights, no ambulance.
Me:"Uhhh... there's no ambulance here.  Did you talk to the ambulance dispatch?  Did they confirm that?"
SOS:"I told them about it..."
Me:"Listen, you should only get information from them.  Can you ask them if they sent an ambulance and just tell me how much longer we have to wait?"
NOTE: It seems like I was calm, cool and collected but I was not.  I was exasperated, angry and frustrated (with all of the impact that has on vocabulary, tone and diction).
... minute
SOS:"Sir, the ambulance is on it's way and will be there shortly."
... minute later, ambulance arrives, I hang up.
By this time, at least 20 minutes had passed.  I don't know if the delay in the ambulance had an impact on this poor man's life.  I think that the ambulance probably came because one of the local folks had called 119 directly and had it sent (meaning, I had no impact on the event).
His wife is apparently adamant that the ball go on as scheduled (he was devoted to it) but I don't know what the mood of the night will be.
I hope he had a peaceful ending.  He was apparently doing something he loved (dancing) until his last moment.  I've just learned a valuable lesson and life seems just a bit shorter now.
...
And also, I'm going to draft a very stern letter to the International SOS.

Personal Milestones - Happiness ...

Sometimes, fate decides to give you two complementary events to remind you that you can't have happiness without a little bit of pain.  Keeping that in mind, I'll give you the good news first (bad news in the next post)...
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I'm in Beijing.  The sky is blue, the air is clear and I hear birds singing in the background.  Can anyone tell that my divorce papers were just signed (and finalized) by the judge?