Giving Thanks

Celebrating an American holiday in another country is really not that bad. It’s like having this secret all day that makes you happy, hidden from the majority but somehow all the more special for it.
Shhhh...it’s Thanksgiving.

Plus, the lack of food induced stupors and shopping mania can allow me to really focus on what I’m thankful for this year. There a wide range of choices, but there’s one thing in particular to which I really feel obligated lately: technology.

I admit to hypocrisy about this last statement. Before embarking on this trip, I was definitely something of a technophobe: I hated my cell phone, sneered at all iPhone users, and routinely lied about the existence of my Facebook page out of shame.

But since leaving on this trip, technology , in all its varied forms, has become my true companion. With the push of a button, I can chat face to face with friends and family thousands of miles away. (Really! Skype us anytime at Matthew Barton.) My entire collection of music is accessible in the palm of my hand and a very generous library of books is digitized on my computer. E-mail is always accessible to pester people with all the random thoughts that fill my head. This blog, even, to share the stories and pictures from half way across the world. Yes, even I have to admit that technology has been valuable to me this year.
Almost invaluable really....

During one of the many blackouts that plagued us the first week in Rio, I tried to comfort myself with thoughts of the silver lining. Look, I thought, how many times do you get to fall asleep listening to the waves of the ocean and not the electric hum of humanity? When people first discovered new land, they didn’t have electricity or laptops either. Isn’t that a truer experience anyway, without all the trappings of technology?

No, it’s really not, I decided. I suppose I will never have the benefit of stepping foot on land that has never been sullied by human touch. But then again, those people never had the benefit of watching football on Thanksgiving with their family from 5000 miles away.

It’s amazing of a different sort, but amazing all the same. And I am most thankful.