I knew a glorious feeling of thank you and thank you...

In America, today is Thanksgiving. In Virginia, the Ritchie family is gathering for turkey and cider. In New York, the PHTS family gathered yesterday for "Hidden Talents Day", where various people displayed talents everyone else didn't know they had. (I thought about that yesterday, as far as what "hidden talents" of mine have been discovered in Ghana... would my new HTD acts be "haggling for taxis", "finding the illusive FanIce vendor", "pretending to pound fufu in the sand with a small child"?) Here in Ghana, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but the NYU in Ghana family (and extended family) are ga for a giant meal. And it was phenomenal. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantains (of course), vegetables, macaroni and cheese... and all absolutely delicious. So good.

We were invited to contribute a desert. I'm sure the idea was that we'd make enough for 20 or so and with the various things combined we'd have enough, but I decided that I would not rest unless everyone who wanted what I'd prepared could get one. Thus I've been baking for the past day and a half. 105 muffins, 101 cookies. All cinnamon because chocolate chips are impossible here. I've made the house smell phenomenal. My baking has moved to the next level since I've been here, because I've sometimes had to bake without proper measuring tools and without key ingredients (nutmeg, baking powder), so I've had to figure out how to adapt. I made the muffins here a month or so ago, and I made the cookies in France. I'll shamelessly brag about my baked goods. Call me vain, but they taste phenomenal. When I made the muffins earlier in the semester, I was greeted with cries of, "Oh my God!" As my roommate Madison had a post-interview-with-the-White-House congratulatory muffin the other day, she said, "Man, whoever marries you..." Someone came up to me tonight and said, "I think you're a miracle worker." When we went around the tables and said what we were thankful for, someone said, "I'm thankful that in a few minutes we'll all be eating Colleen's cinnamon muffins." Also, French people liked my cookies.

All of the NYU in Ghana program was there, and we all went around and said what we were thankful for. We truly have become a family. It's quite beautiful. Then, desert (my muffins and cookies made up about half of the desert table). Then it turned into a dance party. Because that's what happens here. There's a dance party, and everyone dances. EVERYONE. Young, old. Our program director danced. We danced with our CRAs and our bus drivers and the cook of this incredible meal. We got them to play "Wavin' Flag" and I led the energizer.

I love Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite holidays. Excuse to eat copious amounts of good food? Phenomenal. But also, it's a day focused on gratitude. I try to move through life with a grateful attitude. I think it's one way to stay happy, because you're focusing on what you have, not what you don't have. And there are so many people I have to be grateful to. Truly, tremendous amounts. And I try to express that gratitude, for several reasons. One, because often people like hearing that I'm grateful for them, and therefore we both win, and two, because sometimes I just feel so grateful that it actually literally causes my chest pain, and I have to release it somehow. I've lost sleep from being so grateful. Sometimes I worry I'm TOO openly grateful and that eventually it will lose its effect or seem like exaggeration or flattery. It's not that, it's just that I feel that strongly. I am grateful to many people for many varied reasons. There are so many people who have impacted my life in ways that will never leave me. (when I found out that I've had an effect on any of their lives, I'm floored, humbled, and overjoyed).

Some people are disturbed by the effects others have on them. There's the whole, "Nothing about me is original, I am the combined effort of everyone I've every known,"For a design project last year, someone asked a question to the effect of, "Can you ever make a piece of truly original art?" and I said, "No, but why would you want to?" I find it quite beautiful, how what we encounter--people, places, art--is woven into the very fabric of our being and become insperable from ourselves. How beautiful.

And now, more sepcifically, Things I Am Currently Quite Thanksful For:

1. Being in Ghana.

There was a scary couple of weeks this summer where it looked like I was not going to be able to come here. That would have been terrible. The opportunity to live here, have an experience completely different than everything I've been exposed to before in my life, is absolutely unparalleled. The choice to study abroad was one of the best decisions I've made in my education. I wish I'd done it earlier. I wish I'd done it more than once. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly pleased with how college has turned out for me, I just wish I had one more semester. So I could do everything I've done/am going to do at PHTS, and also spend another semester. (I had a crazy moment where I almost applied to study abroad in Tel Aviv next semester, then I remembered that I have to graduate. Sigh. I'll get to the Middle East eventually.) And Ghana has been the perfect place for me. It has pushed me, made me incredibly uncomfortable, thrilled me, exposed me to things and people and places I never would have experienced. It has opened my eyes and made me aware of things on a global scale, far more than I think studying in a popular European location would have, because it's a developing country. It has awakened a care in me for what's happening in the world and given me a basic knowledge of modern politics and international relations so I can start to keep up. Never before in my life have I been inspired to read newspapers like I am now, because of 1) lack of interest and 2) lack of prerequisite knowledge to enable me to understand and care. Trying to figure all that out always seemed a task too daunting. The shortcut? Live somewhere where it's a vital part of everyday life. You will learn.

2. Being in Ghana with this program.

I, like many students who go to NYU, have a love-hate relationship with New York University. Many students feel little connection with the greater institution that is NYU, which seems mainly to take our money and cease to care. I'm lucky, because I'm in a smaller program within NYU (PHTS) so I DO get a connection with other students, with my teachers, with the administration, but for some students, they could be in classes with 100 other people and never interact with their teachers throughout their college career, let alone feel that an adminstration is looking out for them and their education, not their wallets. NYU in Ghana is a small program, where we know all the administration and they know us. Furthermore, they know Ghana and they do this program WELL. Our excursions are so well planned and help connect us with people and opportunities that we probably would not have found had we just come to Ghana on our own. The focus of the program is (inevitably, I'd say) on social justice, openmindedness, appreciation of other cultures, and social responsibility. Visiting the slave castle at Elmina and the slave camp at Paga is about us being able to witness and make sure things like that never happen again. We visited a mosque in Tamale (a rare opportunity), in order to help expose us to a beautiful religion whose image is being twisted nowadays, resulting in a kind of Islamophobia in some areas. Terrible. Education, education, education.

I've also had more intereactions with NYU here. Recently, the Vice Provost of Globalization and Multicultural Affairs came by for a visit. He was incredibly interesting, great to talk to, really delightful. Someone else came earlier, accompanied us on our trip to Cape Coast... can't remember his exact title. Both of them were genuinely interested in what we thought of the program, what we felt was missing, what should definitely stay, and just... us, as people. The Vice Provost and I had a conversation about life after graduation. This is the first time I've had any interaction with adminstration at NYU and it was delightful.

3. Being in Ghana with these people.

Certain types of people are drawn to certain study abroad sites. The Vice Provost said, "We like to think of the Ghana program as, 'The students are going to change the world.'" And it's true. I'm in this program with 42 intelligent, politically and socially aware, caring, well-traveled, passionate people. I only knew one of them beforehand (she's also a director at PHTS and I'm now her committed dialect coach for anything she directs set in Ghana), but by nature of this program, we've all gotten quite close. These are people who I never would have encountered while being completely absorbed in theater school life in New York, and I'm much better for knowing them. I referenced one of my roommates, Madison, having an interview with the White House... she's applying for an internship there. My other roommate, Leigh, has lived in Tanzinia and is interested in law and social justice in Africa. The three of us, and our friend Erin (who has started an NGO to provide educational opportunity via school supplies to children in Haiti), got into a giant argument about the organization and functioning of NGOs. A very passionate argument in which even I screamed. I can't remember the last time I yelled, or the last time I was involved in such an opinionated, high-stakes argument. And even while it was happening, I thought, "I love that we're so passionate about how to best help people." I'm much better because I know these people and I'm determined to keep in touch with them when we return. Leigh and I are living close to each other next semester, we've sworn to be gym buddies. My friend Cristann (who's super into religion and language) I've decided to steal for every theatrical production I do ever.

4. PHTS.

I'm always going on about how grateful I am for PHTS, but today I'll highlight two reasons. ONE: I would not be doing as well in Ghana if it were not for PHTS. Communication, collaboration, working with people are all primary things we learn at PHTS and those are vital, absolutely essential here. I've become a mediator between people when stress and tensions get high from how close we all are... and what I've learned at PHTS has helped those situations immensely.

TWO: We're starting to make preparations for next semester, which, for me, means delightful email exchanges as we figure out what my curriculum should be (I'm doing a rather personal track next semester). I'm extremely excited for next semester, and this time of year is when they're all gathering to chat about us. I'm always astounded by the amount of care. Even when I'm not physically there.

5. Living arrangements.

NYU guarantees housing for all four years if you renew on time and turn in your deposits and all those forms. However, since I'm only going to be at NYU for one more semester, I decided it wasn't worth the cost and hassle of dorm living. (prices of NYU dorms are generally good for the area, but you can get cheaper if you go out to Brooklyn or Queens or the Bronx.) However, most of my friends are staying in housing next semester, therefore I've been without an apartment-hunting buddy. Trying to find an apartment in New York is stressful enough without starting the process while you're in Ghana. I was starting to get stressed about not having a place to live, and then found out that a fellow PHTS student was looking for a roommate for next semester, we chatted for a bit, and now I will be moving in with her in January. And it's for incredible rent, in an excellent location (East Village, what whaaaat!). This is a huge relief and saves me a lot of stress. Also, she cooks, I bake, and we both love wine.

6. Fall Break

I'm so grateful for the Europe travel of my fall break. It threw me for such a loop, in a very good way, and it's so delightful now that when people talk about Paris, or London, I have images and experience. Someone recently asked me what I thought of Prague, because they'd never been. That was thrilling.

7. You lovely people back home.

I've gotten so many emails and facebook notifications from people back in the States that have been beautiful notes of support and love. It is astounding to feel so thoroughly loved. Thank you.

8. 10 peshwa bags of groundnuts.

...the last one one this list is serious business.