Unhappy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day in Thailand is just like any other day. I didn't see any turkeys or any decorations. Judging from some students who thought it was a religious holiday Thais just don't know what Thanksgiving is about. I talked about it in all of my classes but I didn't not mention the common believed myth of how it started (no mention of Christopher Columbus or his killing sprees). I talked about how it brings family together and we eat and give thanks. The students were interested and it went over really well.
That night I was going to Nan to visit friends and witness Loy Krathong there. Loy Krathong is a festival to honor the water goddess. I had bought my bus ticket the morning of Thanksgiving morning and unfortunately couldn't go to the Thanksgiving feast at the Sofitel because of the availability of the buses. No big deal, soon I'd be spending the weekend with friends. I arrived at the bus station at 7pm for my 7:30pm bus. Many buses are going in and out the exhaust fumes are very unpleasant. I didn't have anything to breathe into to block the scent so it was really an awful wait. I was waiting for the bus and I expected the destination to be written in English and the only bus without English I asked where it was going and they told me my bus would come "right there" (and pointed). Sounded good to me.
7:40....7:50....8:00 hmmm. Usually buses aren't late but I hadn't seen by bus yet so I wasn't too worried. I just wanted to get away from the smell and taste of exhaust. A Thai woman came up to me and that's when I got worried. She wanted to know where I was going and then told me I had missed my bus. What? I said with a forced smile. I have been right here since 7pm I said probably too sternly but still with a smile. I missed it and that was that. It must have been a bus with a different end destination. So that was that. I was really frustrated purely because it was Thanksgiving and I didn't get to see the Nan girls and by then I had missed the Sofitel dinner. With tears of frustration brimming in my eyes I said thank you and started toward home. I needed to walk off some steam as it's so hard to not be able to figure out what really happened. No money back or anything. They said they just didn't know what bus I was waiting for. It just sucked and I was feeling bad because it was a night when I should be spending it doing something! Holidays away from home can bring out emotions that aren't normally there. Also, feeling a little sick and then breathing in exhaust for an hour can really have an affect on your mood.
I came back home, popped some balloons leftover from the baby shower and did some emotional eating with Goldfish (Thanks Sarah and Jason!). So my Thanksgiving meal was....Fried Rice with a bedtime snack of Goldfish. Not really any different than a normal day...which is more truly Thanksgiving in Thailand. The good news is I get the day off from work, good thing since I truly don't feel well. Hopefully the next holiday will be better :)
I hope you all had a very good Thanksgiving with family and friends.