Thanksgiving

This weekend in Canada, people are celebrating Thanksgiving. A time to get with family and friends, enjoy the last vestiges of summer sunlight, and prepare for winter.

Here in Chiang Mai, this weekend was the Salakpat Festival (Salakpatt tradition) - a merit making tradition of giving food to your local temple, sharing food, and celebrating life.

Same same, but different. Giving thanks, spending time with loved ones, and eating.

This was also a weekend where I was reminded just how unexpected and short life can be. A neighbor's bedroom caught on fire - everyone got out safely and fire crews responded quickly - but they will be cleaning up and repairing damage for a while.

I live in an area with a lot of foreigners - no one had called the fire department because they either did not know the phone number (199 fire department, 191 for police, 1155 for tourist police) or could not speak Thai. I made sure the call was made, rode to the security gate to tell them where to direct emergency services, and kept out of the way once the professionals arrived.

Take a moment today to take a break, call an old friend, tell someone that you appreciate what they do, or spend time with loved ones.