Getting to know the American culture. Celebrating Thanksgiving.

What are you thankful for?

Yesterday has been Thanksgiving Day in the American tradition and, for the first time, I also celebrated it. Webster University, the American university where I study, organized an awesome Thanksgiving dinner for all students, professors, faculty staff and alumni.

You may find below some pictures, for which I have to give credit to Webster and to its official Facebook page.

The first thing you can notice was the large amount of tasty food, starting from the symbol of this celebration, the turkey. What I also appreciated was the fact that the turkey has been actually served by the director of the university and one of the leading professors in the International Relations department. I guess this is a very good indicator of an American type of organizational culture, where the hierarchical distance is somehow closer than in the classically in Europe. And coming back to the food, there were not only American dishes, but also international ones, including the Romanian or East-European “Sarma”, giving thus a clue about the international environment of Webster. Desserts did not miss and for me the highlight was the chocolate fountain in which you could dip strawberries, bananas or cookies.  Eventually, cheering with a glass of wine together with colleagues made things even more enjoyable.

If we go to the essence of the story, I am asking myself, what am I thankful for?

… for living in Viena, Austria.

… for coming from a country free of persecution and secure.

… for having an amazing family.

… for the newly obtained internship.

… for having access to education.

… for living in a very cute flat which has been recently Christmas decorated.

… for keeping long-lasting friendships.

… for all the new good people that God put in my way and that became my friends.

… for all the opportunities I had and all the chances I took.

… for having trust in my future.

… for the life-long memorable experiences I gathered through my internship in Brazil.

… for the wisdom or at least the degree of maturity that I gained in my undergraduate years.

… for the energy, enthusiasm and optimism that I still keep with me.

… for loving and being loved.

… for having had the chance to impact people’s lives through AIESEC and not only.

… for all the help that people gave me at one point or another, without asking for anything in return.

… for all the family Christmas holidays around the Christmas tree.

… for me, my family and close friends being healthy.

And the list can go on more…and more…and more…

THANK YOU for reading this article!

A Christmas Message

Christmas is getting closer, we get excited with decorations, presents and all that stuff – I admit, I love them too, they are part of the Christmas spirit, but I would rather say it is also the ideal time to think about change and make our "every day" more meaningful.

Let me show you a story in a nutshell, presented in this Christmas WWI commercial. It will express what I meant to say. You may find an article about the video here.

I am not going to make an endless morale, but ask you a few questions. What did you always plan to do but never had time? Who are the people that you care about the most? Are they aware of your appreciation? When was the last time you have been happy like a child in front of a new toy? What is the first step that you need to take in order to accomplish your dreams?

I already started writing my Christmas story, I thanked today some persons for their friendships (Facebook application “Thank you” is awesome) and I made someone happy by making an invitation to Christmas decorating.… and I can’t wait to get home and prepare the Christmas Romanian cake, “Cozonac”, with my mother…

Perhaps Christmas stories are not like in the movies; maybe nothing absolutely spectacular will happen but, hey, why not use it as the reason to reconnect with yourself and make every day more special?

Stephansdom in Vienna