Hey girl!
As you know, I wasn't able to come home for Thanksgiving (boo). At first I was pretty depressed about the situation, but then I decided that I was going to make the best of being in Philadelphia. I took the "see all, do all" attitude.
So, last weekend (11/20) was the Philadelphia Marathon, and since the race course was just one block from my apartment, I decided to take part in the “fan zone”. There I was, at 8am on a Sunday morning, at mile marker 7, with my clapper (a little high five thing that they handed out) in one hand and a cow bell (another free gift) in another. It was a little awkward because everyone around me was waiting on someone they knew to run by, and I was there…… to just cheer. On top of not knowing anyone, I also questioned my cheering ability when the first racers went by and I almost started crying! - they were the disabled racers. (I am sure there is a different word, because clearly, anyone who can race 26.2 miles is not disabled). But, when I saw them race by, I lost all ability to cheer and started to tear up a little- I know, I am getting soft in my old age, but seeing someone with such strength and perseverance really got me, it was amazingly impressive. Anyway, I got myself together in time to cheer for the other runners, and I found that even though I didn’t know anyone in the race, I had the best time! A couple of awesome moments:
~Seeing a “guide” run along a blind marathoner- another miraculous woman.
~Cheering for Students Run Philly Style, a non-profit organization that I share a cubicle with (at the law office); it is a program that works with inner city kids and pairs them with runners. Over 200 kids ran this year!
~Meeting a woman from Asheville, NC who was there watching her daughter run. She had a sign that said, “fastest woman in Asheville” (evidently, her daughter won a 5k there, haha).
~Cheering for runners by name (their bibs had their names). I walked along the course (cut through to the finish line, near the famous “Rocky stairs” at the art museum) and stood about ¼ of a mile from the finish line. There I would shout “way to go Steve” “good job Olivia” and then they would throw up their arms, or smile, or shout “thank you”- it was so much fun!
So that was my first “embrace the city” activity. The second came this weekend (11/25), THANKSGIVING!
Even though I was not with my family for the holiday, it was pretty cool that 4 different graduate students offered to take me home to spend the break that their families. So, for all those Southerners who think they are the only ones with manners... not so! Anyway, I realized that if I wasn't going to "deal" with my family, I definitely wasn't going to deal with a friend's family- this Thanksgiving was going to be all on my own. Its a good thing that Philly has lots of activities to occupy my time.
Did you know that Philadelphia has the oldest Thanksgiving Day parade in the country? Well, they do, and even though I really wanted to spend all of Thanksgiving in my pajamas exploring the world of gluttony, I made myself get up at 7:30 to get a spot to watch the parade.
I walked over to the art museum and get a spot where I could see all the action. When I sat down, this extremely nice family immediately starting talking to me and by the end of the parade, I felt as though they adopted me as their fourth child. They asked all about my “city adjustment” and what I thought about Philly- turns out they were both therapists, so it was like 3 hours of free treatment. The parade was great! I detailed the events through the pictures on facebook, so I will spare the repetition.
After the parade, I went home and cooked a masterpiece of a dinner. The only problem was…. I was only able to consume about 1/16th of what I cooked. Turns out, I am terrible at cooking for one and after being too busy to eat the last few weeks, my stomach has shrunk….. don’t worry, I stretched it back out. After my two dinners (oh yeah), I took a stroll through Rittenhouse square, and did feel a little lonely, but overall it was a great holiday. It was so nice to just sit around, eat delicious food that I don’t normally have the time to cook and hulu all kinds of shows. (Speaking of, Pan Am, is amazing! I got hooked, via Hulu, over the holiday, and now cannot stop watching).
So the past two weekends were great, and made me fall in love with this city even more! It turns out, that no matter where you live, if you are surrounded by nice people and great food- you’re in the right place.
That being said, Christmas is a different story…. I cannot wait to be back in NC! hehe
See you soon!
Courtney
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