Places full of thanks

The clock is ticking down on my time in beautiful British Colombia, but there has still been time for some proper Canadian fun. That's right people, I'm talking NHL hockey and Thanksgiving! A good friend and avid Canucks (that's Vancouver's NHL team) fan, Jeff, kindly organised tickets to a home game versus the Dallas Stars this weekend, which was also Thanksgiving weekend.

First off, a bit of hockey background for y'all. The NHL has 30 teams, six of which are Canadian. These are: Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. Out of these, the Canucks were generally rated the best, or at least they were up until the season proper started on Oct 1 - Calgary are admittedly looking pretty strong...but seeing as there are 82 games in the season, there's plenty of time for them to get their act back together. Anywho!

Some key Canucks players. First and foremost, Roberto Luongo. The captain and goalie is widely regarded as one of the best keepers in the league and enjoys almost god-like status in this country. Then we have Ryan Kesler, the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, the latter is currently injured for around 4-6 weeks with a broken foot, Alexandre Burrows, Willie Mitchell, Steve Bernier and Darcy Hordichuk amongst others.

So back to the action. We got into the hockey mood with tickets to an open practice session on Saturday morning. Rink-side seats meant that we could see all the action up close. And subsequently got smothered by excited, autograph-hunting children when all the players left through the nearby tunnel. Penless, and feeling that it would be churlish to sweep aside eight-year-olds, we battled the opposite way through the throng and chants of "Roberto, Roberto!"

Sunday was the real deal. Bedecked in newly purchased (discounted! cos that makes it better...) shirts, we headed not quite up to the rafters to find our seats. The good thing about a hockey stadium, and GM place in particular, is that there are no bad seats, so we had a clear, birds-eye view of all the action.

After the slow, scrappy start from Vancouver it turned into a more exciting game. Goals were alternated for both teams, but the Canucks managed to keep the lead. Until the third period when the Stars equalised. Twice. Extra time. A tense Jeff reminded us that although this was not the way it was meant to comfortably go, we were seeing more hockey than usual. A goalless five minutes took us to a shoot-out. I was confident, given our aforementioned weapon in the shape of Luongo but Jeff was pessimistic about our goal-scoring capabilities. He needn't have worried. Both Kesler and...hmm...someone else sent the puck home whilst at the other end, Luongo did his duty and kept the goal empty. Result! A tense one, but the desired winners in the end and we got to see all elements of a match.

From one Canadian celebration to another. The next day, Monday, was Thanksgiving Day, which, unlike our southerly neighbours, is celebrated here on the second Monday of October (unless you're in PEI, Newfoundland & Labrador or Nova Scotai where it's not marked as a stat holiday).

Whilst many north American tribes held feasts and celebrations to mark the end of harvest, Canadian Thanksgiving stems from the explorer James Frobischer, who held a service of thanksgiving to mark his safe return from a search for the Northwest Passage. The French settlers also held a feast of thanks in 1604 to celebrate their safe landing in Canada. Over the years, the occasion has served to give thanks for many things, harvests and special occasions but there was no regular fixed day. In 1879, an official Thanksgiving Day was observed although it continues to change from year to year.

A few weeks ago, Annie, Sarah and I decided to do dinner but nothing much was done to organise it further until a few days before when we got to inviting other stray people who didn't have families to go to. What started as dinner for five or six turned into a potluck feast for nine. We didn't manage a turkey, but chicken, roast potatoes, veggies, vegetarian chilli stew, meatloaf, bread, onion soup, corn chowder, caramel tart and pumpkin pie and plenty of wine was more than enough to satisfy. Throughout preparations in our bustling, smoke-filled kitchen (dilapidated oven, people, not burnt food) and then eating and talking it was clear that we all had much to be thankful for and celebrate.

And so I am inspired to enjoy every last minute of life in Vancouver, whether it's out with friends, cycling, playing Settlers with housemates, hiking, or squeezing in one last trip to the ocean. Clearly I will miss a country where I can write for several paragraphs on the national sport (sorry, Premier League, you just don't stand a chance). But, as a friend from work said on Sunday, it's not about missing the country you've come from, but seeing the opportunities in the place you've arrived. So, a belated thanksgiving toast: to experiences, wherever they lead, and to looking for them in all places, even those where you might not necessarily want to be just yet :-)