Thanksgiving in Brodhead (27th Nov - 1st Dec 2002)

[ Back To Experiences ]  [ My Photos ]  [ Back To Main ]  [ Email Me ]

For my first ever Thanksgiving, I was really blessed to be able to enjoy and experience a truly "American" thanksgiving. By this time I had already gotten to know quite a few people very well and hence had a few offers over Thanksgiving, but what determined my choice, I really don't know. Perhaps it was the fact that when Nate first invited me home, I had to say that we hardly knew each other then! =P And so maybe that made it hard to say no, but now if given a chance to revisit this Thanksgiving again, I would not have made any other choice. I guessed this marked the beginning of a friendship which has now become one that is very important and special to me. But that's a different story. So began my experience in a small quiet town in southern Wisconsin named Brodhead with the Burchell family.

This is a picture of a water tank. There is actually a larger one further off, but when I took this picture I was unaware of its existence. Anyway, what's interesting is that most of the towns have such tall water tanks with the name of the town written on it in bold. It is like a "landmark" or symbol of each town or something. I assume it is a water storage for the town. =P

More pictures of the streets of Brodhead. In a sense the town is pretty much self-sufficient. Fast food and supermarket and car repair shop -- I suppose you can very much get most of the daily necessities without going out of town. The picture on the left of the heading actually shows "downtown" Brodhead. I think I walked the whole stretch in less than 10 minutes. One thing I really enjoyed is the vast empty spaces and very low buildings. And virtually everyone who is of the legal age limit knows how to drive. In fact, I would think that every family in such town would own a vehicle of sorts because there doesn't seem to be any form of public transport around (at least I didn't notice any!)

Sometime during the break, Nate brought me to visit a good childhood friend of his, Josh Wallace, who lives on probably what can be considered a farm. Well, at least the house was along a stretch of farmland! That's the picture of the house on the left. Behind the house is actually a vast stretch of land, presumably for farming. And there were cows right behind the fence behind the house. As you can see, I really don't know much so I think I shall hold my peace on this matter for now. =) But what I found really cool about the house was that they had a REAL furnace, where you had to put logs in to keep the heat going. =)

These pictures were taken during my walk outside of the Wallace's house. I actually spent about an hour just walking along this long stretch of road. It actually took me about 20 minutes to reach the next house in sight! Anyway, not having a vehicle is certainly out of question if you live in a place like this.

A photo of the skyline taken along the farm. Not much to say. Just a scenic shot of sunset which I thought was pretty nice.

Here's the Burchell's house (Where my friend Nate and his family lives.) If you are thinking of commenting about the tree that is so inappropriately outstanding on the right, this shot was taken just before we had to leave back to campus. It was a last second thing where, just before hopping into my ride, I realized I didn't have a picture of the house I stayed at! Anyway this family will be considered huge in Singapore context, simply because there are 7 kids altogether! They have 4 really small ones who are just so cute beyond description. You just have to meet them yourselves to know what I mean. Their ages are 1, 2, 4 and 5. Nate has 2 other sisters, one 2 years older, and the other 2 years younger. That makes 7. =)

Here's a family photo of the Burchells. No points for guessing who my friend is! His older sister is missing because she had to visit her boyfriend's side of the family. If you don't find the little ones cute, you must hate children or something. =P I was really blessed by their hospitality. One thing to add is that the whole family is home schooled until high school. And one thing I've found out is that people who are home schooled seem to do better and are more inclined to think critically. That says quite a bit about public education! Actually, one highlight of the whole trip was the Thanksgiving party at his grandparents' house about 20 minutes away. Sadly, I didn't take any photos there. But the food was FANTASTIC. Turkey, mashed potatoes, lots of pie etc, and this Norwegian lefse wrap made by his grandmother. Now I know why so many people say that the best part of Thanksgiving is the food!

Ok, truth is, in my 5 days there, I never did have a photo of myself, or one with Nate. So here's one that was actually taken when I came back from Christmas break in Brodhead (yes, I missed that place so much I returned for Christmas. Read the Christmas experience for more.) The guy on the left of me is Josh, Nate's good friend from Brodhead. So this is my first ever Thanksgiving experience. I'm not really sure what Thanksgiving really means, something about pilgrims or whatever, but I was really blessed with the opportunity to celebrate it with a family here. It might have been a small town with little entertainment, but again, it was definitely a much needed break away from the craziness of campus life, and to prepare for the last 2 weeks before finals. Read my Christmas experience for more of Brodhead and the Burchells! =P

[ Back To Experiences ]  [ My Photos ]  [ Back To Main ]  [ Email Me ]

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.