Giving thanks for little things

On the eve of our annual national day of thanks, let's turn the time over to Natalie McDonald.

Natalie is 13, a seventh-grader at Ecker Hill Middle School in Park City. Her parents are Kerry and Jennifer; she has a little sister named Audrey, who is 7; and an aunt named Cynthia, her mom's sister, who is a medical officer for the Peace Corps stationed in the African nation of Ghana.

This summer Natalie left her parents and little sister and flew to Ghana to spend six weeks with her Aunt Cynthia in Accra, the country's capital. While in Ghana, she got to work in an orphanage, go to a summer camp, see the animals of Africa in a wildlife sanctuary and stand on the same ground in the same former slave castle where Barack Obama stood in July.

Barely three months removed from her journey to what is often referred to as the dark continent, Natalie has a decidedly different Thanksgiving perspective than she's ever had before.

"My trip to Africa made me appreciate a lot of stuff I didn't appreciate before," she says. "I know it sounds silly, but one thing I really appreciate now are stairs. Their stairs aren't even. Sometimes they're 2 feet up, sometimes they're 2 inches. I fell down — a lot."

She also has a new appreciation for school.

"I met a girl over there who told me the only thing she wants is to get to go to school," says Natalie. "All their schools are private, and not everyone can afford to go."

And safe streets.

"I held a baby in the orphanage whose mother was killed while riding in a taxi," she says. "They have no traffic laws. Speed limits are suggestions. I really appreciate stop signs now."

And safe houses.

"We had 24-hour guards at our house," she says. "They carry shotguns because there are lots of burglaries. While I was there, the neighbors had a break-in and lost their TVs, their phones, everything. There is very little violent crime, but they steal a lot."

And auto mechanics.

"On the way back from Mole Park (the wildlife preserve), the fuel pump broke in our car, and we had to drive 150 miles going about 5 miles an hour," she reports. "We couldn't find a mechanic anywhere. It wouldn't have been so bad, but it was 110 degrees and 100 percent humidity. We finally just coasted home."