The Paupers' Thanksgiving
Yesterday was Thanksgiving. As our school has large support from the American Embassy we had a half day. Many of the new staff were kind of wondering if we would get invited somewhere to celebrate. Some of us were lucky and had invites, then there was the rest of us. :-)
Thus some of us decided to get together to celebrate the Paupers' Thanksgiving. All in all there were 15 of us. Some celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time, othes were old hands. My assistant was able to help me find a huge turkey - 12 kilos (about 28 pounds) - in a local market. I stuffed it and had my landlady put in the oven at the right time to be done around 3:00. People began arriving with dishes to add to the feast and in the spirit of globalism our table was diverse as possible. Two Indian curries, two Russian salads, a Greek salad, New Zealand yams, corn, gravy, English stuffing (a berry type - delicious), Uzbek samsas and the round non bread, macaroni and cheese, corn, baked potatoes, and of course gravy! Dessert was pumpkin pie, apple crumble, and blueberry muffins.
My landlords helped out with the dishes and cutlery, and leant a table and chairs. What a great evening. We all enjoyed each other's company, laughed hysterically, and shared another part of our lives together. Everyone also pitched in with the clean up - my kitchen was spotless by the time everyone left. We ended the evening listening to "Alice's Restaurant." Many people had never heard it before. I especially liked that this was the first party where many of our local staff came and felt comfortable doing so! I hope to keep this tradition alive while I live here! Strange that I seem to like Thanksgiving now.
The table looks so clean and ready for all of us!
Thus some of us decided to get together to celebrate the Paupers' Thanksgiving. All in all there were 15 of us. Some celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time, othes were old hands. My assistant was able to help me find a huge turkey - 12 kilos (about 28 pounds) - in a local market. I stuffed it and had my landlady put in the oven at the right time to be done around 3:00. People began arriving with dishes to add to the feast and in the spirit of globalism our table was diverse as possible. Two Indian curries, two Russian salads, a Greek salad, New Zealand yams, corn, gravy, English stuffing (a berry type - delicious), Uzbek samsas and the round non bread, macaroni and cheese, corn, baked potatoes, and of course gravy! Dessert was pumpkin pie, apple crumble, and blueberry muffins.
My landlords helped out with the dishes and cutlery, and leant a table and chairs. What a great evening. We all enjoyed each other's company, laughed hysterically, and shared another part of our lives together. Everyone also pitched in with the clean up - my kitchen was spotless by the time everyone left. We ended the evening listening to "Alice's Restaurant." Many people had never heard it before. I especially liked that this was the first party where many of our local staff came and felt comfortable doing so! I hope to keep this tradition alive while I live here! Strange that I seem to like Thanksgiving now.
The table looks so clean and ready for all of us!
Sitting down to eat!
Carving the monster - Alex did a great job and didn't mind getting his hands dirty.... Everyone was worried that because it was a local turkey that it might be tough and dry. But it is one of the best turkeys I have ever eaten. It was perfectly moist!
Just enjoying the day!
Didzis classwork - does everybody see the 8 times table. :-)
The day ended nicely for the boys. They were able to have a skype conference call with their Dad in Latvia and their Uncle, Aunt, Cousin and grandparents in Pennsylvania. Globalism at its best!
I hope everyone had a great Turkey day!
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