Happy Thanksgiving

"Oh really, do you say that?" Megan responded after I told her that this morning.

It's been Thanksgiving in France for 9 1/2 hours now. But the Assistants have been celebrating it for a day because we tend to have Wednesdays off work. It was great! There was 6 kilo roasted turkey (the butcher had to order it special), dressing and a zillion side dishes (except cranberry sauce). The ratio was about 1 American : 1 AngloCanadian : .5 German. The food was very mysterious to those new to Thanksgiving. Sweet potatoes? With MARSHMALLOWS? Biscuits that aren't sweet cookies? What's dressing? Explaining dressing presents a challenge because it could have almost anything in it. And one of my sweet English friends ate her biscuit with a knife and fork.

We had fun preparing all of this. Caroline and I made pie crust and sweet potatoes. Then Sarah got here, and we made the biscuits and pecan pie filling. It was a crunch because we only had a small toaster oven. Food Network should make this a televised challenge. We washed the pecans (they were salted), defrosted the pumpkin and shelled lots of walnuts. Also, flour flew everywhere.

So, through all this, my homesickness decreased. It's true I'd like to be home for Thanksgiving, but it was also special to get to share this part of our culture abroad. So many want to celebrate Thanksgiving every year now. A German girl is in love with my grandmother's pecan pie. Today I'm bringing a pumpkin pie around to share with the teachers at school. We'll see how they like it. I guess this sharing between cultures is what Thanksgiving was originally about anyway. So, it's special to get to experience it in this way.

But Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who have the day off work and school.