27 November 2009

Thanksgiving Abroad ~ November 26th

I actually had two Thanksgivings this year. The first one was on my floor, 5th floor Theodor-Litt-Haus, on Wednesday night. Even though we have only three Americans on this floor, the people somehow got the idea that they wanted to make their own Thanksgiving celebration. It was interesting. The whole thing started out with our floor speaker asking Hilary and I if we knew how to make a turkey and we just kindof said, "Uhhhh.....sure??" So that's how it we ended up in the kitchen on Wednesday afternoon, Hilary cooking the chicken and me making the stuffing. Neither one of us had any experience making this stuff, which I personally found amusing, since go figure - the first time we make a Thanksgiving dinner is when we're in Germany. Despite kindof just "winging it" and cooking everything by taste and look, the dinner turned out terrifically. The food everyone contributed was eclectic and it didn't really resemble the normal Thanksgiving spread, except for the turkey and my stuffing, which several people surprisingly declared to be really good (the idea of stale bread that you've poured herbs and butter over and then baked...not really a description that would actually sound appealing to the normal taste buds). But it was a Thanksgiving dinner nonetheless.

Thursday's celebration was for all the American students on campus. The turkeys and the stuffing were provided by the international office and the rest students made and brought. My dish evolved over time from being Mom's sweet potatoe casserole, to butternut squash, and finally to this odd mixed dish of vegetables that only an hour before the dinner I bought because they sounded like they would taste good together: squash, zuchinni, yellow peppers, tomatos, eggplant, and onions. I kindof just experimented, adding herbs, seasoning, and chicken stock according to taste, so all things considering, I think it was a success.

Although it was strange to not be with family, I got to talk them and some friends too. So other than that, and the German test we had in the morning and the store's still being open, Thanksgiving abroad was very similar to previous years: a chance to relax, eat yummy food, enjoy good company, and consider again how much I have been blessed over the past year.

~E.

Wednesday Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/Smilegirlerin/Thanksgiving15thFloor#
Thursday Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/Smilegirlerin/ThanksgivingIIAllOfUsAmericans#

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