Thanksgiving

Our center piece, the festive rock turned turkey.



The cooks, Chris Paul and Anna!



Mike approves of the food! Time to eat.



Josh is ready to eat!



Thanksgiving with friends and food! What more can you ask for?

This year for Thanksgiving, Aioun, the regional capital of yours truly in the Hodhs hosted a huge Thanksgiving feast. Our guest list included a good 20 people. Thanks in large part to Chris Paul and Anna, quite possibly the best PC cooks, we had an awesome day. It was comparable to a Thanksgiving in America. We started the day off with home made cinnamon rolls. Followed by lunch which was salad and cheese bread. Vegetables are hard to come by here, I think this was my second salad in this country. The cheese bread was Velveeta. Cheese is a rarity too, so processed cheese spread is one of the best things ever.

Dinner consisted of corn bread, biscuits, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, squash, glazed carrots, chickens to replace the turkey, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Not to mention 9 pies. Pecan, apple, pumpkin, and chocolate. It was amazing. I have not eaten that much food since America. Needless to say my body went crazy. I am so underfed and used to eating bland foods that my stomach physically could not handle it. The bath room became my best friend the next day.

However, living here for almost six months now, a meal like that makes you thankful for things you take for granted at home. Without hesitation I can say that was the most I have eaten since home. I definitely appreciate food so much more, since our choices are so limited here and there is no such thing as a Wal-Mart down the street. I am also thankful for clean water that comes right out of a kitchen sink. That I have not seen since America, but I know it exists somewhere. Just not here. Toilets and toilet paper are also beautiful things. And of course, friends and family. Being in a town of 2000 people makes you realize how important friends are and your relationships with people. Most of all, I am thankful for this experience and that I live in a town that has really accepted me and does their best to take care of the resident American English teacher.