It seems I always end up with SOMETHING to do on Thanksgiving here. I think last year, I had roasted chicken with some Canadians, and I made a real pumpkin pie to go with it. And the year before that, (and maybe even the year before that?), we hosted some Thanksgivings with a bunch of Canadians (and wanna-bes!) at our house.
This year, I wasn't sure I was going to go join the "official" Canadian festivities in town, because, well, I was feeling a bit shy about showing up all by myself. But ended up, two of my friends were interested in going along, too. So, off we went, to stuff ourselves with turkey! It was a great meal, actually. Turkey, with all the trimmings - stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes, beans, carrots, gravy... and even pumpkin pie! I didn't go with my friends last year to the "official" do, because it cost a lot - 50 SP! This year, actually, it cost the same 50SP, but because of the exchange rate and the rising prices of EVERYTHING, 50 SP is a steal of a deal. We pay 20 SP to eat roasted chicken in a plastic chair on the street corner now a days! (50 SP is about $15 US at the moment). So, we figured it was a pretty good deal. That included a glass of wine!
Unfortunately, the place where the party was held was rather small, so it was quite packed and really noisy, rendering it a bit difficult to really get to know many people. But I did a bunch of small talk with a bunch of different people. Besides the two friends I went with (and their 1 year old son!), I only knew 3 people out of, oh, about 50 who were there! Most of the folks I met have been here for 6 months or less, and it was quite funny to see their jaws drop when I told them that I've been here for nearly 5 years!
Anyway, we had a lovely meal. People didn't stick around for that long after the meal, though, and my friends had to go home to put their son to bed. But they invited me over for some games, so off I went to play Carcasonne with them... of course, I lost every game! But it wouldn't be Thanksgiving board games if I actually WON anything, would it!? By the time we'd played a couple of games, our food had settled enough for us to have a little bowl of chocolate ice cream! Ry is a pilot, and he flew some ice cream in from Nairobi for his lovely wife's recent birthday - and I got to enjoy a few scoops of the leftovers :) So it was a real treat of a holiday here.
While we didn't have a big Thanksgiving prayer with all the Canadians over the dinner table, it is a good time to think and be more grateful for the many wonderful things in my life. Really, I do have SO many things to be thankful for, and I need to start remembering those things more when I'm feeling grumpy and sweaty and woeful!
Now that I'm back home, the generator is about to go off, so I should get this posted before it's too late.... though the last time we had the generator on in the evening, the guards fell asleep and forgot to go and turn it off until I went out into the dark of the night and woke them up and reminded them of the time...
This year, I wasn't sure I was going to go join the "official" Canadian festivities in town, because, well, I was feeling a bit shy about showing up all by myself. But ended up, two of my friends were interested in going along, too. So, off we went, to stuff ourselves with turkey! It was a great meal, actually. Turkey, with all the trimmings - stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes, beans, carrots, gravy... and even pumpkin pie! I didn't go with my friends last year to the "official" do, because it cost a lot - 50 SP! This year, actually, it cost the same 50SP, but because of the exchange rate and the rising prices of EVERYTHING, 50 SP is a steal of a deal. We pay 20 SP to eat roasted chicken in a plastic chair on the street corner now a days! (50 SP is about $15 US at the moment). So, we figured it was a pretty good deal. That included a glass of wine!
Unfortunately, the place where the party was held was rather small, so it was quite packed and really noisy, rendering it a bit difficult to really get to know many people. But I did a bunch of small talk with a bunch of different people. Besides the two friends I went with (and their 1 year old son!), I only knew 3 people out of, oh, about 50 who were there! Most of the folks I met have been here for 6 months or less, and it was quite funny to see their jaws drop when I told them that I've been here for nearly 5 years!
Anyway, we had a lovely meal. People didn't stick around for that long after the meal, though, and my friends had to go home to put their son to bed. But they invited me over for some games, so off I went to play Carcasonne with them... of course, I lost every game! But it wouldn't be Thanksgiving board games if I actually WON anything, would it!? By the time we'd played a couple of games, our food had settled enough for us to have a little bowl of chocolate ice cream! Ry is a pilot, and he flew some ice cream in from Nairobi for his lovely wife's recent birthday - and I got to enjoy a few scoops of the leftovers :) So it was a real treat of a holiday here.
While we didn't have a big Thanksgiving prayer with all the Canadians over the dinner table, it is a good time to think and be more grateful for the many wonderful things in my life. Really, I do have SO many things to be thankful for, and I need to start remembering those things more when I'm feeling grumpy and sweaty and woeful!
Now that I'm back home, the generator is about to go off, so I should get this posted before it's too late.... though the last time we had the generator on in the evening, the guards fell asleep and forgot to go and turn it off until I went out into the dark of the night and woke them up and reminded them of the time...
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