Happy Thanksgiving from Abroad! (Take 4)

I did my best to select flowers with a Thanksgiving color scheme.

Celebrating an authentic Thanksgiving is a unique challenge for the American expat. Many classic dishes become quite difficult to prepare. Whether it's locating a pumpkin or some cranberries or a whole turkey, the entire Western world is not prepared for an American Thanksgiving. Luckily, during a return trip to the US in September I was able to stock up on some key supplies: canned cranberry sauce, cornbread mix, stuffing mix, pumpkin bread mix, root beer and birch beer (beverages not available in Europe, even if not particularly Thanksgiving-themed).

Sam prepared a savory pumpkin dish topped with a grated cheese holiday greeting.

I'm proud (or should I say thankful?) to report that this year was the most true-to-form Thanksgiving I've swung abroad. We had no problems with uncooked soggy stuffing (case of a mistranslation when instructing an Italian on how to prepare the dish...). We successfully got both a pumpkin pie and some turkey which we hadn't managed the last time I planned a formal Thanksgiving feast abroad back in '09 in England. (This year we had turkey breasts which meant no one got to carve the turkey, but we all still consumed the appropriate meat.) And there was certainly no staircase/flatbed/freak snow storm fiasco like last year!

Thanksgiving is a part of American culture that I love to share because it's just such a great holiday. Putting aside the messy political history of how we may or may not have respected our natives, Thanksgiving is a non-denominational holiday all about taking some time off to enjoy good food, to spend time with friends and family, and to take a moment to consider all that for which we have to be thankful. With only three of nine participants celebrating their first Thanksgiving, my stats on Thanksgiving débutants were at an all-time-abroad low, but our few newcomers (two French and a Swede) were introduced to the holiday with a very respectable feast.

The table slowly filled as guests arrived.

This year's menu consisted of 
-a wonderfully marinated salad
-fresh French baguettes
-cornbread muffins
-cranberry sauce
-mashed potatoes
-sweet potato casserole with a hint of citrus topped with brown sugar and walnuts
-a cheesy pumpkin casserole
-cornbread stuffing and turkey stuffing
-turkey with a side of gravy
-ginger and chestnut tilapia
-vegetarian nems

And a dessert selection of
-pumpkin bread
-pumpkin pie
-apple tarte
-vanilla ice cream and whipped cream
-chocolate truffles

With a beverage selection of
-wines from France, Chile, and the US
-beer

-apple and pear ciders

-root beer and birch beer straight from the US!

Gotta love the enginerds: Emily made a pumpkin pi pie! (It's more fun when you say it aloud...)

I spent my Thanksgiving morning on one of my favorite tasks, French administration. This time the challenge was a renewal of my work permit. I last applied for a work permit only a month and a half ago in early October. The application went through no problem, but the work permit itself was valid for a whopping two months post-delivery in October 2011, although I should note that its validity was generously granted for a nearly two year period... which began in March 2010, a full six months before I even had a work contract... because that makes sense... In short, don't let me get started on French administration.

To reward myself, I took the afternoon off for grocery shopping and food prep. A major advantage to preparing a Thanksgiving abroad is that you know all the stores will be open on Thanksgiving afternoon when you realize last minute that you forgot a key ingredient. After a couple grocery store runs, my apartment was filled with the distinctive thick smell and warmth of Thanksgiving.

Peter and Esteban arrived early to prepare their dishes on scene. Soon enough, the table was spread and our friends began to arrive. We nibbled on pre-meal snacks and snuck tastes from dishes until the entire group had gathered, everyone took a moment to share what they were thankful for, and I lined everyone up for the requisite group photo:

Requisite Thanksgiving group photo

Then at last we all dug in!

The splendid Thanksgiving feast, the space in which to host it, and the dear friends with whom to share it were more than reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving.