One of the hardest things that I have had to adjust to since coming abroad, besides the lack of Mountain Dew, was realizing that some of the major holidays that I celebrate at home, aren't even recognized here. This includes, Halloween, Fourth of July, and the Belgian’s even have a different Santa Claus named Sinterklaas. These are some big time holidays, so it was kind of weird when people weren't counting down the days until one of my all time favorites: Thanksgiving.
As you, and every other American know the story about the Indians helping the pilgrims and the pilgrims reciprocating the action by inviting the Indians to a big feast that we now recognize as Thanksgiving. If you want a deeper and more historical explanation of the holiday click here.
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| Highly inappropriate, but it's funny and kind of true. |
I feel like I've heard this story so many times that I could repeat it in my sleep, but to my surprise, many of the internationals had no clue why we stuff ourselves silly on this particular day. I had thought they would at least know the history, but nope, they were lost on the topic. Had they not seen A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving??!?!?!?
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| A classic. |
Thankfully DH provided a "brief" background on the holiday between courses. Speaking of courses, let's talk about the starring event: The FOOD.
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When I think about Thanksgiving I envision : turkey, Stove Top stuffing, my mother’s made from scratch macaroni and cheese, the canned shaped Ocean Spray cranberry sauce( yes, I like it that way), roasted vegetables and homemade pumpkin pie .
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| I MISS YOU |
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| The rings from the can are a nice touch, don't you think? |
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| Harris Thanskgiving 2010...righttttt |
Apparently that’s the type of thanksgiving that the Loyola program in Belgium used to provide, but then they realized something. Nothing could EVER compare to the students traditional Thanksgiving that they are accustomed to at home. First off, they don't even have Stove Top stuffing or canned Ocean Spray cranberry sauce here in Europe, so I knew I was in for a bit of culture shock either way.
The program directors caught on to the," Oh this is good, but just not as good as my grandmas," feeling, so they decided to go in a different direction. We have Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, so the directors gave the chefs a list of food items typically served in an American Thanksgiving ( I guess I really don't need to say American, seeing that its only recognized in America) and told them to put a Belgian spin on the traditional dishes.
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| Our Thanksgiving headquaters |
The Belgians did one heck of a job.Just take a look at what they served up:
Pumpkin Soup
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Fillet of turkey stuffed with mushrooms and bacon, croquettes,
green beans and mushroom sauce
or
Fillet of turkey with apple, nuts and raisins, mashed potatoes
apples with cranberries and Calvados sauce
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American Pie (baked by your students)
Vanilla Ice Cream
Cream Chantilly
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Coffee
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| Pumpkin soup |
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| The main event |
This was probably the fanciest Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had! The meal was a far cry from the boxed stuffing I’m used to, but the apple, nuts and raisins stuffing had my name written all over it. Not only was the food different, but the presentation was too.
At home, we do things family style and basically pounce on the food as soon as it hit the table, every man for themselves. At the restaurant, they served us a platted meal, so we had to act like civilized people and wait. It was rough 20 seconds of my life, but I sucked it up to be polite. Everything was beautiful and it all tasted great, but it didn’t end there. What’s Thanksgiving without the deserts!
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| We all pitched in! |
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| Banana Bread made by yours truly |
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| Demolished in about 5 minutes |
I would be lying if I didn't wish Thanksgiving was once a week, but I don’t know if the internationals could handle it. Some of them had a hard time keeping up. I can't judge too hard because unlike me, they haven't had years of practice. Eating Thanksgiving dinner is a true art, and I am proud to say that its hails from the great U.S of A.
I hope you and your family had a great holiday!
I'm already ready for Christmas( not that I haven't already been listening to Christmas music since October or anything).
Tot Ziens,
Shayne
P.S.
24 days till I come home! Crazy how fast time flies!
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