American Thanksgiving

I've always had a lot to be grateful for, but this year especially. After two years abroad, I was able to come home and spend Thanksgiving in America and ohmigosh, was it GLORIOUS.

Here's a quick breakdown of Mozambique Thanksgiving vs. American Thanksgiving:

Traveling 3 hours by crowded chapa and slow boleia to get to Chokwe vs. 2 hours in a private, air-conditioned car to get to LA
Sweaty 110+ degrees F  vs. Balmy 70 degrees F
Small charcoal one-burner stove to cook with  vs.  Oven and four stove-top burners (oh the possibilities!)
The power keeps going out (cutting off the fan)  vs.  Having an iPhone, laptop, iPad, and TV going at the same time
Dubious packaged turkey meat  vs.  Two full turkeys cooked two ways (fried and oven cooked!)
Cheap wine and liquor   vs.  Fancy vodka/ cranberry / champagne cocktails
Washing the dishes in two buckets of water  vs.  Throwing them in the dishwasher
Playing homemade Apples to Apples (Moz relevant topics)   vs.   Playing 10-Days-In-Africa, a board game [ I have to say, Moz Thanksgiving wins this category ]
Cold bucket baths  vs.  Hot, steamy showers
Sleeping on a straw mat, batting away mosquitoes all night   vs.  Snuggling in a big bed with a room heater and no mosquito net

What I really did appreciate about holidays as a PCV was seeing the determination of Americans to get together, despite distance and other obstacles. Both years we managed to have turkey feasts on Thanksgiving, despite having seen no existence of turkeys in Moz. Which just goes to show, you can always "make it work" even without electricity, running water, or grocery stores.

Of course, two years in Africa has  taught me to really, really appreciate the variety and abundance of food and flavors in America. I can recall countless times in which other PCV's and I sat around drooling while talking about foods that we missed from back home. And this year, Thanksgiving did not disappoint with a delicious home cooked meal of turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, grilled asparagus, cranberry sauce, Kev's chopped veggie salad, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and ice cream.

But of course, the best part was being with my fiancé, friends, and family during this festive time of year. The holidays would be a sad, lonely time if I didn't have them.
I thank God every day that I do.