My First Haitian-American Thanksgiving!

Because my camera has crapped out on me, I don't have any of my own Thanksgiving photos to accompany this blog. You will find a few on Ashley's blog though so I borrowed them. To check out her blog click here!

As my title suggests, last week marked my first American Thanksgiving, in Haiti. One of the teachers in our apartment complex organized the entire meal. We split the grocery list and signed up to purchase specific items (all with the help of a google doc.). When I noticed mini-marshmellows on the list I was both excited and somewhat leary of what they might be for. I had spent the week listening to students describe their favourite Thanksgiving dishes and there were some strange ones. Turns out the marshmellows acted as the topping for the sweet potatoes! A totally weird combination, but delish nonetheless.

We had a half-day on Wednesday, which marked the beginning of our long weekend. We got home and immediately Carrie got to work on the turkey. Unlike at home, where my mom is adamant that we all participate in the cooking of the meal, Carrie is the sole master of her kitchen. We were banished (or maybe we just unanimously decided to desert the field) until the final touches were being made to the table.

We ate outside, in the large upstairs alcove that connects my apartment to Carrie's. The spread was outstanding with something for everyone, including the gluten-free and vegetarian. Some of the gastroniomical highlights were the brussell sprouts (my fav!), mashed potatoes, creamed corn, sweet potatoes topped with marshmellows, turkey, cranberry, green beans, and stuffing. It was really fun to share a meal as a big group, and we did our best to include enough dysfunction to make it feel homey. One of the best things about the whole meal? No dishes. Our lovely housekeepers took care of them all!

Turns out that the tryptophan (you that stuff in turkey that makes you sleepy?!) works double-time in tropical climates. None of us could keep our eyes open for long after gorging ourselves, so it ended up being an ETB (early to bed) night, which suited us just fine since we were all headed off on long-weekend adventures the next day. Of course, I made the mistake of starting a book before bed. Divergent by Veronica Roth kept me up until 2am, when I had to call it quits or end up concussed from dropping my Kobo on my face one too many times. I'm on a dystopian teen-fiction kick and loving it!