So this year thanksgiving obviously looked a little different because it's not celebrated here in Brazil. People generally have heard about it because of movies, tv, etc.. but that's about it; they've heard of it. As the day kept approaching I was kind of bumming about missing this beautiful day where we gather together with family, eat a lot of food and give thanks for what we've been given.
The week of Thanksgiving, the mom of my family down here proposed the idea, "let's make Thanksgiving dinner on saturday?" And make Thanksgiving dinner we did! And I was able to invite some of my friends to join in this special celebration too. For them it was an opportunity to learn a little bit about the holiday and eat some darn good food.
We woke up early saturday morning and did all the shopping and then began cooking. Me and Renata agreed to split the dishes. I was in charge of the pumpkin pie, stuffing, and grandma's fruit salad. And she was making the green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and the turkey. Now she had never cooked most of these dishes because she is Brazilian and not so used to celebrating this holiday. And even though I am used to celebrating, I never do the cooking for big holidays like this. Well that changed this year, as I slaved over the dough for the completely homemade pumpkin pie. Literally completely from scratch.. like we bought a pumpkin. And our oven isn't hooked up yet, so they were roasting the turkey in the outside grill where we have cook outs. Needless to say we were a little worried about all of the food turning out.
The hour rolls around when everyone arrives and naturally because most of them are Brazilians they show up right on time...... 1 hour after the 'set time'. ha
Before dinner Renata said a few words about Thanksgiving and how much it really means to Americans and expressed her gratitude for me and how she wanted to give me this special day, how beautiful.
We then introduced each of the dishes to everyone and spent the rest of the night eating, conversing, drinking wine and just enjoying each others company. This Thanksgiving was different and a little hard being away from family, but in that moment I was content in thankfulness. My heart was full, surrounded by people who have become my familiar here.
There's a lot to be grateful for folks! Just because Thanksgiving day is over doesn't mean the grateful hearts need to be. What are you grateful for today?!
The week of Thanksgiving, the mom of my family down here proposed the idea, "let's make Thanksgiving dinner on saturday?" And make Thanksgiving dinner we did! And I was able to invite some of my friends to join in this special celebration too. For them it was an opportunity to learn a little bit about the holiday and eat some darn good food.
We woke up early saturday morning and did all the shopping and then began cooking. Me and Renata agreed to split the dishes. I was in charge of the pumpkin pie, stuffing, and grandma's fruit salad. And she was making the green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and the turkey. Now she had never cooked most of these dishes because she is Brazilian and not so used to celebrating this holiday. And even though I am used to celebrating, I never do the cooking for big holidays like this. Well that changed this year, as I slaved over the dough for the completely homemade pumpkin pie. Literally completely from scratch.. like we bought a pumpkin. And our oven isn't hooked up yet, so they were roasting the turkey in the outside grill where we have cook outs. Needless to say we were a little worried about all of the food turning out.
The hour rolls around when everyone arrives and naturally because most of them are Brazilians they show up right on time...... 1 hour after the 'set time'. ha
Before dinner Renata said a few words about Thanksgiving and how much it really means to Americans and expressed her gratitude for me and how she wanted to give me this special day, how beautiful.
We then introduced each of the dishes to everyone and spent the rest of the night eating, conversing, drinking wine and just enjoying each others company. This Thanksgiving was different and a little hard being away from family, but in that moment I was content in thankfulness. My heart was full, surrounded by people who have become my familiar here.
There's a lot to be grateful for folks! Just because Thanksgiving day is over doesn't mean the grateful hearts need to be. What are you grateful for today?!
and it really wouldn't be Thanksgiving without this classic Thanksgiving day craft!
