Thanksgiving 2012

One might think that spending holidays away from my family would be depressing.  While I do miss my family in the states, my last two Thanksgivings here in Haiti have been pretty unforgettable.

On the actual Thanksgiving day, I taught school.  After school, we played 7 on 7 tackle football with both Haitians and Americans on the salt flats behind our school.  It was a blast and I've got the bruises to prove it.

That night, we celebrated by eating rice, beans, and goat with the two teams that were staying at Mama Kathy and Papa Beaver's house.  It was a full house with 40 people gathered around the table and sitting on the couches and floors.

Our "tribe" wanted to have our own family Thanksgiving together.  So, we decided to have a traditional Thanksgiving feast on Friday at our friend Jake's aka JTP's house.  I asked my paraprofessional to cover my classes for me so that I could help cook and run errands as needed. 

It was a busy day, but it was all worth it when our crazy family of 25+ people gathered together.  Most of us "dressed up" in our nicest clothes.  Since we are usually sweaty, dirty, and dusty, it was fun to have a reason to look nice.  The evening started with coloring Thanksgiving pictures and a photo booth that Becca, Emma, and Kara set up.  

Needless to say, we had so much fun.

I've always loved Thanksgiving food, but eating it in Haiti makes it a million times better tasting.  Ben and Josh's mom, Gayle, came to visit and help cook everything.  She brought suitcases full of ingredients.  We had mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, green beans, cabbage salad, avocado, sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese, fruit salad, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, apple strudel, cheesecake, cookies, and brownies.  It was incredible.  As I ate the delicious food, laughed with my friends, and looked around the room at the many people I've grown to love, I looked across the table and said to Kez, "It is impossible to stop smiling."

After dinner, we went into our "Recovery Star Food Coma" position.  In other words, we laid down on the floor to recover from eating too much food.  

Our laughter turned into singing our favorite show tunes and Disney movie songs,  Then once we sang ourselves out, we went outside for a campfire.  It was a perfect end to a perfect day.