Americazilan Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Its thanksgiving here in Brazil as well but just 5 hours earlier! Its okay when i was done with dinner and dessert, my family in the states was just getting ready. The first thanksgiving without my family, but with all my new and wonderful friends in my program. So we decided that we really wanted to have the holiday for us still, because it is a American holiday (even though it has many flaws pertaining to the indigenous tribes of north American) we Americans wanted to celebrate it as we do at home. So even thought we lacked many ingredients that we have access to in the states, we did what we could and made it work.

I made stuffing from scratch, my first time, and it was amazing. The worker at the store thought i was a little weird because i wanted to buy stale bread to use as breadcrumbs, and tried to get me to buy the soft kind, but it was all good and i got it. Then sauteed carrots and onions and with some chicken broth, oregano, and seasonings, it was perfect! I also tried to make yams (or a yam-like dish), Yams don't really exist here, so i used carrots and boiled them and put brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter on them. They were yummy too. Matt's dad got us a turkey and made the party so fancy and legit. He got out his good silver, and even insisted that we transfer some of the food into prettier bowls than the pots that we made them in. We even found sparkling cider. Overall it was a wonderful collection of food, everyone brought something and everyone was full and happy. For dessert, Haley even made homemade cookies. Even though when we were cooking in her kitchen, her maid was a little confused on what you do with it, and thought it was some sort of pancake and flipped it over and was going to put it back in the oven.

We even listened to Christmas music on my ipod, it was almost like i was home, besides the fact that it was hot and i was wearing a summer-like dress with flip flops on. Although this holiday gives us a reason to think about the things that we should be thankful for everyday, I am really so grateful for this opportunity, every time i go abroad i feel better about myself because i feel like i learn so much every time and that i should be truly grateful for the things i have in my life, and i am. Happy thanksgiving.