What do you get when you combine 15 American kids, a 20 lb
turkey, and zero European understanding for an important American holiday?
Well, a very Brussels Thanksgiving! My dear roommates and I had decided a few
weeks ago that we were not going to let us being in Belgium and away from our
families stop us from having a Thanksgiving celebration, so we invited any and
everyone we knew in Belgium (a small group…) to a little potluck Thanksgiving
dinner at our apartment. Through her connection in Parliament, Anna was able to
secure us a 20 LB TURKEY. I can only imagine the look on my mother’s face when
I sent her an email asking her the best way to cook such a large bird.
Anyway,
the plan was for everyone to bring a dish, and our apartment (mainly Anna)
would be responsible for cooking the turkey. Since Jake was visiting, he
offered to help, and the two of them spent most of Thursday in our kitchen,
snapping the turkey’s neck, stuffing it, dressing it down, and cooking it.
Pretty impressive for two 20 year old kids! By the time I got home from work
around 5:45, our apartment was smelling delicious, and Anna (whose favorite
holiday is Thanksgiving) had already gone overboard, giving our normally
relatively messy apartment a huge makeover, complete with flowers for a
centerpiece, two huge cakes, three pans of stuffing, and of course, the TURKEY.
I quickly made some pasta (my measly contribution… I definitely must have
gotten a recessive gene where domestic cooking ability is concerned) and Sey
helped lay out the drinks as we waited for all of our guests to arrive.
I
have to be honest, though I was excited for the fellowship this dinner would
offer, I wasn’t too optimistic for how all of the food was going to turn out. I
could not have been more wrong. As more and more people showed up, we were greeted
with pumpkin pie, Greek stuffing, green beans, garlic bread, sweet potato
casserole, cranberry sauce, cakes, brie, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, and
gravy! And it was all DELICIOUS! We all went around and said what we were
thankful for before digging into the massive and tasty meal and then spent some
wonderful time in fellowship.
It was such a great night that I
couldn’t even tell you what my favorite part was. I just kept looking around and being so amazed but grateful
for the wonderful people I’d met while I was abroad and the determination of
all us to make this Thanksgiving just as special as the ones we usually spend
at home. In a way, I was definitely with my family- my Brussels family. And
although it wasn’t how I normally spend Thanksgiving, it was one I will never
forget and will always cherish. I was blessed enough to spend it abroad, with
some wonderful people and my best friend from home, and I honestly think it
just represents the type of experience I’ve had here. No it wasn’t typical, and
no it wasn’t easy, but it turned out to be one of the most worthwhile and fun
things I’ve ever done. With all of that said- Happy Thanksgiving to all!
our turkey
all the fixins'
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