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Turkey of Thanksgiving in Kazakhstan.
Patricia Cullinane
Turkey of Thanksgiving in Kazakhstan.
Patricia Cullinane
Thanksgiving — like the universe — is expanding.
Traditionally a time for Americans to pause and give thanks to a Supreme Being — for health or harvest or happenstance, Thanksgiving is evolving before our very eyes into a holiday where we give thanks to each other as well.
Just this week we received Thanksgiving-themed thank-you notes from a doctor’s office, a lawyers’ association, a New Jersey congressman and others. Can Thanksgiving-themed gift cards be far behind?
It’s not a bad idea. Saying thank you to more people.
So, in the widening spirit of the season: Thank you everyone for sending us reports of Thanksgiving 2013 celebrations in other countries. Thank you for sharing your photos and stories with us. Thank you for helping us get glimpses into what it’s like to be an American where you are. Thank you for showing us your food. And your families. And your friends. And your surroundings.
Thank you to colleague, Melody Kramer, for juggling the social media aspects of the Xpat Project, which is scheduled to continue until Christmas.
Thank you to all other NPR colleagues, especially those working the long holiday weekend to continue to give the LURVers — Listeners, Users, Readers and Viewers — of NPR meaningful stories.
Thank you to our NPR bosses for letting us experiment with this idea — not knowing whether it would be a triumph or, well, a turkey.
And, year-round, thank you to you.
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As part of The Xpat Project, NPR asked American expatriates to send stories and photos of their 2013 Thanksgiving observances in other countries. Now follows an edited sampling — updated now and then over the next few days:
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Circle of Thanksgiving in Kenya.
Valerie Gwinner
Circle of Thanksgiving in Kenya.
Valerie Gwinner
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As a Thanksgiving grinch and expat in Kenya, I was hoping to get a pass on the turkey and trimmings. But then we had the Westgate terrorist attack here in Nairobi. “United we stand” became the national theme and resilience the favorite flavor. So I’m cooking a turkey for the first time in my life, specially ordered from the local food shop.
“How much will it cost?” I asked. “No worries, I’ll give you a good price,” was the reply. What could I do but order 3 kg of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, too.
While friends are posting photos of their beautifully laid Thanksgiving tables, I’ll be joining dozens of yoga teachers from difficult backgrounds, and their families at the Africa Yoga Project. We’ll bend and build our core muscles, then sit down for a feast. Shoes optional. — Valerie Gwinner in Kenya
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Today, I will be introducing my British friends to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. But yesterday, I attended a British rendition of Thanksgiving — complete with American flags, stars and stripes bunting and a cardboard cutout of President Obama. This was a part of a ‘Thanksgiving’ themed formal hall at King’s College, Cambridge in England, where I am currently a graduate student. We feasted on unique variations of the usual classics such as savoury pumpkin tart appetizers, chicken, kale, and cranberry cheesecake, while the King’s College choir entertained us with songs by the Jackson Five. We even had the privilege of dining with a British Obama, decked out in a patriotic tiara and American flag. — Elizabeth Dzeng in Cambridge, England
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Heather Boylan and Jen McKay in Bali.
Heather Boylan
Heather Boylan and Jen McKay in Bali.
Heather Boylan
Heather Boylan from Colorado — with Jen McKay from Oregon — enjoying turkey on Double Six Beach in Bali, Indonesia.
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I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s my Dad indulged his holiday season with hot buttered rum drinks. When I was young, my sister and I drank hot buttered tea. I still remember the first time Dad deemed me old enough to have a rum-spiked version.
I have been living in the Bahamas for five years. Even though it’s consistently 80 degrees throughout the holidays, I continue the tradition of hot buttered rum for the holiday season. This Thanksgiving I will be cooking a turkey dinner for a fellow American, a Canadian and my Australian/Bahamian husband. Instead of pumpkin pie, we’ll be enjoying a warm hot buttered rum for dessert. — Mariah Moyle, Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Bahamas
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Since South Korea doesn’t have many American style Thanksgiving dishes… I requested duck, which I knew I could get easily and could get Oma — mother — to make for us. Spicy grilled duck with veggies and spicy duck bone soup, of course with soju. — G. Salandi in Seoul, South Korea
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Chuquai Billy with Thanksgiving dinner in England.
Chuquai Billy
Chuquai Billy with Thanksgiving dinner in England.
Chuquai Billy
I’m a Native American Indian expat living in the United Kingdom for 15 years. I am sending this pic of me on Thanksgiving which consists of several burritos from the only Taco Bell anywhere near London. I think there’s some irony somewhere about a native Indian having to do Turkey Day at a Taco Bell overseas. Cheers. — Chuquai Billy in London, England
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I’ve been teaching English at Jishou University for the past five years. Every Thanksgiving has been different, but always enjoyable. This year, some of my junior-year students offered to cook dinner at my flat. The food was Hunan-style, meaning lots of chili pepper in almost everything: fish, pork, tofu, vegetables. We also had tomato-and-egg, thousand-year-old eggs and fruit salad — with cucumbers! And rice, of course. — John Wheaton in Jishou, Hunan, China
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Post-Thanksgiving scene in Rwanda.
Amber Luero-Dwyer
Post-Thanksgiving scene in Rwanda.
Amber Luero-Dwyer
The aftermath of an outdoor kitchen used by Peace Corps Volunteers-in-Training to prepare a Thanksgiving Day feast. — Amber Lucero-Dwyer in Kamonyi, Rwanda
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Thinking of Thanksgiving while watching a parade in Thailand.
Roy Florey
Thinking of Thanksgiving while watching a parade in Thailand.
Roy Florey
I teach English at a school 150 km north of Chiang Mai, Thailand, in the small town of Fang. Today, I spent my time helping celebrate Sport Day, an annual event people take a month to prepare for. The morning started with a parade down the main street followed by what amounted to an all-day party. The free lunch they served the teachers today was a plate of steamed and pickled vegetables along with sticky rice and roasted pork.
In the evening, my Thai wife and I made carnitas and served them over steamed yams she had gotten at a local market. Yams are my connection to the Thanksgiving food I had in the U.S. before I left for here two years ago. Most of my expat friends here are British — leaving me to my own devices for Thanksgiving. — Roy Florey in Thailand
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I teach at an American School in Kuwait and live in an apartment complex-compound with my colleagues. This year to celebrate Thanksgiving we organized a potluck progressive dinner. Everyone signed up to bring one dish — an appetizer, main side, or dessert. We started in one apartment for apps, then moved to another for the traditional main course — turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole and all — and finished at another for desserts, including pumpkin, sweet potato and pecan pies! All in all we celebrated as a pseudo-family of about 50 people. The only things missing because of being in Kuwait? Beer, bacon and football. — Holly Walker in Kuwait
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Malt liquor for Thanksgiving in New Zealand.
Caitlin Metzel-Manthei
Malt liquor for Thanksgiving in New Zealand.
Caitlin Metzel-Manthei
My husband and I live in Christchurch, New Zealand, and this year was my first Thanksgiving since I moved here from Chicago in 2010, and even longer for my husband who has been living here since 2008. We had a wonderful feast with two other American expat couples. We divvied up the foods and each took responsibility for a couple of items. I volunteered to make the mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, from scratch, out of necessity. It turned out fabulously, and much easier than I always imagined it to be. Actual whipped cream in lieu of Cool Whip was simply divine.
Turkey is unbelievably hard to find here, but we managed to find a butcher shop that sold turkey breasts. The meat turned out so perfectly, and was certainly the highlight of the evening. We all chipped in to cover the outrageous expense of the meat.
A Kiwi friend gifted us one can of Colt 45 that he bought from a specialty-import beer shop for $6 — saying it would be a great addition to our “America Day.” — Caitlin Metzel-Manthei in New Zealand
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I’m a Peace Corps Volunteer in Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific. A group of volunteers happen to be in the capital for a disaster management training. We’re heading to a War Horse Saloon, a bar decked out in a gaudy American Southwest theme, for a turkey and trimmings flown in from Australia. — Kelly Parshall in Lulep Village, Paama Island, Vanuatu
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Thanksgiving in Taiwan: My apartment had no oven, cutlery, serving dishes, and only one table. There was no pumpkin pie or turkey to be found, which is why I am on the floor putting cranberry sauce on a cheesecake … but it was a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends! — Hannah Smith in Taiwan
Article source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2013/11/28/247164653/project-xpat-thank-you-for-posting?ft=1&f=1001