Australia meets Thanksgiving

As everyone knows, Thanksgiving is a wonderful American tradition in which we celebrated the foreign settlers and the Native American people coming together to share a feast around a big wooden table centuries ago. [We tend to leave out the part about how we repay the natives by slaughtering them in thousands and forcing the ones who complied to move to deserted real estate out west… too soon?] Anyways, the present day Thanksgiving tradition is primarily about indulging yourself with scrumptious home-cooked food while celebrating the things and people that you are thankful for.  As this is the first time I have been away from my family during the Thanksgiving holiday, it only seemed fitting to celebrate my favorite holiday with the friends I have made here in Australia.

I sent out recipes to friends with some of the traditional foods that my family sets out on our Thanksgiving table as inspiration for them to either make something, or bring a dish to share on the 28^th day of November.  On Thanksgiving, the table was surrounded by three Americans (including myself), and six Aussies excited about losing their Thanksgiving virginity. Homemade stuffing, coleslaw, salad, yams, bread rolls and a 4.5 kilo turkey accompanied with cranberry sauce (which took 3 grocery stores to find) all sat on our dining room table.  I will commend one Aussie in particular for taking on the challenge of making yams – a dish that requires a sharp eye to tell when to take out the dish prior to letting the marshmallows burn. 

Speaking of yams, they were a peculiar dish that the Aussies have never heard of before, questioning why Americans would need to add more sugar and butter to the already savory sweet potato, and then topping them with EVEN MORE sugar in the form of marshmallows.  Once they tried the yams, they understood its desire. 

Before we spoiled ourselves with the massive amounts of food on the table, I led the group as we all shared what we were thankful for – the cheesiest tradition of Thanksgiving, in which obviously had to be shared as well.  From friends and family, to Wu Tang Clan and Tyler the Creator, we all shared what was meaningful in our lives.  All in all, it was a beautiful meal and an even more beautiful memory as I got to share an American tradition with a bunch of Aussies.  I guess I will have to see if they can keep the tradition going after I leave [but let’s be honest, I was kind of the main dish on the table – sorry to overthrow you, turkey].