Our thanksgiving doesn’t exist in Korea and it didn’t exist in Spain either. There’s no days off, no big Wednesday, just an ordinary meaningless day at school to everybody else. In Korea, the word Turkey is unknown to the students in both English and Korean and if it wasn’t for me showing them for the last three years I don’t think they would have seen one.
I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving in 7 years and I miss it. While my family was getting together, I was waking up, while they were eating I was getting ready and driving to school. Being away from home isn’t always easy and it gets especially harder during holidays.
For the last three years, I’ve hosted Thanksgiving at my apartment, luckily as far as foreign teachers go I have a big apartment. If it wasn’t for this, it would be impossible to host as most teachers live in small studios. Since I can’t be with my family, it’s important I’m with my friends. Most of my friends are from South Africa and England so 2017 was the first time they experienced a Thanksgiving. It definitely isn’t a traditional Thanksgiving, for one, we don’t have turkey, in Korea I don’t think they exist; other things are almost impossible to find unless you buy it online, pie crust doesn’t exist, cheese is rare and in my town I can only get something called pizza cheese, there is no cheddar; canned pumpkins, yams or cranberries; brussels sprouts, green beans and butternut squash neither.
For my Thanksgiving, there is always a broccoli casserole and mashed potatoes. My mom always made a casserole, so every year for thanksgiving I make it. I need to buy everything online, the broccoli, the cheese and for the first time this year I went all out and bought cream of mushroom soup. In the past, I used normal cream. My friends love it, so much so that they request it for Christmas. Mashed potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple we’ve always had and for the last three years, they have been conjured by my friend Tom. Macaroni and cheese might not be a traditional food, but for the last two years my friend Logan has made it, so it has become one for us. This year for the first time we had a sweet potato casserole made by my friend Jess (also made boxed stuffing and cookies); a very unThanksgiving, but delicious dish of salsa fries was made by my friend Johan, a wonderful cheese platter was made by my friends Anne, Jan (pronounced “yahn” and they also made a salad) and Sarah (also made the gravy and brought dessert) ; a pesto salad made by my friend May, a spicy chicken dish as the only meat dish made by my friend Sanchez and I also made cheddar biscuits and a lentil meatloaf. Of course, before all of this food as per tradition, we went to the green tea fields.
Over the years, I’ve learned that Thanksgiving isn’t about the food you eat, but rather who you spend it with. Having food that you’ve grown up having for Thanksgiving definitely helps though.
Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday. I’m so happy you host it and that I get an invite! Tee hee!
Thanks for being a part of it!
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