When living abroad one has two choices: completely assimilate celebrating your current country’s holidays and letting go of the ones you spent your life celebrating or hold steadfast to your cultural fiestas melding them into your current life disregarding its insignificance to those around you.
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I haven’t giving up any of mine but I haven’t really enforced them either, for which I am shameful. In the three years I have been in Barcelona, I have only taken part in one Thanksgiving that strangely enough, was hosted by a group of non-Americans. I brought the mashed potatoes. I wanted to make my great grandmother’s recipe for candied yams however boniatos are hard to come by except for three weeks out of the year and coincidentally this period ends before Turkey Day.
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Just this past Thursday, Thanksgiving rolled around again and sadly, I let it pass on by. I made calls to my family longing to catch a whiff of the feast that was being prepared… cornbread stuffing, sweet & spicy greens, creamy squash soup, fresh baked rolls… None for me! I hung up the phone with pangs of regret and an overwhelming hunger for home. Sniff-sniff. Boo-hoo.
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So here it is. I am putting it in writing. I, Espana Fly, cannot allow another Thanksgiving to pass by without a turkey dinner and a gathering of my friends. It’s a wonderful tradition that I have a mind to maintain even if I celebrate it on the Saturday after the actual holiday, so be it. I am not the greatest cook but I can follow a recipe and have a staple of friends I can employ to assist who are far better off in the kitchen than I am. There. It’s done.
What: Turkey dinner
When: Thanksgiving 2010
Where: Barcelona, Mi Casa
-Espana Fly
Last 5 posts by Espana Fly
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