So, not a traditional Thanksgiving of course. I suppose the trade-off for getting a week off for a holiday that I don't celebrate is still having to go to school and such on a holiday that I do celebrate. I still wanted to make my morning at school a little bit special, so I made pumpkin gingerbread cake (and splurged on a stick of butter to make cinnamon buttercream frosting) to take with me. Made my own pumpkin puree and baked it the day before so the house smelled like nutmeg and ginger. I listened to Christmas music. And it felt holidayish. :)
The cake went over well, and after class I stopped home quickly then left again for my Arabic lesson with my friend. It was fun. I always have a great time with her. We talked about Thanksgiving and what it means. Told her I was missing my family and a little bit sad of course, but that I was very thankful to be in Sudan and for all that God had provided me with here.
Then I raced home, picked up a pumpkin salad I'd made, and met up to have Thanksgiving dinner with about 25 other Americans. (And saw a car plow into 3 (3!) rickshaws! Thankful not to be in one of them!) It was like a church potluck, and so much fun. Sat around playing games and talking about serious and not so serious things. It was a lovely evening. Pumpkin pie and all.
On Friday night I got together with some other friends and we had a leftover potluck. Two guys here actually found a turkey at the suuk and slaughtered, plucked and cooked it for us. I appreciate their hard work. But...you can tell that turkeys have a rough life here. They'd bought a small chicken for us to compare to and the turkey was slightly bigger, with less and tougher meat. But it was a great night anyway.
I'll be honest, it doesn't really feel like the holidays. Without the bundling up and seasonal things in stores it would be easy to not even notice what time of year it is. Esspecially on Thursday I tried to mindful of really giving thanks throughout the day. I thank God for things all the time, but I really tried to rejoice and be mindful of all that I do have here.
The weather is cooling off, which is such a gift. This morning it was about 60 degrees and I put on every warm item of clothing I had. The highs still reach almost 90, but even that is a welcome respite. I feel rejuvenated--really. Winter in Sudan is my new favorite thing.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I give thanks for all of you often!
The cake went over well, and after class I stopped home quickly then left again for my Arabic lesson with my friend. It was fun. I always have a great time with her. We talked about Thanksgiving and what it means. Told her I was missing my family and a little bit sad of course, but that I was very thankful to be in Sudan and for all that God had provided me with here.
Then I raced home, picked up a pumpkin salad I'd made, and met up to have Thanksgiving dinner with about 25 other Americans. (And saw a car plow into 3 (3!) rickshaws! Thankful not to be in one of them!) It was like a church potluck, and so much fun. Sat around playing games and talking about serious and not so serious things. It was a lovely evening. Pumpkin pie and all.
On Friday night I got together with some other friends and we had a leftover potluck. Two guys here actually found a turkey at the suuk and slaughtered, plucked and cooked it for us. I appreciate their hard work. But...you can tell that turkeys have a rough life here. They'd bought a small chicken for us to compare to and the turkey was slightly bigger, with less and tougher meat. But it was a great night anyway.
I'll be honest, it doesn't really feel like the holidays. Without the bundling up and seasonal things in stores it would be easy to not even notice what time of year it is. Esspecially on Thursday I tried to mindful of really giving thanks throughout the day. I thank God for things all the time, but I really tried to rejoice and be mindful of all that I do have here.
The weather is cooling off, which is such a gift. This morning it was about 60 degrees and I put on every warm item of clothing I had. The highs still reach almost 90, but even that is a welcome respite. I feel rejuvenated--really. Winter in Sudan is my new favorite thing.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I give thanks for all of you often!
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