My roommate and I decided that we wanted to host a Thanksgiving dinner with our friends here in Hanoi to give thanks for the wonderful people we’ve met since moving so far from home. To celebrate "Friendsgiving" we planned a potluck dinner this past Saturday at our place. We were excited right off the bat, but when we learned that one of our friends wanted to fry a turkey, our excitement went through the roof! Being in Vietnam, we don’t have access to an already made turkey fryer, but several diagrams and hand gestures later, our friend had a vision of a turkey fryer that just might work.
Living in a developing country has its perks (e.g., cheaper than home), but it also has its drawbacks (e.g., power outages). On Saturday morning, we experienced the latter. At 9:00 am our power went out and by 11:00 am we had just managed to get the back-up generator running to find out it didn’t power our refrigerator or oven. After making a few calls, my roommate and I were taken in by two of our friends--the turkey frying visionaries. We loaded up what felt like our entire lives and headed over to their place to commandeer their kitchen for an all-day Thanksgiving extravaganza. We made pumpkin bread, coconut-pumpkin soup, dressing (my Grandmama’s recipe that was fantastic!), and scalloped potatoes. Friends, both Westerners and Vietnamese, arrived all throughout the day with more side dishes and beverages, and before you knew it, it was a Thanksgiving feast complete with not one, but two fried turkeys! It was an amazing “Friendsgiving” that we are already looking to repeat at “Friendsmas”! Check out the pictures of the ghetto, but oh so fabulous, turkey fryer and the Thanksgiving spread.
My roommate and I were also fortunate to have two other Thanksgiving celebrations. Thanksgiving night, our boss invited us to her house for dinner with her family and some friends. It was an amazing spread and a wonderful way to spend the night. The next day, our boss brought more Thanksgiving food into the office for our Vietnamese colleagues to try out. That makes Thanksgiving X 3 this year!
Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'd like to take a little space to say thank you. This year, I realized even more than ever all of the wonderful things that I have to be thankful for in my life. I have the support of an amazing family; awesome friends who let me call them from halfway around the world and at all hours of the day and night when I need to talk; amazing new friends who welcome me into their homes and lives; and a wonderful job that lets me work with fantastic people toward a great mission. I am thankful for and lucky to have my life and I want to say thank you to all of the wonderful people out there who have made it possible. Thank you for being a part of it all!
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| Thanksgiving feast #1. |
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| Cutting the bird. |
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| Thanksgiving feast #2. Cutting the bird. |
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| Vietnamese-style deep fryer! |
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| Getting ready to drop the bird in! |
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| Mmmm....deep fried turkey goodness! |
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| Thanksgiving feast #3! |
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| The fryer mastermind got to carve. |
Wow! The food looks amazing! I'm glad your Thanksgiving X 3 turned out so great! We missed you here in SC. That was a sweet piece on being thankful...we all have so much to be thankful for...and I'm especially thankful for two wonderful daughters with such kind and giving hearts!
ReplyDeleteDid y'all have to put the turkey's heart in a shot glass??? Is turkey a regular food in Vietnam? Anyway, glad you and friends were able to celebrate. I know your family missed you terribly and were delighted to know that you were celebrating a world away.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Faye, turkey isn't a regular food in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese people I had turkey with this year had never had it before. We thought about putting some of the goodies in a shot glass, but opted for a more traditional feast. ;-) Maybe next year!
ReplyDeleteI'm scared of that fryer! :)
ReplyDeleteThe dressing looks like Grandmama's! Makes me want some right now...