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Traditional American (and Canadian) holidays can leave an expat feeling a little blue. Turkey might not be part of the national diet where you are, and the rippled shape of a can of cranberry sauce emptied wholesale on to a plate can leave the kindest of neighbors scratching their heads and wondering about the ways of North Americans. Today's round up is devoted to you, Overseas Thanksgiving Celebrant! I feel your pain and salute your efforts to bring this slice of North Americana to your host country.
On Europe Cheapo, we've got Where to Celebrate Thanksgiving in Europe.
While a few Cheapos in our office were living in London the year before last, they had an admittedly hard time thinking about family back home, gathered around a table of carved turkey (or turducken), their aunt’s famous green bean casserole, and - especially - mom’s super-human homemade pecan pie.
On Coyote Blue Jay, there was a household full of Yankees for the holiday.
Yesterday we hosted the annual expat Thanksgiving dinner, which accounts for the radio silence as I was busy with preparations for the day. It's a funny thing celebrating Thanksgiving where no one knows what it is, so it is nice to have a group of Americans to come together with and keep the tradition going. It is especially nice to be able to pass it onto the children. My husband really enjoyed himself as well, and talking about the cultural history of the holiday with him was enlightening for both of us.
Blogger Svetha in Beijing is prepping for Thanksgiving:
This week at the school we are preparing for Thanksgiving. And although it is not celebrated in China, the culture theme of the month at The Family Learning House is America. So we have been able to incorporate a Thanksgiving meal for all the families of the school and we are busy decorating the classroom and making placemats for the children. The dinner is on Friday and I am looking forward to meeting with the families over a meal.
Life in a Suitcase is giving a big thumbs up to the American presence in Korea because it means turkey is available.
As an expat, I am also grateful that I have come to celebrate American Thanksgiving. Here in Korea it is both hard to get turkeys and hard to cook them - ovens are not at all standard kitchen appliances here and, mysteriously, Koreans haven't gotten into turkey. This baffles me even more than the all-pervading love of kimchi. And the overuse of the construction let's. What I say is, "Let's eat turkey!
And Aussie Erin is digging the company of a fellow American to share Thanksgiving with in the land down under.
Over the course of the last 14 months I have met a wonderful group of American expatriates living in the Sydney area. This year, I had AMERICAN to celebrate Thanksgiving with. I had people who understood the significance. I had people who appreciated a beautifully presented turkey and the taste of pumpkin pie. So, this year, this group of American expats became my extended family. So this past Sunday we did it, we celebrated this wonderful holiday as a... family.
Expats, this former part time expat wishes you the best for your holiday overseas.
Pam blogs about travel and other adventures at Nerd's Eye View.
