Village Thanksgiving

Written Monday, 19 November 2007

 

 

Thanksgiving in the village turned out to be a success!  I spent the whole morning helping the women cook (okay, mostly watching – they still won't let me do much) and running to the boutique for more spices or tea or whatever.   And one of my volunteer neighbors came to celebrate with me, so that was really nice for me, although the other women kept complaining about us speaking English to each other.

 

Finally lunch was ready, and there was a ton of food for everyone, and it was delicious.   My sisters had told me to buy potatoes and sweet potatoes for the meal, and I'd wondered what they were going to do with them, since yassa doesn't usually have potatoes in it.  Turns out that they cut them up and fried them like French fries, and then sprinkled them on top of the yassa dish.  I think they were my favorite part of the meal (although the rest was really good too).

 

So I was happy, and all my village family and friends told me they were happy too, especially because there was enough to eat leftovers for dinner too.   It is traditional to give blessings for thanks here, so I was given lots of blessings for a long life, lots of money, and to find a good husband. 

 

I just might have to do this again next year.