MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
Yep! You guessed it—turkey!
As you know, we were quite surprised and disappointed that we couldn’t find a turkey to celebrate our first Thanksgiving in Spain.
Our family was having a hard time trying to keep our holiday traditions alive while living abroad.
We had decided to just accept that we would have to eat chicken instead.
After sharing my family’s plight with friends and family members back in the U.S., I heard all kinds of diverse and creative Thanksgiving dinner menus—crab legs, lasagna, chicken, etc.
My sister texted me and said, “We just eat whatever we love to eat on Thanksgiving, and it’s usually NOT turkey!”
I guess we weren’t the only ones not planning to have a big bird plopped down on the center of our dining room table!
Why Were Our Thanksgiving Traditions So Important?
Maybe we were making this turkey thing a bigger deal than it should be. Why?
Here’s why, in my opinion. I honestly feel a strong need to attach to my passport country and home culture during times and seasons like this. Holidays, especially, draw me back to my family’s roots and traditions.
That’s why I was desiring and craving a turkey for this American celebration.
If I had been living in the U.S. right now, I probably would have cared less about cooking a turkey!
Too Many Options!
During our Thanksgiving shopping spree on Thursday morning, with plans to buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, we stumbled upon Mr. Turkey!
He actually came in lots of different shapes, sizes, and prices. The cost ranged from 2-30 euros.
We opted for the cheaper option of turkey legs. Rather, we chose to explode our budget with some good ‘ole Spanish ham—their speciality!
I laughed as we prepared the turkey legs—FULL of feathers! Vincent finally had to burn them off with a match. It reminded me of our wild turkey days back in Morocco.
So, the story of our first Thanksgiving in Spain finally had a sweet ending with TURKEY on American “Turkey Day.”
When we were leaving the store, Pierre said, “Oh no, Mom! I have to change my story. We did find a turkey in Spain, and we don’t have to eat chicken afterall!”
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
What about you? Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? If so, what are your special family traditions? If you live in another country, what do you do to continue celebrating Thanksgiving and your other holidays while living overseas?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
