Thanksgiving, Giving Thanks

In Which I Count My Blessings

Every year on Thanksgiving I am used to participating in the hustle bustle of the kitchen from dawn till dusk. I love to be a part of the construction of a Thanksgiving feast. There is nothing more satisfying to me than seeing a meal through from raw ingredients to finished product and serving it to family and friends. I was worried that this year, with 27 people all dying to make their special Thanksgiving dishes I would get pushed out of the already too-full kitchen and not get to be a part of the production. People get so stressed about holidays that I was ready to back down in the name of peacekeeping. Early in the morning, however, I decided to help one of the other girls get a head start on her pies (and make some stuffing since in my opinion there is NEVER enough). We headed to the agricultural stands by the bus stop to find some ingredients and were in our professor’s house cooking by a little after 8:30AM.

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner in Cuba is a little different than your traditional Hometown, USA. There is no Safeway with piles of produce and aisles of ingredients. We had to do a scavenger hunt of sorts to get the flower and vegetables together (as well as the pots and pans to cook everything in). The agricultural market by Julie’s house, however, turned out to be a blessing for last minute additions. Together we cooked from 8:30 until 2:30 and no one else showed up to help. We made stuffing, squash soup, squash croquettes, two pumpkin pies, a key lime pie, green beans and a salad. Finally some backup chefs showed up and I was allowed to head home, get off my feet and find myself a meal and a shower. When I came back the two huge turkeys and stuffing provided by the hotel kitchen had arrived (looking wonderful despite a lot of confusion on the cook’s part about how to stuff a turkey), and a few others had brought their offerings. We fit over 35 people into our professors tiny home and with plates full of food and about a bottle of wine each, we celebrated and gave thanks.

Maybe it’s all the red wine, but on Thanksgiving I always get a severe case of the warm fuzzies remembering what I am thankful for. Here in Cuba, as with everything else, the experience was a thousand times more intense. Living in a third world country has reminded us all, I think, how fortunate we are to have the conveniences we so take for granted every day. Cooking a feast for a huge group certainly reminded me how thankful I am for grocery stores that are well stocked and five minutes away. Every day the contrast of our material world to this world of such limited resources is striking one. But not only did Thanksgiving remind me of the things I have to be thankful for at home, but the things I have here as well. Celebrating a holiday away from family is always a little bit tough, and suddenly towards the end of this trip I realize that despite differences I have found a sort of family here. I was thankful for my Cuban friends who showed up to see what all the fuss was about. Later that night I was thankful for the beautiful Malecón and the crashing waves I have come to love.

With so little time left I am now in a continual flux of anticipating getting home where I belong and dreading leaving this place that has so profoundly changed and shaken me. Every landmark moment has found my perspective on this place altered yet again, so that I am not sure how I will feel when we take off (less than ten days now…) But I can be sure that after this trip I will find myself more thankful for where I’ve come from, more thankful for where I am now, and more thankful for the opportunities I have to continue forward to where I one day will be…