Butterball has a hotline?

Thanksgiving is an interesting undertaking every year abroad.  The ingredients are difficult to find, foreign friends don't understand that sweet potatoes are not a dessert, and how on earth are we going to find enough dishes to put everything in?

This year, I was torn between two Thanksgiving meals happening at the same time at each of my schools.  I defaulted to my usual Thursday school, where I sat down with the cafeteria chef ahead of time to plan out the meal.  I was stunned walking into the self (cafeteria) on Thanksgiving: there were American flags and turkey decorations everywhere. They got me to wear a Stars and Stripes scarf and I helped to emcee a quiz game in the staff room (questions on the U.S., Thanksgiving, and Minnesota).  Everyone is now aware that Prince was born in Minneapolis.  Mission accomplished.

The meal itself was incredibly well done, especially considering it was made for around 400 students and staff.  Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and even pumpkin pie squares with fancy cranberry sauce cubes on top.  It was definitely the best pumpkin pie I've had in France, and the bravest of the students tried it.  It generated a lot of discussion in class afterwards.

On Friday night, Thanksgiving among the assistants went considerably smoothly as well.  Last year there were only two of us from the U.S. to obsess over the meal, but with a group of six this year, we divided the duties pretty well.  I had the cranberries and sweet potatoes.  The girls who had turkey duty actually found a turkey at a supermarket (the ONE I didn't know existed at this time last year).  It was small but delicious; when it was put on the table, there was a silence followed by, "...Does anyone actually know how to carve a turkey?" and thanks to a certain video made by my family last year, I was able to save the day.

All in all, there was a lot to be thankful for this year: wonderful students, colleagues, and friends; living and working in a beautiful country; and being able to Skype with my family and friends far away.

À très bientôt!