Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Even before we moved back to the USA from Malaysia, I realized that one thing I would really miss about expat life was the abundance of travel. So, I decided to be proactive and mentally started planning a trip long before we packed our bags. What better way to reintroduce the kids to American life than to take them to New York City? It's a crossroads of American ethnic groups with a skyline of iconic, internationally recognized landmarks.

Snoopy and Woodstock have had the honor of floating in 38 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades — 
more than any other balloon

I thought the week-long Thankgiving school break would be the perfect time, but the kids were adamant that after three years of missing the extended family for the big Thanksgiving meal, they weren't going to skip it again, no matter how fantastic the trip. "Besides," my teen asked, "how will we watch the Macy's Parade?" Then, his eyes lit up as he realized that we'd be in the very city where the parade takes place.

An American Thanksgiving in Penang

This is our third year celebrating Thanksgiving in Malaysia. It has been a crazy, unpredictable week where I discovered I have so much to be thankful for. (For instance, I am thankful that my middle school language arts teacher isn't grading this and marking off for ending the previous sentence with a preposition.)

A week ago, I was trying to figure out what to do since we weren't planning on traveling anywhere for the school holiday or invited over to anyone's house for a communal feast. I contemplated cooking everything myself, but the prospect of literally sweating in the kitchen for days for a meal that would be over in less than an hour didn't appeal to me. I thought about heading to the American Thanksgiving Buffet at the G Hotel, but I knew that I'd see other friends there and wish that we were all sitting at one huge, huge table. Eight days before Thanksgiving, I figured out something.

I am thankful that I realized that Thanksgiving for me is not about the food; it's about the people.

The more that I thought about it, the problem with the above scenarios is that my meal would not be shared with a large circle of people. The traditional Thanksgiving foods would be there, but the sense of community would not.

I am thankful that when I texted my husband that I had invited 100 people over for dinner, he merely replied with "Not feasible" as opposed to "You are out of your mind you crazy woman!!"

I reserved the party room in our condo complex because I may be a little crazy, but I'm not so crazy as to invite that many people over to my apartment. A couple other friends offered to help me to host the shindig for which I am very grateful. After a leisurely coffee morning, we had our guest list.

I am thankful that it turns out that there were only 65 people on the final guest list.

I sent out an Evite to everyone and set up a potluck sign up.

I am thankful that six days before Thanksgiving, I got the last two turkeys at the market since they weren't expecting another shipment until Thanksgiving day.

I panicked a bit at first because the man said there weren't any turkeys at all. After some conversation, he mentioned he had turkey breasts, and I immediately claimed them for myself. They were frozen ones from Australia. When I opened up the packaging, I was surprised to discover that the turkey breast was actually the back 75% of the turkey, complete with miniscule-for-a-turkey, chicken-sized legs and thighs. All that was missing were the wings and the front part of the bird.

I worried that we wouldn't have enough turkey for everyone and mentioned it to hubby.

"I think people will be disappointed," he replied.

That's when I realized that for others, Thanksgiving may indeed be all about the food. Perhaps I had lured someone away from the delectable hotel buffet for a dinner that might end up being mostly chicken satay.

Peppermint Patty stared in amazed disappointment. "What kind of Thanksgiving is this?!" she asked. "Don't you know anything about cooking a real Thanksgiving dinner, Chuck? Where's the turkey? Where are the mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. What blockhead made all this?"

I am thankful that my friends found other turkeys.

With the fowl situation sorted out, it seemed that everything would be smooth sailing until the day of the party when I would inevitably freak out about playing hostess.

I was wrong.

Early Tuesday, in the middle of the night, my teen woke up with excruciating stomach pain.

I am thankful that my hubby is strong enough to lift my boy down the stairs and into the car. I am thankful he took him to the hospital and stayed the night with him.

My original plan for Tuesday was to go grocery shopping and start baking and prepping for the big feast on Thursday. Instead, I spent the entire day at the hospital with my son. When it became clear that the problem was something minor, thank God, my mind strayed towards thoughts of the two turkey chilling in the freezer instead of thawing out and brining as I had intended.

I am thankful for friends I can call to help out with my other kids while I'm tending to the one who really needs his mommy right at that moment.

One of my worries about moving overseas was losing the support of my parents and in-laws in caring for my children. My friends here have not only become the people that I share Thanksgiving with in lieu of family, they are the ones who don't mind being part of the village it takes to raise a child.

I considered the possibility that we'd still be in the hospital by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. The doctors here are more likely to keep patients hospitalized than in America. With multiple hostesses, the celebration could easily carry on in our absence.

I am thankful for friends who will pitch in with party planning.

He was eventually discharged from the hospital late Wednesday afternoon, 38 hours after he first checked in.

I am thankful that my darling boy is okay after all and that the hospital stay costs all of US$800 before filing for insurance.

It was exactly 26 hours until the Thanksgiving celebration was slated to start. I sent the kids up in the elevator to our home, and immediately jumped back in the minivan to hit the grocery store. I spent the rest of Wednesday night and all day Thursday cooking.

In the end, everything turned out fine. Some people had to cancel due to illnesses or visitors who wanted more exotic cuisine  than a traditional American Thanksgiving. There were 45 people who actually turned out. The food was bountiful and delicious. Surprisingly, we were able to have all the traditional foods including cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Peppermint Patty would have been satisfied.  The chips and salsa, and the guacamole and hummus were rather awesome, too.



All the kids at the feast were thankful for these. treats my friend made.  They gobbled them up.

The unofficial theme for the night was Abundance.

 

I am thankful that as I tucked my teen into his own bed in his own bedroom tonight, he looked at me and said, "It was a really good Thanksgiving."

Happy Thanksgiving from Your Friend in Malaysia!

 

 

And last but not least, I am thankful there is no Black Friday craziness here as I have to hit the mall on Friday to take the kids clothes shopping.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

What blockhead made all this?

When you're an expat living overseas, the chances of going home to visit your family for Thanksgiving dinner are rather slim. On the other hand, my friend in Austin, Texas just drove 27 hours straight to Buffalo, New York for a week's visit, so perhaps it's not totally out of the question. This year, we're pulling a Peppermint Patty and inviting ourselves over to other people's homes to celebrate this American holiday in Penang.

I've always loved Thanksgiving. I jokingly tell my younger boy that he's named after the governor of Plymouth Colony, William Bradford. Moving across the ocean, I've come to understand how much the Pilgrims must have truly appreciated the Native Americans. When we first arrived, we relied heavily on the experience of others to figure out daily life in this new world. Where do you buy food? Who's a good pediatrician? How do people watch American college football? You know... important things like that. This week, a group of long-timers and newly arrived expats will gather together for a communal meal, sharing our food and reminiscing about our homeland. And just like where the Peanuts gang drives off to at the end of the show, we'll be doing it in a condominium.

What kind of meal will we end up with? Is it toast, popcorn, pretzels and jelly beans for us? After all, it's sometimes a bit hard to track down exact ingredients in Penang. This is not a place where you go to the market with a week's menu and ingredients all planned out. There's no fear of starvation, but you must remain flexible. My typical modus operandi is to purchase whatever looks fresh and then figure out later what to do with it all. I feel a bit like Alice Waters except that I have no talent in throwing together an impromptu meal.

Before we moved, I had turned into a bit of a turkey snob. I special ordered my free-range, organic, heritage turkey, dry brined it, then roasted it for the big day. Could I find a turkey here? Last week, a group of serial expats were discussing the relative ease of finding good turkeys in different countries. In summary, the ones in Egypt are awful, the Caucasus Mountains have good ones, and Afghanistan turkeys are great.

I was quite happy to come across turkey and cranberries, both fresh and canned, at Straits Minimarket. Someone else ordered a fresh turkey from Mutha's near the Tanjung Bungah Wet Market, probably slaughtered according to Halal rules. A few restaurants around town have roasted turkeys for take away, too. Last year, sweet potatoes were a bit questionable, though. Pecans are the same price as macadamia nuts, if you can find them. I actually have a stash of Texas pecans in my fridge that I brought back from my summer visit. Did the pilgrims do this? Did they hoard precious food from home and only serve it on special occassions?

So during this time when expats start to miss the families they left behind, we gather together as a makeshift family far, far away from America. Just like Charlie Brown figures out, it doesn't matter where you eat Thanksgiving dinner. Whether it's at a condo or at a doghouse, it will always be special when you share the feast with friends.

"We thank God for our homes and our food and our safety in a new land."

- Linus quoting Elder William Brewster's prayer